Accident - dodgy behaviour from offending party

The Chessplayer

I recently had a a construction vehicle knock into the back of my scooter, and as a result the company gave me cash for the value of the bike, rather than going through insurance etc. I wrote out a receipt and signed it and had the foreman sign it as well. I have a feeling that there is something dodgy going on between the construction crowd and the shop where I left my damaged bike, however.

The site foreman instructed me that the scrapped bike becomes theirs, and they intend to pick it up this morning. My understanding is that I am under no obligation to buy a new bike, but the site foreman said that he wants me to get an invoice for the bike with his company name on it so that he can claim back the money.

I am not sure if I want to go along with this however, as having had an accident, I might just go without a bike for a while. Am I obliged to hand over the scrapped bike?

To confound things, the bike shop quoted me an inflated price for the bike, saying that the special offer has elapsed. The offending party have given me the inflated price, and I'm not sure how to proceed. (I checked other shops and the lower price is still widely available).

The bike shop have instructed me to arrive tomorrow with log book etc.

Anyone got any thoughts on this?

SonOfPerdition

The Chessplayer wrote: »

I recently had a a construction vehicle knock into the back of my scooter, and as a result the company gave me cash for the value of the bike, rather than going through insurance etc. I wrote out a receipt and signed it and had the foreman sign it as well. I have a feeling that there is something dodgy going on between the construction crowd and the shop where I left my damaged bike, however.

The site foreman instructed me that the scrapped bike becomes theirs, and they intend to pick it up this morning. My understanding is that I am under no obligation to buy a new bike, but the site foreman said that he wants me to get an invoice for the bike with his company name on it so that he can claim back the money.

I am not sure if I want to go along with this however, as having had an accident, I might just go without a bike for a while. Am I obliged to hand over the scrapped bike?

To confound things, the bike shop quoted me an inflated price for the bike, saying that the special offer has elapsed. The offending party have given me the inflated price, and I'm not sure how to proceed. (I checked other shops and the lower price is still widely available).

The bike shop have instructed me to arrive tomorrow with log book etc.

Anyone got any thoughts on this?

if you're getting a brand new scooter as a direct replacement and you had no injuries from the accident then what the shop charges the construction crowd shouldn't concern you.

you're not obliged to hand over the bike, but they were not obliged to buy you a new one either. they could have insisted you got numerous quotes to get yours repaired, they picked the cheapest and you were left with a devalued scooter with a crash history.

imo take the deal, if you don't want the new scooter ... sell it.

Eoin

They are effectively buiying your scooter, no? If your insurance company were involved and said it was written off, then they would own it once they had paid you whatever it would cost to replace it.

The Chessplayer

SonOfPerdition wrote: »

if you're getting a brand new scooter as a direct replacement and you had no injuries from the accident then what the shop charges the construction crowd shouldn't concern you.

you're not obliged to hand over the bike, but they were not obliged to buy you a new one either. they could have insisted you got numerous quotes to get yours repaired, they picked the cheapest and you were left with a devalued scooter with a crash history.

imo take the deal, if you don't want the new scooter ... sell it.

They gave me the cash, and I have lodged it in my account today. What I want to do is keep the cash and get my bike back and worry about it after Christmas. Am I entitled to do this?

The Chessplayer

eoin_s wrote: »

They are effectively buiying your scooter, no? If your insurance company were involved and said it was written off, then they would own it once they had paid you whatever it would cost to replace it.

True, but I presume that they sorted me out to avoid me suing for personal injuries. I got a knock on the leg but I'm not in any way inclined to take it any further.

Eoin

The Chessplayer wrote: »

They gave me the cash, and I have lodged it in my account today. What I want to do is keep the cash and get my bike back and worry about it after Christmas. Am I entitled to do this?

Did you get the cost of the repair, or the cost of a replacement? As I said earlier, it sounds like they have effectively bought it from you.

Eoin

You replied while I was writing my post.

From what I can tell, you have gotten more money than the bike is worth, so you can easily get a replacement if you want.

They are asking for the bike that is damaged, which an insurance company would be well within their rights to do, from what I know. It's your decision what you do with the money they gave you, but I don't see how you would be entitled to keep the bike.

All that said, unless you have signed anything, especially waiving any right to sue them, then they probably don't have much of a leg to stand on - but it sounds like you have done OK out of it, once your leg isn't hurt too bad.

The Chessplayer

eoin_s wrote: »

You replied while I was writing my post.

From what I can tell, you have gotten more money than the bike is worth, so you can easily get a replacement if you want.

They are asking for the bike that is damaged, which an insurance company would be well within their rights to do, from what I know. It's your decision what you do with the money they gave you, but I don't see how you would be entitled to keep the bike.

All that said, unless you have signed anything, especially waiving any right to sue them, then they probably don't have much of a leg to stand on - but it sounds like you have done OK out of it, once your leg isn't hurt too bad.

I had been thinking about putting up with all the cosmetic damage, and just getting it road worthy and keeping the rest as cash for myself to make up for the impairment loss. Am I entitled to do that? I just want to keep it all above board.

Eoin

The Chessplayer wrote: »

I had been thinking about putting up with all the cosmetic damage, and just getting it road worthy and keeping the rest as cash for myself to make up for the impairment loss. Am I entitled to do that? I just want to keep it all above board.

I don't know what either party are entitled to, as you're handling it privately. It sounds like it was clearly implied that they would cover the cost of a replacement, which would therefore imply that they own what's being replaced.

This kind of messy situation is why I would be very hesitant to settle without some legal advice.

dubtom

I would just take the deal,buy a new bike,sell it after if you want. I assume the reason they want the invoice if for tax purposes, they have to show where the money went,other wise they pay 40% of it again on tax. I'd also assume their truck insurance is probably 20 times the value of your bike and they don't want to lose the NC bonus. I really don't see any thing dodgy about it. I wouldn't be too happy myself if I were them if you kept the money and the old bike,especially after coughing up the money. Bare in mind,if it went to insurance,you would not get the value of a new bike if you won,unless it was a new bike, only the retail value of the bike of whatever age it is,or the cost of repairs. Sounds like you got a good deal actually.

galwaytt

tbh, it sounds like your quids ahead and, well, getting a teeny bit greedy........get the new bike, give them the invoice - dump the damaged one to them to get rid of.

Lazarus2.0

Did the foreman say that the bike becomes their property when he gave you the cash and you signed for it or was that later ?

The Chessplayer

I wrote up a receipt confirming receipt of the cash in relation to incident at such at such between such and such and signed it and got him to sign it. I thought that would be it, but he now needs some kind of headed-paper receipt to send to a third party (from whom they had hired the dumper) in order for that company to claim the insurance.

What sort of receipt am I obliged to give here? Any ideas?

ScouseMouse

It looks like the construction company has bought the bike from you. You say they gave you more money than it was worth, so you are doing very well out of it. They want a receipt on headed paper so they can claim the payout as a businesss expenses.

This is not unreasonable. I think you are being a little unfair here. A lot of people, given the chance, would pay out a small claim themselves just to maintain there insurance bonuses.

I have my wife told if she ever tips someone. Ring me straight away. If noone is hurt, my insurance no claims bonus is much more important than 1000 euro.

Buy yourself a new bike, and enjoy christmas. Forget about your old bike, you are doing well as it is.

gipi

Do you need to replace any of your safety gear as well as the bike? (helmet for instance?). The compensation paid by the construction company could cover that as well as the replacement cost of the bike itself.

CrazyRabbit

Getting legal advice from boards.ie is about as smart as taking a wikipedia entry as 100% fact.

No offense to anyone who has replied with advice, but you really need the advice of someone qualified in civil law (of course, someone here on boards may in fact be qualified as such!)

My personal opinion is to take the deal being offered. It's a pretty good deal, but I cannot advise you regarding the legality of who owns what, or who is entitled to what.

Del2005

The Chessplayer wrote: »

I wrote up a receipt confirming receipt of the cash in relation to incident at such at such between such and such and signed it and got him to sign it. I thought that would be it, but he now needs some kind of headed-paper receipt to send to a third party (from whom they had hired the dumper) in order for that company to claim the insurance.

What sort of receipt am I obliged to give here? Any ideas?

I'd say they are just looking for a formal buisness letter with your name and address at the top, printed on A4 paper saying the same as above. If they have given you the check and you've cashed it, give them this and the log book for the moped and be happy that you are OK. If they want anymore after this tell them no, they can sort out their own mess and you've had enough. If they aren't happy with this then it's proper legal advice for you.

mikemac

Sounds like a good deal to me OP.

You were on the bike when it got hit? Did your helmet hit the ground when you got knocked off as you need the price of a new helmet also

Red Hornet

If it was me i'd take d cash and forget about the whole thing. Sounds like ur on a winner.