Here at Stephensons, we have our own dedicated team dealing with credit hire claims. We deal with a wide range of vehicle hires including all types of personal vehicles, private hire and public carriage office (PCO) taxis, as well as commercial vehicles such as vans, coaches, and more niche vehicles.
We assist our clients to recover the credit hire charges from the at fault insurer. Often there is a dispute over the amount to be re-paid, therefore we utilise our extensive knowledge of credit hire claims and the issues that arise to help negotiate a settlement as quickly as possible.
What is credit hire?
If you have not needed to use the service previously, you may be unaware of credit hire. When a person is involved in a non-fault accident and are no longer able to use their vehicle due to the damage to it, they may obtain a credit hire vehicle from a hire company until their own vehicle is repaired or replaced. The client will enter into a credit hire agreement setting out the terms and conditions of hire and the daily rate of hire, along with any other costs. As the name suggests, a credit hire vehicle is provided on a credit basis, which can be very helpful to those who do not have the funds available to go and pay for a hire vehicle up front whilst waiting for the at-fault insurer to reimburse them for the damage to their vehicle.
Why are Stephensons involved in the claim?
Stephensons become involved in the claim when the hire company are unable to recover the hire charges from the at-fault insurer, due to disputes regarding issues such as fault for the accident or the amount of the hire charges. The hire company will pass the claim on to solicitors to act for the client (hirer) and help recover their credit hire charges, and most likely issue court proceedings against the at-fault driver or their insurers in order to recover the outstanding hire charges. As the hirer is ultimately responsible for the hire charges given that they had use of the hire vehicle, the claim must be brought in the hirer’s name.
What do we need from you?
Once we are instructed, we will first contact the client who hired the credit hire vehicle to discuss the claim and request information needed, such as:
- Need for a hire vehicle and how it was used throughout the period of hire
- Details of access to other suitable vehicles
- Financial documents – the court and the defendant insurers will require evidence to assess whether the client required the use of a credit facility to hire a vehicle, or could afford to deal with their own repairs/replace their vehicle.
- Details of any other losses to be recovered from the at-fault insurer
If you have been involved in an accident and need assistance to recover credit hire charges then please get in touch with our specialist credit hire team on 0161 696 6235.
Comments