Missing my bike

mese13

I got left hooked a week ago on OKR, catapulted off the bike onto the pavement, and front wheel + carbon forks trashed by the transit driver's left front wheel. He had to reverse off my front wheel.

I am ok apart from a sore wrist and hip - pretty lucky as I was doing 20+ at the time of impact.

Got all the driver's details, he admitted he "just hadn't seen me", even gave me and my knackered bike a lift into London. All the details he gave me are legit.

Quote for the work is £400. I've submitted a personal injury report to the police, which is now in the pipeline.

The driver is now TOTALLY ignoring my calls, texts and voicemails, clearly hoping I'll just give up. Trouble is I need my bike back (it's at the bike shop, awaiting my instructions) and the train is costing me 5 quid a day.

Any suggestions, please? I'm inclined to press on and get the work done, but wary until I've got some commitment from the driver. Presumably he'll hear from the police soon, seeking his verification of my side of the story.

Anyone got any experience of similar situations, please? Happy Christmas to you all.

bails87

Get yourself a solicitor. Get in touch with his insurance....he did give you his insurance details didn't he?

optimisticbiker

Did you get his insurance details? If so contact the insurer direct. If not, are you a member of BC or CTC? If so, call their legal service for assistance as they can find out the insurer and lodge a claim. Your household insurance may also have a legal support team, or you might have legal support through your bank account or credit card provider if you pay for premium services. If all else fails, consider a no win-no fee agency (look in Cycling Plus or Cycling Active back pages for cycling specific ones).

cyberknight

OptimisticBiker wrote:

Did you get his insurance details? If so contact the insurer direct. If not, are you a member of BC or CTC? If so, call their legal service for assistance as they can find out the insurer and lodge a claim. Your household insurance may also have a legal support team, or you might have legal support through your bank account or credit card provider if you pay for premium services. If all else fails, consider a no win-no fee agency (look in Cycling Plus or Cycling Active back pages for cycling specific ones).

The "no win no fee" lawyers have a minimum claim of £1000 to cover their costs so keep a track of all out of pocket expenses including travel, loss of earnings, medical costs on top of the cost of bike repair as it soon adds up.

mese13

Yes, I got photos of his van, number plate etc, and details of his insurer. But he's playing hard to get.

Loathe to use my insurance at this stage, after all it's him who's at fault and he who should be doing the running around, bearing the costs etc.

cooldad

Just contact his insurers with his reg no. They'll be able to trace his policy easily and will sort you out. Especially if you start reasonable but intimate that costs could escalate due to travelling hassles and mmmmmm feel a bit of soft tissue damage coming on.
Chances are they'll agree to the repairs immediately.

mese13

Thanks for the advice, making some decent headway with his insurance company now.

One thing I've learnt from this is the importance of getting witness' details. A couple of cyclists stopped to check I was ok (thanks guys, whoever you were), but in my state of shock, I didn't think to ask them for their details. But, nor did they offer their details. Next time I see an accident, i'll offer my details, rather than waiting to be asked.

asprilla

Insurance isn't easy. I had an incident with a John Lewis van at the end of August and I'm still yet to see a penny.

walkingbootweather

Asprilla wrote:

Insurance isn't easy. I had an incident with a John Lewis van at the end of August and I'm still yet to see a penny.

Ah, John Lewis Van. Never knowingly overtaken...

mese13

Kerching. Cheque arrived today. Allianz were very helpful. Still haven't heard from the driver!

optimisticbiker

mese13 wrote:

Kerching. Cheque arrived today. Allianz were very helpful. Still haven't heard from the driver!

What did they offer... just repairs to bike or personal injury too? When I got left hooked, Aviva sent a £200 cheque 'to get the repairs started' within a few days, took a couple of weeks to agree & settle the PI bit..£1,500 all in...

If you haven't already don't forget to claim for the train fares, phone calls, etc as well as the repairs...

Chances are, if its gone through the insurance, you won't hear from the driver. He'll have been advised to let them handle it...