[Rob.Hall]

You would not win on the data protection jobby unless you have no details at all of where you live.

What I mean is, no web site, no details of address on your van, no tel number in the phone book etc
 
If he got it from a mate in his office who sorced it from the nett then he will be on a sticky wicket.

Read the letter again and see exactly where he got your details from.

If it was off the nett then I would report him to the Data protection and to his boss.
His boss would have a fit as you would be dragging his firm into it as well.

On the other hand this boyfriend might be  claimes handler and may have taken the case on.

Either way report it to Your insurance co. You will have to do this as this is a claim against you. They will advise you.

Take the letter to the police as it dropes her right in it with a written confession!!

If he is not acting on her behalf in a legal matter and the details he got from you were sorced illegaly then let him know you will be taking it further....if you want to of course.

[GWCS]

Yep...straight to your insurance company...have no dialogue with the people at all...

Say nothing and leave it all the the insurance companies..

Cheers
Dave.

So true.

btw, speed of the bike cannot be proved therefore its negligent factor in this. However you may want to fight that they shouldn't have been on the pavement. But you will need your own lawyer for this, I doubt the PL insurance would actually bother to fight it, its easier to pay the £500 in their eyes.

So if you want to fight it.. ask your PL insurance to deal but only if they are willing to fight and not pay out straight off - other wise you will need to hire your own lawyer to fight this.

I can see this being a 50/50 split either way. she should not have been on the path, and i suspect there will be something against the hose across the pavement, regardless of a single sign. If it does go to court expect court costs to pay unless you win outright.

Im surprised they haven't claimed for personal damages (physical) and subsequent physiological damages too

I also agree with Mal gold, she needs to mitigate her losses, just because you bend a wheel doesn't mean its totally broken, how much would it be to fix, or replace the damaged section of the bike? If a new bike is needed, then she is getting betterment! A brand new bike for an old one which is half the value! same as the phone...

plenty to fight for, but then again it is just £500 - your better off asking your PL insurance to deal and you will pay them back so it doesn;t affect your premiums too heavily and still have no claims.

Good luck, may this be a lesson to us all. I did think there would be a case of claiming from hoses being laid out over pavements.. perhaps time to close a section whilst your working - stupid but necessary from this..LOL

[GWCS]

Ignore it,

If they are serious with the claim for money they will be in contact with you again. (Then tell them where to go)

Worst thing you can do is have any involvement with them.

Do not contact your insurance company at this point, biggest mistake you can make.

Completely ignore it, until it becomes impossible to do so, and then tell them where to go.   

Not good advice at all - if you know you've had contact or been involved in an accident you need to tell you insurance straight away - you damage you own case and break the terms and conditions of your policy rendering it void and then your not covered!

[cottonbud10]

thanks again all,i did contact the police,and there was no way anyone along the road where i was working has given him my details,not even my van is sign written (at the moment),the police informed me if he obained my address via his place of work even if he works for an insurance company,then he has broken the data protection act,,,and could be fined up to £5000 or 2 years inside + his company where he works could have there licence taken away....take that you b######....kev

[GWCS]

thanks again all,i did contact the police,and there was no way anyone along the road where i was working has given him my details,not even my van is sign written (at the moment),the police informed me if he obained my address via his place of work even if he works for an insurance company,then he has broken the data protection act,,,and could be fined up to £5000 or 2 years inside + his company where he works could have there licence taken away....take that you b######....kev

There is no way he could get those details from the MIB - Motor Insurers Bureau database, unless you are insured with the exact insurance comapny he works for. You can only get the other sides insurance details and policy number - then you have to initiate contact with the other persons insurance company - even then they wont give out your personal details - as it all goes thru them.

So i very much doubt he's actually broken any data protection.  The police have access to this system thou - so unless he has a mate who's a copper. I reckon they got your details from the shops your working on.

"oh who was you window cleaner im in need of one for my shop - here's the number/details" thanks.. very easy!

[GWCS]

from the other thread its being seen as "Contributory Negligence" Ewen = split liability = insurance company will pay out something, which will effect your premium, no claims.

If its a personal letter requesting £500, your insurance will ask you to fill in a accident form and keep them both on file and do nothing until the solicitors letter comes in.

Or

As its a personal letter its come by post, not signed for (recorded, special delivery) you can say you had no contact from anyone, and deny ever receiving anything - in the "hope" it doesn't come of anything.

Only speak to your insurance once the solicitors letter comes in.

[RO-Sheen]

I went on a Health and safety course at Ionics a couple of years ago and Craig Mawlam (Director of Ionics and H+S trainer) said that if anything like that happens take a photo asap of the accident and make sure you include your warning signs in the photo.

As someone said in your first post, make sure you have a risk assessment in place stating what you do to prevent accidents ie warning signs.
As someone else said, his girl should not have been cycling on the path anyway so I shouldnt worry about it too much.
If they do contact you again tell them that you have a risk assessment in place with warning signs and point out that she was breaking the law by cycling on path.  Tell them that if they want to persue it any further they should get their Solicitor to send you a letter and you will pass it onto your solicitor but point out that they really havent a leg to stand on and wil end up paying for all solictors fees (not sure if they will have to if they it goes to court but I think so)
I doubt you will hear anymore from them! Chancers!

[supernova77]

Just ignore any letters and any form of contact from them - They will soon get bored.

Andy

[Niall McAllister]

if it is a serious claim they have go through the proper channels, the boyfriend should know this. if they continue to send private letters, they are harassing you.
you have all the details of what happened, keep them safe, and don't respond to private letters, and note any contact they make with you. don't talk about insurance, it's not up to you to give them ideas.
it seems they are looking for a quick £500
hope it all works out.

[cottonbud10]

many thanks you all....kev

[AuRavelling79]

many thanks you all....kev

We're with you on this kev - it could be us tomorrow - I have one job for which the hose goes across a cycle path - I put out a sign and riders have so far just slowed and gently crossed the hose. But if one comes a cropper I'll be glad of learning from your experience. (And of course your girl was riding illegally!)

Keep us posted.

[niceandclean]

Didn't somebody on here have a rubber duct, that they lay over the hose when they ran it over a path? Like they do with traffic light cables at road works?

[cottonbud10]

hi all,have just found out that the boyfriend of the girl who fell off her bike,works for an insurance company in southend-on sea that  specialise in commercial liability insurance....thats it i,m done for...kev

[russ_clark]

kev
contact citizens advice before you do anything and get some free legal advice.
I am with you on this they are chancers and the boyfriend is taking the P$%$
because he does that sort of thing for a living.
Doubt his employer would be happy he was involving himself in a girfriends 'potential'claim.
He has obviously abused his position to get your contact details-which is probably a sackable offence!!
See what the Citizens advice say and I would not bother to contact my Ins. co. until it was a lot further down the line.keep your own records of all contact i.e. local plod ,etc and do not enter into any correspondence with them.
What do the fire brigade do with their hoses when putting out a fire,and if the same thing happened to them would they pay up ??
Chancers mate- keep your chin up-I do not think it would go anywhere
Russ

[GWCS]

Didn't somebody on here have a rubber duct, that they lay over the hose when they ran it over a path? Like they do with traffic light cables at road works?

you could still trip over that - a number of people use matting but advise that still causes a tripping hazard.

the only logical way to prevent this is to cordon off the area concerned - like close the pavement.  :

@ russ clark the fire brigade close the scene or at least the police should.

What do the FWC suggest regarding this type problem? I mean they are there for window cleaners - what's their official advice about hoses over pavements?

[NWH]

You should have legal cover on your policy.

[matt]

get in touch with the police and say that she was hammering down the pavement on her bike, you thought it was dangerous and would like to report it
she then fell off and you have been sent the letter by her ( or BF )

[niceandclean]

Didn't somebody on here have a rubber duct, that they lay over the hose when they ran it over a path? Like they do with traffic light cables at road works?

you could still trip over that - a number of people use matting but advise that still causes a tripping hazard.

the only logical way to prevent this is to cordon off the area concerned - like close the pavement.  :

@ russ clark the fire brigade close the scene or at least the police should.

What do the FWC suggest regarding this type problem? I mean they are there for window cleaners - what's their official advice about hoses over pavements?

I would not of thought you would not be allowed to cordon off part of a road or street as and when you felt like it, i may be wrong? I only have a few properties where i park on a road, and pull my hose over a pavement. On these properties i put a trip hazard cone at the front and rear of the van on the pavement to warn passers by. I also use bright yellow hoses, now surely that is enough to indicate to the public that there is a hazard! I don't know how you would stand if the person was partially sighted or totally blind, but you have taken precautions.  

[sparklebright]

Sounds like a nuisance suit, just trying it on, in the hope you'll send a cheque just to shut them up.

If they were serious they would instruct a solicitor, they're just chancers.

It's a sad reflection on things that the only reason you're in this situation is because you tried to help, scumbags!

[leapstallbuildings]

You may have to tell your insdurance co. as they may try to argue that delay would invalidate any claim.  As the claim is for £500 it would be easy for the insurance co. to settle at £250 and charge you full excess and it wouldn't cost them to do so.
I think the threat of complaint re riding on the footpath and the threat of complaint re data protection act could be enough to get rid of them.  The problem is that it would need to be worded very carefully (perhaps an unrecorded informal conversation without witnesses).  I say this because a letter worded "If you pursue this claim I will go to the police re cycling on path and breach of data protection" could be construed as blackmail.  Much better to have an informal conversation that goes something like "there appear to have been two offences committed here - cycling and data protection.  Do you still intend to pursue your claim?"  Maybe throw in a sweetener like offering to buy her a modestly priced mobile phone (STRICTLY on an ex gratia basis) with a signed letter that they will not be pursuing a claim against you.  There are a number of potential, low hassle scenarios.  Bear in mind that £500 is only their opening gambit.  I don't agree with it but a £50 mobile and a private friendly chat might see this off.