Friday 14 August 2015

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Must I pay them?

Can you please advise me on my rights regarding the letter of demand that I have received from the insurance company of a driver that my wife had an accident with.

The gentleman concerned reported the accident to his insurance company as his car was under an HP agreement when the accident occurred. He duly notified me of the cost to repair (I thought was exceptionally high) and told me that I would have to pay the excess to repair his car (P3,000) this was duly done and the damage was repaired, I have now received the letter of demand from the insurance company. It says that “it appears that you/your driver was responsible for the collision and we are therefore holding you liable for the damages to our insured’s vehicle. The relevant amount is P10,742 and we hereby demand payment of the aforesaid amount within seven days, failing which we shall have no alternative but to commence legal proceedings against you for the recovery thereof.”

Am I legally bound to pay this amount? If so can it be paid in monthly installments?

Please advise as they have given me seven days to pay or they intend instigating legal action.


Yes, you probably ARE required to pay this if your wife was responsible for the accident. The other guy’s insurance company is entitled to recover the costs they incurred when paying for the repair to their client’s vehicle. Remember that neither the other driver nor his insurance company have done anything wrong. Why should they be out of pocket?

Was your wife insured at the time of the accident? If she was then it’ll be her insurance company that pays up. If she wasn’t then I’m afraid that you or she will have to foot the bill.

The lesson is that insurance is worth it. Yes, it might seem expensive but it’s not nearly as expensive as NOT having insurance.

Where are my bricks?

On the 25th October 2014 we paid P1,100 to a company for delivery of 200 bricks at a cost of P5.50 per brick, and since then there was no delivery done. We contacted the person who helped us regarding the delivery only to be given false promises. We phoned him again on the 2nd January 2015 to demand our money back as they failed to deliver and the response we got from him was that he was fired by the owner of the company and referred us to him for further clarity. We called the owner he gave us a negative answer that he doesn’t have a deal with us and he has never seen any receipt with regards to delivery of the bricks.


A tricky one. Normally I would suggest you chase the company because they are the ones with whom you had an agreement. However from what you say, and if the owner is to be believed, you’re the victim of a crime. You had your money stolen. You need to involve the Police.

I suggest that you ask the company for a statement confirming that they had no knowledge of this purchase and that they have dismissed the guy who took your money. Then visits our friends in blue and lay a charge of stealing or of obtaining by false pretense against him.

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