Jump to content
Chapala.com Webboard

a little legal advice please


Recommended Posts

A month ago I was coming home in the afternoon when a strut underneath my lemon Peugeot broke, sending me into the path of my next door neighbor (of course!) and totaling my lemon. His truck got a dent and a bum tire. I gave him all my insurance info but he claimed to be afraid of going to PV where my insurance would have covered all his damage. He repaired his truck on his own. Now he is bugging me to pay him 6000p. Obviously he has no insurance or he would know how it works. What recourse do I have? I am so sick of being treated as "the rich gringa on the hill" when only the gringa and hill part are true. I do have an excellent abogado in PV but she has been out of town and I hate to bother her with this pia business til she gets back. Neighbor has 50 tick-bearing cows on the other side of the fence I maintain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am so sorry to hear of your problems. My first thought would be to call your insurance broker and have them explain the facts of life to your neighbor. This assumes you reported the incident to your insurance company, who should have sent someone to report on the damage and should be in touch with your neighbor.

Not clear how far away from PV you are--but I do know insurance agents can be slow and repairs at authorized places can take a while, may not produce desired results, and your neighbor probably needs the transport. If it were me, I would ask to see the receipt for the new tire and offer him the cost of the new tire plus something for his labor on the dent and call it a day. You do not have to accept his figures without any proof of the actual cost. Apologizing profusely, waving a wad of pesos at him and tearfully saying this is all you have may work. But, please remember this IS your fault; your neighbor is NOT responsible for your choice of vehicles.

If you have not reported the accident to your ins. co., then why not settle with the guy and keep the incident from showing up on your insurance? Take the initiative, and take along a burly guy who speaks Spanish. (Assuming you are NOT a burly guy who speaks Spanish.) And as I said before, apologize. The guy you hit is probably pretty pissed at you, and yes, he may view this as a money-making opportunity, BUT...he is the aggrieved party here.

My sympathies re: the lemon Peugeot. Obviously your most important priority, after settling things with the guy next door, is to get rid of the lemon and find something more reliable, if this is at all financially feasible for you. Please be mad at Peugeot (based on their reputation of old, I am thinking there may be a club for this!) and not at your neighbor.

I don't know how things are in the place you live. Here in Ajijic I have yet to find anyone trying to take advantage of the fact that I am an elderly gringa with limited Spanish. I am thinking you need a Mexican friend or two who can be liaisons to the community.

Best of luck. You will be in my thoughts. Please let us know how this turns out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My insurance comes with a number to phone when you have an accident, does not yours? Thus you would have called the adjuster at the time of the accident. Meanwhile your neighbor is asking you for something less than 500 bucks for his car. Personally, I would pay him and get a receipt. Then I'd claim it from my insurance company or lawsuit I filed against Puegot. Cows out of the barn, time to close the door!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you didn´t phone your insurance company by now, a month, I would personally give your neighbor the $400.00 dollars he paid to fix his truck and buy a new tire and end it there. Stressing about it and getting a lawyer etc. might no be worth it and cost you more in the end and a bad relationship with your neighbor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

She said clearly that her insurance company was involved from the "get go." Camilla you need to keep your insurance company involved. They or your agent should take care of the situation for you.

She stated she gave the neighbor all her insurance information. That is not how to do it here. You need to call the insurance company and have them come to the scene immediately and then process the claim and take care of the repairs or payments etc. After not doing this for a month who knows what the insurance company is liable for now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not having called you insurance company at the time of the accident. I would pay him the money, get him to sign a receipt, and put it behind you.

Yes, you should have called your insurance and made a claim and had an adjustor come out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like Camille did call the insurance company and the adjuster did come out and, on the instructions of the adjuster, the neighbor was given the info to call Camille's insurance company which the neighbor did not do. At today's exchange rate, $389.00 would "settle" the matter and if $ is the only issue, the question is whether the abogada and/or pursuing the right to have the insurance company pay the bill will cost more than $389.00. Sometimes, though, money isn't the only issue. Sometimes it is also about feeling taken advantage of by the neighbor and/or feeling abandoned by the insurer - either of which can have long term effects on one's "frame of mind." My inclination is to go to the insurance office and have a "CTJ" moment with them about the situation. Just doing that will be a great opportunity to blow it all out and feel better at least for that moment. If that still brings no resolution, consider what your abrogada would charge for a consult and phonecall to the insurance company and weigh that against a receipted $389.00 and a handshake with the neighbor. Meanwhile, push your gardener to get some kind of "factura" from the neighbor for the costs of the repairs. BTW: Perhaps the extent of the claim does not exceed your deductible?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jim Bowie,

You must not have ever had the pleasure of a dog like Sweetpea. I am sorry for you.

I would take my Lady, Rex, Thomas, Bonnie, and Miss Priss over yours any day of the week. You will never know the feeling of loss I have suffered in my lifetime. But, concern for some humans come before concern for animals: my family and I are a few of these. I will not judge you. You know yourself better than I do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like Camille did call the insurance company and the adjuster did come out and, on the instructions of the adjuster, the neighbor was given the info to call Camille's insurance company which the neighbor did not do. At today's exchange rate, $389.00 would "settle" the matter and if $ is the only issue, the question is whether the abogada and/or pursuing the right to have the insurance company pay the bill will cost more than $389.00. Sometimes, though, money isn't the only issue. Sometimes it is also about feeling taken advantage of by the neighbor and/or feeling abandoned by the insurer - either of which can have long term effects on one's "frame of mind." My inclination is to go to the insurance office and have a "CTJ" moment with them about the situation. Just doing that will be a great opportunity to blow it all out and feel better at least for that moment. If that still brings no resolution, consider what your abrogada would charge for a consult and phonecall to the insurance company and weigh that against a receipted $389.00 and a handshake with the neighbor. Meanwhile, push your gardener to get some kind of "factura" from the neighbor for the costs of the repairs. BTW: Perhaps the extent of the claim does not exceed your deductible?

There is no deductible on your liability insurance, only for comp and collision on YOUR vehicle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then it sounds as you did everything correctly and the legal protection part of your policy should protect you and make them send someone (an attorney) to fix this mess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh bless your heart! I didn't know that option existed! I have always bought my car insurance while housesitting at the lake in the summer but never had to use it. The agent in PV is a bit of a problem...only the receptionist speaks any English and I'm good in casa and cocina, but not in oficina. Will alert them tomorrow...

Gracias, Spencer!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fixing a dent and a new tire doesn't cost 6000 pesos. This guy is indeed treating Camille like a rich gringa and trying to get more $ from her than the damages cost to repair, from how she described them. And really wish people would stop translating everything to US dollars. We live in Mexico. Some of us earn our money here in pesos. Some are Canadians. Whatever the peso is in US dollars is irrelevant to us.

Good luck, Camille.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote name="mudgirl" post="444350" timestamp="1433400327"]And really wish people would stop translating everything to US dollars. We in Mexico. .

And yet mudgirl you write in english..

This board is almost exclusively posted in English. Please address future posts to the topic under discussion and avoid comments about other posters that could be construed as covert personal swipes.

Also, Mud Girl, computing things in a currency of which is one is the most familiar is a useful way for people to understand what things cost in a context they can readily understand.

A quick way to estimate in one's head the equivalency between the two currencies is to reduce the Peso price by one third and then divide by 10.

Thank you both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

True

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...