My husband was involved in an accident where a company truck rear-ended him. The police were not called but my husband talked to the owner of the company and said he would take care of the damages.
The owner of the company and my husband went to an auto mechanic and set the date for the repairs. The repairs were fixed and we went to pick up the truck, not asked for any payment or to sign anything. They just handed our keys over and off we were.
A few weeks later an insurance company called us asking for my husbands name and address and they were sending a check out to us. We received the check and waited a couple more weeks because we thought it was a good faith check since we already had our truck back but still were unsure why we got a check sent to us.
Load and behold, 2 months later the owner of the company that hit my husband said we were suppose to give that money to the auto mechanic and the insurance company messed up.
What we don’t understand is why no one informed us to give the check to the auto mechanic and why the auto mechanic let us walk away with our truck without being paid and having us sign anything. Who is really at fault here?
It seems like there is almost no fault to go around. There was a mix up getting the mechanic paid and now it’s been corrected, as long as you follow through and pay for the work he did.
You might think getting paid for work is something a business would never miss, but for most small businesses, they probably literally never thought about you again until 2 months later someone was going through their records and saw the work was unpaid.
Ditto Fuzzy Dunlop. No one is at fault. Or everyone is at fault. Whatever. Mistakes happen.
If you already spent the money from that check, then you are just as much to blame as the others. You surely realized that someone messed up, and that you were not receiving something for your pain and suffering, right? I’m not suggesting that you are totally to blame, only that there’s plenty of blame to go around. So if it is difficult to return the money, perhaps you can use that argument to explain why you’re only going to return half of it. Or something like that.
Perhaps the owner presumed that the insurance company would be sending the check directly to the mechanic and told him to expect it. Perhaps the owner thought the check wouold come to him and he would pay the mechanic. Perhaps the mechanic assumed the owner or insco would pay him. Perhaps the insco sent the check to the wrong place.
In short, blame cannot be assigned based on the limited information in the OP. The only thing that is clear is that you received the money and you owe it to the mechanic. It’s the same situation as if a bank put someone else’s money in your account. You would be required to return the money.
Nobody is at fault here. The insurance company gave you money. Now you can go and pay the mechanic. If you spent the money, you are at fault; when somebody sends you money you are not entitled to, it’s your job to call and ask them why.
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[li]So how much were the damages?[/li][li]Why didn’t you call the police and file an accident report?[/li][li]Do you know your state’s dollar threshold for reporting accidents?[/li][li]Does your insurance company know about this incident?[/li][/ul]
I don’t think it matters who, if anyone, is “at fault” here.
As a guy who prefers to look for solutions rather than for scapegoats, I’d say that the correct solution here is that you need to pay the mechanic the amount the check was for. End of story.
Just last week I picked up my car from a body shop. I’d cause a small accident and owed the $500 deductible. They gave me the keys and I drove off. About 5 minutes later I realized that I hadn’t paid the deductible and went back. I’m assuming they would have figured it out eventually.
In addition to what others have said, there’s a fraud potential here. The owner of the company could be colluding with the body shop. Obviously, he said he’d cover the expense of repair (and you inferred, correctly or incorrectly, that he meant he’d pay the body shop). Then he filed a claim with insurance company. If he has a relationship with the potentially unscrupulous shop, they may have planned on the shop getting paid twice (probably with the payment from the truck company’s owner being a small “finder’s fee” type payment).
I’m not saying that’s what’s going on, but it’s not unheard of for a trucking company to have a close relationship with an auto shop…
Since you went in to the mechanic with someone that owns a business, they probably just assumed they were billing him with terms.
You got fixed up and sent you on you way with the intention of sending the bill to the owner. Owner got the bill, and submitted it to his insurance. Owner assumed the insurance sent the check to the mechanic (and all was taken care of) but they sent it to you (not uncommon). You got confused and sat on the check. A few months later the mechanic called the owner to let him know that the bill is still open and the owner called you trying to track down the check.
You just need to send the check to the mechanic.
No fault, nothing sneaky, nothing to worry about. Just a breakdown in communications.
Also, since it’s insurance work, the shop knows it’s going to take a bit of time before they get the check, they started calling after a few months. They called the owner, the owner called you. Again, no big deal, just go drop the check off at the mechanic and you’re done. If you’re worried get something that says “PAID IN FULL” on it.
For future reference to ANYONE involved in an accident-
CALL the police (in some areas, they no longer respond to very minor accidents or ones that occur on private property, such as a parking lot). But try to get a police report if possible, especially if you are not at fault!
TAKE a quick look around and spot any other drivers or pedestrians who witnessed the accident. Get a name and contact number if possible.
DO NOT say “I’m sorry” or anything else that could be construed as apologizing or accepting fault! Keep it vague and short when talking with the other driver(s).
CALL your insurance company to report the accident, even if the other guy is at-fault and accepts responsibility! Somewhere in the wording of your policy, you are actually required to do this within XX days (varies by insurer) or they may decline any related claims in the future. If you need to utilize your Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage or Medical Payments (PIP in some states) coverage, they must be notified ASAP after the accident occurs! Your insurer also has a duty to defend you in any legal proceedings that may arise from the accident, but only if they are notified in a timely manner.
Another surprising benefit of reporting it to your insurer (or agent) is that they might actually be helpful in dealing with the other guy’s insurance conmpany…if you’re lucky and/or ask for help! When I was insured with AMICA, they would call the other insurance company and get the ball rolling and let them know exactly how things were going to happen- no aftermarket parts, no shortcuts, I’m not using their ‘recommended’ repair shop, etc. And if the other company didn’t like it, AMICA would just pay for it and sue them.
I’m an independent insurance agent and I often make similar calls when I have a customer involved in a not-at-fault accident.
Agreed. I have seen so many people get an unexplained check and sarcastically say, “He, he. If they want to send me free money, I’m not going to argue with them!!!”
Then a few months passes and the company corrects their error and demands the money back and these same people get upset and/or can’t pay because they already pissed away the money.
Just because money or other property mistakenly finds its way into your possession doesn’t make it yours.
In my limited experience, the insurance company issued a check to me. It was then up to me to decide if I wanted to spend it on repairs in full or in part, if at all.
I’m getting the impression that’s not how it usually works.