Accident on a car no longer in your possesion

[NastyNate420]

So my friend was dating the woman a few years ago and he didnt have a car. So she bought him a lil 1995 toyota tercel and she did all the paperwork on the car...added him to her insurance policy etc.... He was supposed to pay her like 1200 for the car and then it would be his. before he gave her any money they had a falling out and he decided to jus give her back the car and be done with her and the car. Fast forward to today . He got a letter in the mail from a collections agency for progressive. Well apparently there was any accident on May 22 2014 where the tercel rear ended another vehicle and caused $3000 worth of damage to the other car. At this point we know his name was on the car in some way shape or form. Dont know if it was as a lienholder of what. Talked to DMV and they said the car was sold to a junk yard july 2014..

at this point we are requestiing a vehicle registration history of the vehicle from DMV but if a PITA since we dont know the vin.
How could progressive have done an investigation without even talking to him ?
the collections agency had all his info.
I figure this is going to be a civil matter .... any advice?

 

[LS2GTO]

Not sure why they are going after him when he's just a driver on the policy and not the main policy holder. Plus it should be whoever was driving at the time not some other driver on the policy.

I'd tell them to pound sand and not send any money to them. Don't think he has any legal obligation over this if he's not the policy holder and/or driver that caused the accident.

 

[COBRA_ESQ]

In most states (and I am assuming the state where the car is registered) the owner of the car, and the driver of the car are both liable for any judgement. Since his name was on the car "in some way" that would mean the car is registered to him and/or he is the (co?)owner.

Assuming it is a collection agency there would have to be a judgement which resulted from a court proceeding. If not it could be Progressive "asking" him to pay for the damages since there is likely no question of liability if it was a hit in the rear. Also Progressive would go after his insurance company not be contacting him unless there was no insurance in effect at the time of the accident.

More research is needed as to who the owner(s) were and in who name(s) it was registered when the accident happened. Respond to the collection agency stating the claim is disputed based on the information provided and request all documentation in their possession, including the VIN, that supports the claim, and make a similar inquiry to Progressive.

If ignored it there is a possibility that there is a judgement against him and the failure to promptly move to open that judgement may preclude him from challenging it later.

 

[jshen]

/\...what he said +1

 

[NastyNate420]

Thanx guys . Thats pretty much what he is doing. I told him to dispute the charges in writing and he asked progressive for more info and they said they were doing a VIN request since they didnt know it either.
He is trying to avoid finding her until/unless necessary.

 

[LS2GTO]

I just don't get why the collection agency is coming after him for accident related money? Yes someone caused 3k worth of damage to another car, but isn't that you have insurance for?

When I got into an accident and caused damage to someone else's car, my insurance paid for it. That's why they're there and that's why I'm paying my premiums. They didn't come after me in collections demanding money to cover that damage. My premiums went up because of it sure, but I didn't have to pay out of pocket for the repairs I caused.

There's more to this story that we are being told and he probably even knows of.

 

[Fox-4]

Sounds like the car was underinsured, to be honest and progressive going after anyone who's name was registered on the car.