My car was broken in to and subsequently the thief was caught. He has admitted smashing three windows and stealing personal possessions from my locked car. My excess on my insurance total £160 and I would like to claim this from the thief. Can I do this via a civil claim, or what is the alternative. I do not see why I should be out of pocket on top of the stress he caused.
2007-04-25 01:37:15 · 12 answers · asked by Victim2 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
The thief was caught and as he was on a suspended sentence, he went straight to prison. I was not aware of any trial, but the officer has informed me that 4months has been added to his sentence, so there must have been some judicial intervention?
2007-04-25 01:59:35 · update #1
Yes of course you can
First check to see if you have legal claims as part of your insurance, if you have that's the way to go.
If not it's through the small claims court.
Chances are if you win he will ignore it, then you send the baillifs in
As an afterthought, most large stores now have notices saying that they will seek to recover damages in the civil courts from shoplifters.
2007-04-25 01:44:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hi Victim,
Sorry to learn of your distress.
All I can say here, is that when some twit did a similar, I found out when his court case was, went along, and stood up to say " I claim all costs against so&so to the amount of such"
The Magistrates had a murmer, and awarded me the full cost of damage. Quite rightly.
OK, the insurance folks whinged on a bit for taking matters into my own hands, but I ended up with not only the insurance cheque, but a personal cheque from the offender, who also received community service.
Double payment, and fair play in my book.
Don't be afraid of jumping up and down a bit to state your case.
The squeaky wheel will always get the grease !
Best of,
Bob
2007-04-25 09:08:45 · answer #2 · answered by Bob the Boat 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As odd as the laws are, I don't think you can sue people who are in prison. I'll admit, I'm not up on the current laws regarding this, but the last I heard was that you couldn't bring suit against them. Check with a lawyer about it.
Sometimes, even if you take them to court and win the case, it is only a paper victory. That means that they have no assets to pay you with. So the only thing you get is a bill from the lawyer who brought the case to court for you.
I wish you the best. I hate a thief.
good luck
2007-04-25 09:20:16 · answer #3 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
First speak to your insurance company and see if they can make such a claim. If not you can take a civil action against the criminal but, you must remember he is a criminal. As they say,"You can't get blood out of a stone". You will, of course, have to pay your lawyers fees. Whilst I sympathise with you and understand that the law is not always just, I think you are on a loser.
2007-04-25 09:13:27 · answer #4 · answered by Tony A 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you can file a civil claim against him and when you win put a lien on everything that he owes, this way you may not get your money right away but this lien will screw with him for the rest of his life until he pays you off, also if your state allows this, have the lien applied with interest, i know that in some states they allow up to 10% a year.
2007-04-28 07:53:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know, but I sincerely hope you can. If suing criminals is not possible at the moment, surely it would be a damned good idea to introduce such a scheme. If these scumbags knew they were liable for any damage caused by them, they might think twice before commiting crimes.
2007-04-25 08:47:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Has the thief been to court yet? You normally ask the court to award you compensation at the trial.
2007-04-25 08:53:45 · answer #7 · answered by champer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep, of course you can. That's the whole point of civil law - to give you a remedy if you are out of pocket because of someone else's actions.
2007-04-27 11:51:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why sue him??? If you win you will never get any money from him. If I was you I would break the bastards legs. Sorry for swearing but car criminals are scumbags who deserve it.
2007-04-25 16:08:09 · answer #9 · answered by Goofy Goofer Goof Goof Goof ! 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes you can and do it you probally wont ever get anything as he is a dirtbag but if he ever cleans up his life and gets a good job or a rich relitive dies and leaves him something you can collect .....if you have a judjment ...... if you wait the statute of limitations will prevent you at a later date
2007-04-25 09:36:54 · answer #10 · answered by mobile auto repair (mr fix it) 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋