Community members who live with disability or disabilities can be vulnerable to manipulation by large corporations, such as insurance companies.
Nigel, a pensioner in his 80s, was involved in a motor vehicle accident and did not have insurance.
Nigel began receiving letters from the other driver’s insurance company demanding that he pay them over $2,000 for repairs to the other driver’s vehicle.
Nigel had a hearing impairment so had difficulty hearing the insurance company when they phoned him to discuss the matter and did not have access to email or a computer. These factors also made accessing legal services and responding to the insurance company incredibly challenging and stressful for Nigel.
Pine Rivers Community Legal Service provided Nigel with advice regarding his options. While going through the documents provided by the insurance company, including an invoice for the repairs, the PRCLS solicitor noticed that the other driver’s car was damaged at the front, while Nigel’s had been damaged at the rear. This indicated the other driver had not been following Nigel at a reasonable distance, which supported what Nigel had explained.
PRCLS helped Nigel write to the insurance company to request further details regarding the accident and claim, and that they cease all debt collection activity. PRCLS also assisted Nigel to convey to the insurance company that the damage reported in their invoices was consistent with the other driver being at fault.
The insurance company ceased correspondence and ended recovery action against Nigel.