Impecuniosity – a term which is rarely used in day to day language but provides so much importance in credit hire claims.
The majority of people who bring claims for credit hire charges and even many employed within the law industry itself will have never even heard of the term ‘impecuniosity’ let alone know the meaning. You will, however, most certainly now be asked the question by a credit hire organisation or your case handler; ‘are you claiming to be impecunious?’
To answer the question which I am almost certain is on your mind – what does ‘impecuniosity’ actually mean?
You will… most certainly now be asked the question by a credit hire organisation or your case handler; ‘are you claiming to be impecunious?
To be ‘impecunious’ simply means that you did not have access to the finances available for you to source a replacement vehicle upfront following your road traffic accident, hence entering into a credit hire agreement.
It may sound quite straight forward, but how exactly is this proven? Well, this is where evidence is needed in order to substantiate your claim.
Historically courts will request sight of your wage slips, credit card statements and statements for all your bank/saving accounts covering the 3 months prior to your hire period until the date the hire period ended.
To be told to produce and expose details of your personal finances will, without doubt, be quite a daunting feeling; however, the importance is in fact quite significant to your credit hire charges.
If you are deemed to be impecunious (i.e. you are without access to the required finances) then the full charges for the hire vehicle you have been given will be recoverable from the third party insurance company. However, following the decision held by the Court of Appeal in the recent case of Stevens v Equity Syndicate Management Ltd, if you are unable to show that you are impecunious then the amount recoverable from the third party insurer company will be reflective upon the lowest basic hire rate you could have paid to a mainstream hire provider within your locality for the same hire vehicle provided.
I am sure you may wonder how failing to prove being impecunious affects you personally. Well, as a matter of fact, the importance of being impecunious should be at the forefront of the mind of anyone looking to make a credit hire claim. The reasoning for this is if you fail to show that you are impecunious then you could be made to re-pay the credit hire company any shortfall in the hire charges recovered.
This is most certainly a situation in which you would not wish to find yourself in. However, as long as you fully co-operate with the credit hire organisation and your case handler by providing all requested documents then it is unlikely that you will actually be pursued directly for the shortfall.
So, to conclude, to be impecunious or not to be, this is most certainly the question, at least as far as credit hire claims are now concerned.
About the Author:
Ian Lord is a Litigation Executive who specialises in personal injury cases and credit hire matters arising out of road traffic accidents. Ian has been exposed to handling claims though the Ministry of Portal and by litigation via the courts.
As a highly motivated individual, Ian has utilised his spare time to study towards his goal of becoming a fully qualified Legal Executive and is currently an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.
Outside of work Ian has a passion for fitness and sport, especially football which he plays on a weekly basis. He has also been a lifelong supporter of his local team Stockport County Football Club.