See Frequently Asked Question
Who are we?
Lane credit hire is a credit hire company and we provide hire and repair services after a non-fault accident. You have
been referred to us with a view to assisting you with a replacement vehicle when you require one.
What Service do we Supply and what are the benefits of using us?
We will provide a replacement vehicle on a ‘credit hire’ basis during your claim for immediate use if your vehicle is
unroadworthy and/or unusable, or alternatively for the duration of repairs if your vehicle is roadworthy. We look to provide a
comparable type of vehicle to your own. This will mean you will not be disadvantaged as a result of the accident in terms of the type
of vehicle you have and can carry on with business as usual.
What are my options?
If the accident was the fault of another driver there are several options available to you as to how your claim can be dealt with by
Lane Credit hire.
• You can allow the at fault parties insurer to deal with your claim. If liability is not in question and they have accepted that
their customer is liable for the incident, they will approve any repairs to your vehicle or pay for the cost of replacing your
vehicle if it is deemed a total loss. They will then settle all reasonable associated costs such as credit hire charges.
• You can use your own insurer. They will handle the claim under your own motor insurance policy and will usually approve
any repairs or pay the costs of replacing your damaged vehicle. You will have to have comprehensive motor cover to take
this option and may be required to pay your policy excess. This is recoverable from the other driver’s insurance company,
along with any other uninsured losses, and we can assist with this if we provide a replacement vehicle to you.
• In some cases, your claim may be referred to us with the repair in hand or a garage already having been allocated. If
required, we will appoint our repair network on your behalf to allocate a repairer for you to assess the damage on your
vehicle. Magna may look to ‘credit repair’ your vehicle in certain circumstances, meaning you will not have an excess to pay
to your insurers.
What is Credit Hire?
Credit hire is the temporary provision of a replacement vehicle whilst your own is off the road following an accident which was not
your fault. You will sign a credit hire agreement when your replacement vehicle is provided. The commercial daily hire rate we are
charging for the provision of the vehicle is shown on this agreement. By signing this agreement, you accept that you are responsible
for the payment of these charges and that you are in need of the credit hire vehicle; but as our services have been provided to you
following an accident that we have accepted you are not negligent for, all charges will be submitted directly to the at fault insurer
on your behalf.
Fixed Penalties / Fines / Tolls / Damages / Fuel
During the period the replacement vehicle is in your custody and control. You are responsible for any fixed penalties, fines, tolls or
similar charges that you would ordinarily pay on your own vehicle. We ask that you pay for any tolls in advance as you normally
would or at least within the required grace periods sometimes offered. Should we receive fines and fixed penalties or other similar
charges these will be passed onto you as the hirer for payment. Lane credit hire or our suppliers may choose to pay such fines and charges
immediately to prevent charges increasing. This does not remove your right to appeal. Appeals should be submitted to Magna for
consideration.
Please check your vehicle upon delivery for any damage already present on the vehicle and note on any delivery sheets. We want
you to be happy with your vehicle and feel that it is suitable for you. If you notice any damage that you feel has not been noted on
the damage sheets then please do inform us as early as you can.
Vehicles should be returned with the same amount of fuel that they were delivered with. If the fuel is short on collection then you
will be charged for this fuel at a higher than retail cost. Administration charges for handling and processing will be added to any
fines etc. As these may be charged by our supplies we may have no control over the above, and you will be charged at cost.
What if I have a problem with my hire vehicle?
Lane credit hire will at all times aim to provide a suitable vehicle to you. If there is a problem with your vehicle suitability or you are
unfortunate enough to suffer a mechanical problem then please do let us know as soon as you can. You will have paperwork with a
contact number provided by us or our supplier at the time of delivery that you can use should you break down or need assistance
with the vehicle out of hours due to a mechanical breakdown or accident.
What Happens if I have a Personal Injury
It is important that we are made aware of any other companies or solicitors who are acting for you so that we can make them aware
of our involvement in your claim. It is essential that we work together and that no one party does something to prejudice any other
aspect of your claim.
Can I claim other losses?
In some cases, you may already have a representative acting for you such as a solicitor, legal expense company or nominated
uninsured loss recovery agent (ULR). You are entitled to recover any unavoidable losses which you incur as a result of your accident
but are not covered by your own insurance policy. They need to be evidenced and be shown to be directly attributable to the at
fault parties negligenceIn some cases, you may already have a representative acting for you such as a solicitor, legal expense company or nominated
uninsured loss recovery agent (ULR). You are entitled to recover any unavoidable losses which you incur as a result of your accident
but are not covered by your own insurance policy. They need to be evidenced and be shown to be directly attributable to the at
fault parties negligence
What is Credit Repair?
Credit Repair provides a solution to enable people involved in road accidents where they were not at fault to promptly fund the
repairs to their vehicles. You will not need to pay your insurance excess, as you are not claiming on your insurance policy. You will
need to sign a credit repair agreement authorising ourselves or our repair network to pay the costs of the repairs. By signing this
agreement you accept that you are responsible for the payment of these charges, but as our services have been provided to you
following an accident that we have accepted you are not negligent for, all charges will be submitted to the at fault insurer on your
behalf.
What are my responsibilities?
We ask that you tell the truth and help us to prove that you were not at fault for the accident. We know that sometimes it seems as
though we are asking you a lot of questions and requesting evidence from you, but we are doing this so that we can defend your
claim against the other driver. Road accidents can be complicated, and it is not always straight forward who the negligent party is.
The services we provide to you are on the basis that you are not at fault for the accident, and it is your duty to co-operate and assist
us throughout your claim and until all charges and uninsured losses are recovered.
As the vehicle provided to you incurs a daily hire charge, it is very important that the replacement vehicle provided is necessary. We
can only provide a replacement vehicle to you if it is definitely required, and the insurer may request evidence it has been used. So,
we just ask that you let us know if your temporary replacement vehicle is no longer required. If you are going on holiday and plan to
leave the car at the airport, then we must know about this. Please just keep us informed of anything that changes in your
circumstances.
Sometimes insurers do ask for more information to validate your claim. Although this does not happen in every case, you must cooperate and provide the information requested. If we are able to answer any questions insurers may have and provide clear and
honest evidence then this will put us in the best position to reach a quick settlement.
What type of vehicle will I receive?
A vehicle of the same class as your own. If your vehicle has any adaptations, is a licensed taxi or is of a specialist nature, then an
appropriate comparable vehicle will be provided.
How do I get a vehicle and what happens next?
Following instructions we will contact you to run through the details of your claim. Please understand that at this point it is the first
time we have seen your claim and you may need to go over information already provided to other parties. Our dedicated claims
handlers will make you aware of the services we can provide to you. During our initial calls we will discuss the claim itself and the
circumstances surrounding the incident, as well as any evidence you may have such as witnesses, camera footage, or images from
the scene. . Images of damage can help our repair network understand the damage on your vehicle, but
they can also help us understand and evidence if your vehicle is unroadworthy to enable us to authorise immediate hire.
Once we are happy that the other driver is responsible, we will authorise services to you. We understand that if your vehicle is
unroadworthy you need to know quickly if we can provide you with a replacement vehicle. This process does not normally take long
and we try to keep you informed throughout; however, should you wish to contact us please feel free to do so. If necessary, we will
instruct a repairer to contact you to conduct an estimate or an engineer to inspect your vehicle to assess the amount of damage
caused.
VAT
If you are VAT Registered, then you will be responsible for payment of the VAT incurred on the hire and any associated services such
as repairs. This should be claimed back through your tax return in the usual way. This is not something insurers will pay if you are
able to claim VAT back via HMRC. Any VAT due will be immediately payable. VAT on repairs can be paid to the repairer in most cases
upon completion of repairs.
What if I want to complain?
We aim for the highest standards of customer service. If you have any complaints, we will do all that we can to resolve them.
Please contact us immediately via the contact details given below. We have a complaints handling policy, and we will supply this to
you immediately upon request.
