This is a review of Helphire, if you have an car accident and it's not your fault you would really being doing yourself a favour by calling these people.
I had an accident last year, I was rear ended quite hard. I had sustained some pretty bad whiplash and my car was barely driveable. This happened to me once before and I remember the hassle I had with the other guy's insurance company, blood and stone are two words that come to mind. I had no car for 2 weeks and got nothing for my loss of earnings. When the car was eventually written-off I probably received a cheque for less than 70 percent of the real value.
I called my insurance company, (CIS this time) to see how they could help. I had a fully comprehensive policy and about 5 years no claims discount. I really didn't want to lose this over something that wasn't my fault. I asked them where I stood with my no claims discount, but they were unsure, they wouldn't say either way. They arranged collection of the car and took it to a local body shop.
The body shop said the damage was pretty bad, it could take weeks to fix and more bad news they didn't have a courtesy car for me. My work as an IT contractor means if I don't work I don't get paid. I'd lost one day and was £300 down already, there was no way for me to get to work on a train or a bus and It was looking like I'd have to hire a car myself this time.
While I was waiting I noticed some leaflets on the counter for a company called Helphire. The guy behind the counter recommended them, he said they could get me a car and give me all the help I needed and I wouldn't have to involve my insurance company at all (Apart from notifying them of the accident of course).
I called them straight away and within a few hours I had a brand new car delivered to my door. Helphire said they would also help me reclaim all of my out of pocket expenses.
What's the catch? They were so helpful I did start to wonder what they were going to get from this deal and what it would really cost me. They confirmed this over the phone; the only cost to me was £10, that was it. This was a legal insurance policy, which could be used if they lost the claim. Helphire only deal with 'no fault' accidents and mine was a pretty solid case as I was simply rear-ended.
Their main source of income seemed to be from renting their own cars out. The cost was high at about £50 / day for a Vauxhall Vectra. (I had the car 10 weeks in all). Their legal partners Walker Morris also fight for personal injury compensation for the most minor accidents and I'm sure they get some sort of commission for this.
So what did I get for my £10?
- 10 weeks free car hire - My own car fully repaired - All my lost earnings - Roughly 12 months later, I received a personal injury cheque for £1500
Getting £1500 for whiplash was the most impressive thing about all this. I didn't feel guilty about taking this money; after all no matter how well your car is repaired it's still an accident-damaged car. This obviously affects the value of the car and makes it a lot harder to sell.
I've heard the insurance companies hate this company and you can see why.
The Helphire Website: http://www.helphire.co.uk/flindex.htm Telephone: 0500 22 44 55
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