One sleepless night is enough—I don’t want it to be two.

Cammomile tea before bed an help. It's not surprising you're feeling upset and stressed, who wouldn't be, gabble out what happened as often as you need to until you get bored of hearing about it, even phone the samaritans and tell them if you need too, you just need to get the shock out of your system.

I think it's very unfair that you're being punished by hire car companies that the lorry that hit you was stolen, is there any official body you can complain too? Or write to a newspaper or local radio consumer collumn and tell them about it and about how you keep being cut off by the insureance companies. I often think they only have one person for claims, but funny how when they want you to buy something they can always pick up the phone? 

Honestly I think car insurance is more like a tax, you have to have it, but as you're finding out, they rarely seem to want to keep their end of the deal.

I hope you have a better nights sleep, at night I often tell myself there's nothing to be done until morning and that I can switch off now, sometimes it even works!

I tried camomile tea decades ago, but couldn’t tolerate the taste. I will give it a go again and maybe I could add something to improve the flavour. I will try anything that might help.

TheCatWoman said:

I think it's very unfair that you're being punished by hire car companies that the lorry that hit you was stolen, is there any official body you can complain too? Or

I didn’t word my original post well, but you are right that (according to my policy) I shouldn’t have had to be without a hire car for so long. 

My policy allows a replacement small, basic car, no matter who was at fault in an accident. If it is obvious the accident was the other person’s fault, my policy allows me to have a ‘like for like’ hire car, at no cost to myself, and the insurers claim the extra costs off the other person’s insurers. 

Communication was slow between insurance departments, and they didn’t liaise effectively with the car rental firm and the police. There was also a communication issue between the police and the person in charge of the huge company that owns many lorries and their own insurance company. My insurers refused to formally accept the police and witness statements detailing the lorry registration until it was official through the other person’s insurance, and that wasn’t immediate because the lorry didn’t stop. It was only when the manager of the lorry company admitted liability and provided their insurance, that my insurance would  accept that it was not my fault. By then it was after 6:00pm yesterday (Friday), and their department that authorises a like for like car had closed for the weekend. It was of absolutely no consequence to these people that I spent the whole time worrying that I wouldn’t get my costs back if the lorry had been stolen. 

It still remains that my insurance was unable to provide me with any car within a reasonable time, mainly due to their atrocious telephone handling system and poor communication with the car rental firm and with me. The rental firm has since told me that they provide a car immediately, only if they have one available, which they didn’t until today. 

My insurance company was “Which Magazine” recommended or best buy, but I certainly cannot recommend them after my experience. I am going to contact “Which” about this. When I am in a better frame of mind to think coherently, I will go over the small print of my insurance policy to see if they have disclaimers about the timescale of supplying rental cars. I am definitely going to share this dreadful experience through the media. It is important people are aware that as a minimum, this particular insurance company is a nightmare to deal with. I didn’t want to name them here as it could be against the rules, but I don’t think it would be a problem in the wider media. 

Customer service is a thing of the past when it comes to many insurance companies. I am disgusted by the whole experience of people saying they will ring me at a particular time when they don’t mean it. 

I tried camomile tea decades ago, but couldn’t tolerate the taste. I will give it a go again and maybe I could add something to improve the flavour. I will try anything that might help.

TheCatWoman said:

I think it's very unfair that you're being punished by hire car companies that the lorry that hit you was stolen, is there any official body you can complain too? Or

I didn’t word my original post well, but you are right that (according to my policy) I shouldn’t have had to be without a hire car for so long. 

My policy allows a replacement small, basic car, no matter who was at fault in an accident. If it is obvious the accident was the other person’s fault, my policy allows me to have a ‘like for like’ hire car, at no cost to myself, and the insurers claim the extra costs off the other person’s insurers. 

Communication was slow between insurance departments, and they didn’t liaise effectively with the car rental firm and the police. There was also a communication issue between the police and the person in charge of the huge company that owns many lorries and their own insurance company. My insurers refused to formally accept the police and witness statements detailing the lorry registration until it was official through the other person’s insurance, and that wasn’t immediate because the lorry didn’t stop. It was only when the manager of the lorry company admitted liability and provided their insurance, that my insurance would  accept that it was not my fault. By then it was after 6:00pm yesterday (Friday), and their department that authorises a like for like car had closed for the weekend. It was of absolutely no consequence to these people that I spent the whole time worrying that I wouldn’t get my costs back if the lorry had been stolen. 

It still remains that my insurance was unable to provide me with any car within a reasonable time, mainly due to their atrocious telephone handling system and poor communication with the car rental firm and with me. The rental firm has since told me that they provide a car immediately, only if they have one available, which they didn’t until today. 

My insurance company was “Which Magazine” recommended or best buy, but I certainly cannot recommend them after my experience. I am going to contact “Which” about this. When I am in a better frame of mind to think coherently, I will go over the small print of my insurance policy to see if they have disclaimers about the timescale of supplying rental cars. I am definitely going to share this dreadful experience through the media. It is important people are aware that as a minimum, this particular insurance company is a nightmare to deal with. I didn’t want to name them here as it could be against the rules, but I don’t think it would be a problem in the wider media. 

Customer service is a thing of the past when it comes to many insurance companies. I am disgusted by the whole experience of people saying they will ring me at a particular time when they don’t mean it. 

You just have to remember it's medicine and you're not supposed to like it!

That’s good advice, thanks! 

Regarding herbal tea, I will definitely try to get it down as quickly as possible. I can procrastinate over many things, but sipping foul tasting teas is not my style—no point in prolonging the torture.

My friend had his car wrtten off when he was hit by a bread lorry that didn't stop as he was joining a motor way in very bad weather. The insurance company paid up quickly and were really good about it. What wasn't so good however was a few months later he got a letter from Manchester police informing him that he was being prosecuted for not stopping and dangerous driving, he challenged them and told them that they had a crew at an accident a few yards up the road who could confirm the conditions and that the accident had been recorded on cctv and that he was cleared at the time, he never heard anything back. So just be aware that these things can pop up weeks or months later by police forces on a fishing expidition for fines, keep all you documents relating to the accident and the names of the officers you dealt with, so as you can rid yourself of any of that sort of nonsense.

With herbal teas I don't like the taste of, but need medicinally I leave the bag in the cup and wait for it to get cool enough to just neck it back so fast I barely taste it.