Credit Hire Update

Caselaw on credit hire of vehicles following road traffic accidents continues to evolve. In the recent case of ALEXANDER GREENLEES v ALLIANZ INSURANCE PLC – http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2011CSOH173.html - the defender argued for the dismissal of the whole claim on the basis that the driver had not acted reasonably in failing to read and understand the credit hire agreement. This argument failed in the Outer House of the Court of Session and charges were recovered. The case is a dense read but gives good guidance on how the courts are approaching these claims – here to curtail the number of days hire claimed to what was reasonable in the circumstances and then to average out rates when looking at the applicable “spot rate”.