So I worked as a delivery driver Fridays because I had some free time. One week I had a small accident with a truck and called my boss and he said 'dont worry about it i have insurance'. I quit that day and 6 months later I have a bill in the mail for $17k of damages. Apparently he sold the business and is trying to dump me with the bill. Do I have any options or should I just pay up.
BTW I am a uni student who doesnt have 17k
What does set it right mean?
What does set it right mean
It's just this forums version of *autistic screeching*
ThE rIGhT tHiNg tO dO iS SeT iT rIGhT.
Who owned the car you were driving?
Not your problem. Do not respond unless you receive a summons to court. Watch your credit rating for false claims of debt.
call some mates and go down to his place to ''discuss''.
If you need bodies, let me know :)
the bikies are finally on ozbargain…
Username does not check out.
Winning in a Charlie Sheen type of way… lol
lol, you beat me to it - was my first thought!
When you talked with
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/
about this, what did they say?
(Please don't say they said ask OzB)
This is the best option. Go to them and work out what liabilities you have. None of use, here, know what contract you were employed under so we don't know if you were an employee, and independent contractor, etc. Take all your paperwork and organise a meeting before you do anything.
From the info it is presumed OP was an 'employee' not an 'independent contractor' for this business. Hopefully this was employed legally with employment paperwork + super etc under an employment arrangement (not via an invoice from OP). Regardless, if OP was told what to do, how to do it, mainly just worked for this business as a delivery driver and not many others, used the employer's truck/equipment, weren't allowed to subcontract to another person - chances are they were a deemed employee.
As a general rule, as an employee, doing what they were asked to do by an employer (i.e. if driving the vehicle and place delivering for them which was authorised as part of employment), but had a accident - the employee is not liable to pay. The employer has 'vicarious liability' for employees actions. There are some exceptions, if the employer was deliberately negligent (drink driving, on phone, deliberately crashing etc), broke specific rules laid out for them (e.g. employer told you not to drive it, etc), or possibly if using the vehicle for personal reasons, the employee may be liable.
Furthermore, there may be some sort of arrangement like in an employment contract the employee agrees to pay something in such event, or a company policy communicated prior - however this is usually just insurance 'excess' of like $1500 or less - (that was my employer's policy where employees were at fault in an accident only).
If the employer had insurance, they are not out of pocket $17K, so there are no damages to claim other than excess - Hopefully OP provided the necessary details to allow an insurance claim and assist. It was not a good idea to quit on the day of this and leave them to deal with the mess unless it was an amicable resignation - OP would have been better being fired.
It may be interesting to note, if legitimately injured, some employees even go the complete opposite and lodge a worker's compensation claim for being injured in the accident, which gets them compensation for the injuries which happened during the course of their employment (presuming it caused medical expenses, time off work and financial loss and there are medical records of this)!
Finally, I am not a lawyer, seek legal advice to confirm, OP could be in a spot of trouble.
Google it, make sure results are Australian, there is plenty of good information on this e.g. if in NSW this is the page you need -
http://www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au/Pages/representing/lawassist…
If the employer had insurance, they are not out of pocket $17K, so there are no damages to claim other than excess
Some businesses will only have insurance for damages in excess of a significant value and ‘self insure’ for values below. It saves a lot in insurance premiums. I worked for a large company that had a $20k min for claims. Seems unlikely for a small firm though as $20k min carries a lot of risk.
Who has sent you the bill?
I'm not sure scammed is correct here..
You damaged the vehicle
Boss said insurance will handle it
<6 months of unknown circumstances>
Boss wants to recuperate damages.
It's likely that insurance won't pay out, and now they're seeking the repair costs from the person who caused the damages.
Now comes the tricky part, which I can't really assist without more information. Who sent the letter? You'll need to look up whether your employment contract stated you were liable for damages, and to what extent. As you were a delivery driver, I'm certain that'll be in it.
Edit: Nice quick fix on title, Baysew :)
you never received the bill if you know what i mean.
had a similar incident years ago i was driving a truck for which i required a MR licence for, the boss told me i'd be right on my normal car license.
anyway i had an accident with a prominent country and western star's son in a pretty expensive car.
i rang my boss to tell them and he spoke with the guy to sort it out.
anyways i had a call from the workplace insurance company asking me for my personal details to forward to the claim on to myself.
i refused to provide them any details and told them about the licence issue and that the company would take care of it.
never heard from them again, i did hear through some friends that the manager ended up losing his job and had to pay up the cost of the insurance claim.
Several questions need to be answered.
1) Are you an employee or an independent contractor? This matters.
2) Were you driving your car or a work car?
3) You say you had a small accident, is it a $17k accident?
I worked as a delivery driver Fridays because I had some free time.
This reads like off the books casual paid with cash.
Who's the bill from??
Employee = no pay
Independent contractor = you pay
Did you get paid per hour or per delivery?
How did you pay tax?
Don't about liability in the interim
Need more details about circumstances or your arrangement / employment.
It sounds like you were an employee as you didn't supply your own vehicle and you are not running a business where you offer delivery services for businesses or you offer to drive trucks for other businesses.
Why do members ask question then bugger off?
Debt collectors came for him?
Probably trolling us going by his other thread about becoming a barista
Just pay up, OP. You are too young for the jail. /$
I worked with him and i have no contract in my possession. I said i got scammed because since last month they have packed up and ditched all their factories. I got paid once in cash when i quit for 4 weeks of work. I was told not to worry about the damage, that they had insurance and they also told that to the man i had the car accident with and he told that to the company that sent me the bill.
When you say you 'worked with him', you haven't stated whether you were a contractor or casual employee. Did you pay tax?
Which company sent you the bill? The person you hit, their boss / insurance? If that's the case, I'd say that your boss forwarded them your details rather than him using his insurance. You can make a cross-claim against your employer.
In the end, your ex-boss would be the one liable (as owner of the vehicle and being your employer) which is called vicarious liability.
Have a read of Driving for work when you are an employee or independent contractor. Once again, you need to be transparent with your work agreement for specific help on your issue.
I suggest you speak to a lawyer, as OzBargain will not be able to offer you legal advice. I certainly wouldn't 'just pay up 17k' without talking to a lawyer.
Did you pay tax?
It's obvious that this work agreement was verbally set-up so that neither party pay tax. Cash in hand for 4 weeks work to reduce tax liability and possibly voiding to declare paid work to centrelink.
If there is no employment contract, then @winning101 is liable. - source
What's the bet someone is going to be renamed DisabledUser101 soon..
NOT a centrelink scam. He recorded my pay and said he was paying tax. Also i wasnt getting paid enough to void a centrelink payment schedule. My work agreement was that i signed some documents that he kept and it was also verbal.
I have spoken to a lawyer and he said that there is a very good chance that my ex boss will be able to avoid calls/emails/mail and so i will be left holding the bag.
So out of curiousity could i go on holiday for 6 months or hide my money by transferring it to my brothers bank account to avoid paying up like my ex boss or do i have zero options other than to pay the 17k?
Do you have any evidence that you were working like payslip, email or txt?
YES I have text message evidence i just think the only way out is finding my ex boss so how do i do that?
Hire a private investigator.
Explain the accident.
Whose vehicle were you driving?
Was it about accident with a truck that was your fault?
What is the $17,000 for? Damage to both vehicles or just the truck?
Whose vehicle were you driving? The vehicle was owned by the business i was working for.
Was it about accident with a truck that was your fault? They believe its my fault thats why there coming after me.
What is the $17,000 for? Damage to both vehicles or just the truck? Just the truck. These things are worth $140k thats why the damage is $17k
Thanks everyone for your responses
Any update on this?
whooah1979 on 17/11/2018 - 06:46 Comment score below threshold.
