Be careful when signing forms after a car accident

After a car accident, some businesses like repair shops, tow truck companies, hire car services or claims-handling companies, might ask you to sign forms quickly. These forms may have titles like: 

• ‘Instructions to Act’ 

• ‘Confirmation of Instruction’ 

• ‘Motor Vehicle Claims Instructions’ 

Sometimes the detail is written within the form. 

These forms might let one of these businesses hire a lawyer for you and even start a court case in your name without you knowing.  

You may also be told that if you don’t sign the form allowing a lawyer to start a court case for you, you’ll need to pay for services you were told would be free, like repairs, towing or hire car services.  

Some businesses may claim that your repairs will be free as you didn’t cause the accident and the costs will be recovered from the other driver. There’s no guarantee the other driver will pay, especially if they don’t have insurance. If the business can’t recover the cost, you might have to pay for the repairs, and legal fees, yourself. 

This can lead to big bills, including legal bills, delays to repairing your vehicle, or even problems getting your vehicle back (known as ‘car-napping’) — and a lot of stress for you.  

Remember: Always read and understand any form before signing it. 

If you need help to understand a form, ask for a copy of it and seek help from a trusted friend, translator, support worker, or community legal centre before signing it.  

If you have car insurance

If you have car insurance, call your insurer as soon as possible after the car accident — before you arrange repairs or other services.  

They will be able to advise you how they can help and what to do next.  

Here are some other things you can do to protect yourself:    

• Read your insurance policy to see what’s covered. You’ll often find this information in the ‘Product Disclosure Statement’. 

• If you make a claim and it’s accepted, your insurer will usually handle everything, including hiring a lawyer if needed. Contact your insurance for an explanation of how they will manage your claim.  

• If a lawyer contacts you, check with your insurer to make sure your insurer has hired them for you and not the other driver. 

What a lawyer should do

Before you hire a lawyer, they should: 

• Meet with you and explain what they’ll do and how much it will cost.  

• Give you a written ‘Costs Disclosure’ if the cost of their services is over $750, (excluding GST and any other costs the lawyer will have to pay to others in helping you (also known as ‘disbursements’).   

• Tell you if they have a ‘conflict of interest’ with one or more of the people or businesses involved in the issue. This may affect their ability to act in your best interests.  

If you accept the services of a lawyer, they should:  

• Tell you the name and contact details of the lawyer who will look after your issue.  

• Communicate with you regularly about how their work for you is going and tell you about any issues or disputes that arise.  

• Act in your best interests.  

• Take instructions from you — not from a claims business, motor vehicle repairer or any other person or business.  

• Attempt to resolve the issue by writing to the other driver and/or their insurer, before recommending going to court. 

• Advise you of the likelihood of you winning your case in court, the risks of going to court (including costs to you), and other ways the issue could be resolved. 

• Seek your written consent before starting a court case or agreeing to a financial settlement.  

• Stop any action on your behalf if you decide not to use their services. It is best to confirm this in writing, such as by sending them an email. 

• Only use money they receive for you (called 'trust money') the way you say. 

• Give you a statement showing where your money went. 

Remember: Even if your case seems strong, you might still lose in court. If that happens, you could have to pay your own legal costs and the other driver’s costs too. 

Watch: Understanding the risks of ‘free’ services offered after a motor vehicle accident 

In this video, our CEO and Commissioner, Fiona McLeay and Principal Advisory Lawyer and Investigator, Rex Punshon discuss the concerning practice of businesses offering people ‘no cost’ or ‘free’ services after a motor vehicle accident — sometimes resulting in legal cases being started without consent.   

This video explains what to look out for, how to protect yourself, and will help you to make more informed decisions after being involved in a motor vehicle accident. 

What our role is 

As the regulator of legal services in Victoria, we receive complaints about lawyers.

We are receiving an increasing number of complaints about lawyers who deal with motor vehicle accident claims.  

We welcome these complaints. They help us know how lawyers are working in this area, and support lawyers to do better where they are not meeting their professional and ethical obligations.  

When we receive a complaint about a lawyer, we will assess it to see whether we can take any action in that case.  

In some cases, we may be able to help resolve the dispute between you and your lawyer, by offering mediation, or by making a determination requiring the lawyer to reduce their bill, apologise, or pay you money.  

We may also decide to investigate whether the lawyer has breached their professional and ethical obligations. If we think that the lawyer has breached their obligations, we may take action against them to protect the public. 

We have published information for lawyers reminding them of their obligations when dealing with motor vehicle accident claims.  

Where to get help

Contact us if a lawyer is: 

• acting without your permission  

• claiming to be acting with your permission because you signed a form  

• making you concerned about how the lawyer is handling your issue.  

How to contact us: 

• Use our online enquiry form 

• Email us: consumerenquiry@lsbc.vic.gov.au  

• Phone: 03 9679 8001 

Read more about our complaint process  

Other places you can get help  

• Your local community legal centre may be able to assist you. Find your closest community legal centre online.  

• The Magistrates’ Court of Victoria can tell you whether a court case has been started in your name, the stage the case is in, and the name of the lawyer acting on your behalf. You can also search for a case in the Magistrates’ Court’s online directory.  

• If a repair shop or claims business is causing problems for you, contact Consumer Affairs Victoria.  

• For general advice on what to do after a motor vehicle accident, visit the Victoria Legal Aid website. 

Download this fact sheet  

To download this fact sheet as a PDF document, click on the 'Print' icon on the right of the page.