Legal Right
My kabayan who was just recently finished his contract & applying for a new job approached me if he can rent my vehicle for one week with no written agreement to look for a new job. As my countrymen I let him rented my car as a gesture of helping him to find a job the soonest. After a few days he had an accident & damaging my car very seriously. I got copy of the accident report secured from a traffic division. His licensed were confiscated to that effect. My question is, If he refuses to pay the damaged incurred due to the repair works, do i have the legal right to force him to pay the cost for the repair?
Dont push yourself too hard for the sitution, if you have insurance claim it to insurance, try to lessen the situation and dont waste time to file any case againts him since your hidden aggrement is not legal, talk to him gently & peacefully to participate with the repair of your Car.if you dont have full insurance try to find a good garage in industrial area, I know one garage there owned by your fellow countrymen.
you can not get anything from him if you go to court, as you mention you give him your car for Rent. its not legal here, so dont put your self in trouble.now you have to deal with your friend and let him pay, tell him you will bring him to police and lets see what he will do.
by the way, my answer is only address your your question on legality. i hope that you can settle this matter amicably and you will sort the money matters with this kabayan. you only wanted to extend your assistance to him and he should be thankful enough by showing his gentlemanly gestures.
sad to hear your story but you have no legal claim from this kabayan to assume the liability to your car. all for the fact that you are not a licensed rent-a-car company. even if (assuming) you have written agreement with him, you still cannot compel him because the agreement is not legally binding therefore he has no obligations to you nor to your car.
lending one's car for monetary consideration is illegal. in this situation though, a gentlemen's agreement sealed by a handshake and trust, must be honored (that's what we were taught isn't it?). it may not immediately be settled here in doha , but for sure, a different scenario can always be think about when both of you goes home in the philippines (that's inevitable of course). and by that time, i'm sure, unwritten rules may rule.
YES , you can take him to the court , he have to pay,,,,