Someone reversed into my car - What do I do?
Discussion
Hi all, after some advice please as I'm at a bit of a loss as to what I should do in this situation.
I popped into a shop and heard a bit of a crash noise, came outside to see that someone had reversed straight into my car.
Damage to my car is slightly minor, but still something I want addressed. Damage to his car was minimal, his car had impacted my car with the chrome strip of the bumper.
He said to take his number and he would pay me cash to fix the car, has not replied regarding the matter.
Insurance wise, there is no proof. There were witnesses, however, they were all of the same ethnicity as the person who crashed into me and were taking his side, the shop owner refused to share cctv with me.
Is this one I have to take on the chin? Can I possibly do anything about it, I know it'll only cost a few hundred to get right but seems unfair that it must coe out of my pocket.
Damage to my car - most notably the chip on the right hand side which I imagine fell off due to the deflection from the impact:
Third parties car - note two breaks in the dirt/dust under the 5 of the number plate which line up with the area of impact on my car-
I popped into a shop and heard a bit of a crash noise, came outside to see that someone had reversed straight into my car.
Damage to my car is slightly minor, but still something I want addressed. Damage to his car was minimal, his car had impacted my car with the chrome strip of the bumper.
He said to take his number and he would pay me cash to fix the car, has not replied regarding the matter.
Insurance wise, there is no proof. There were witnesses, however, they were all of the same ethnicity as the person who crashed into me and were taking his side, the shop owner refused to share cctv with me.
Is this one I have to take on the chin? Can I possibly do anything about it, I know it'll only cost a few hundred to get right but seems unfair that it must coe out of my pocket.
Damage to my car - most notably the chip on the right hand side which I imagine fell off due to the deflection from the impact:
Third parties car - note two breaks in the dirt/dust under the 5 of the number plate which line up with the area of impact on my car-
How much is it going to cost to repair the damage and how much is your insurance excess?........ the answers to those questions might dictate your next steps.
How likely is the other driver to (i) Admit liability to his insurance company
(ii) Pay you anything towards the repair if you get it done outside of the insurance
I'd be inclined to start off by assuming the answer to both those questions is Not At All ..... you will then be pleasantly suprised if he does either.
Strictly speaking you should report this to your insurance company even if you don't make a claim (I've done this in the past and it hasn't affected my premium......but that doesn't mean this is always the case).
How likely is the other driver to (i) Admit liability to his insurance company
(ii) Pay you anything towards the repair if you get it done outside of the insurance
I'd be inclined to start off by assuming the answer to both those questions is Not At All ..... you will then be pleasantly suprised if he does either.
Strictly speaking you should report this to your insurance company even if you don't make a claim (I've done this in the past and it hasn't affected my premium......but that doesn't mean this is always the case).
Initial thoughts were that you being away from the car at the time of the incident was a big help; car is empty then the other driver can’t claim you drove into him, as many will do if they reverse into someone. However, if he can rustle up half a dozen readily available “witnesses” who may be prepared to give fraudulent accounts, that probably doesn’t really matter all that much. I’d get a smart repair, doesn’t sound worth the hassle to be honest.
It's up to you, but it shouldn't be a massive problem to recover the cost of repairs. You have his name and address, so what I would do in your situation is to get an estimate from a reputable repairer (no need to get more than one) and send him a copy, saying that you want him to pay within, say, 14 days, failing which you will send the estimate to his insurers.
He won't have reported it to his insurers, and won't want you to report him, so there's a good chance he'll just pay up.
If he doesn't, then follow up on your threat and send it to his insurers. As it's such a small claim there's a good chance they'll settle quickly.
Don't take any notice of people who say you can't claim as there were no witnesses. That's very common, and you're the only witness that's needed.
He won't have reported it to his insurers, and won't want you to report him, so there's a good chance he'll just pay up.
If he doesn't, then follow up on your threat and send it to his insurers. As it's such a small claim there's a good chance they'll settle quickly.
Don't take any notice of people who say you can't claim as there were no witnesses. That's very common, and you're the only witness that's needed.
Zeeky said:
And in the event the other witness - the other driver - claims the OP drove into the rear of his car how do you think the insurers would settle the dispute?
Cross that bridge if and when he comes to it. In practice, despite popular belief, the large majority of people don't lie about how an accident was caused. The other driver knows it was his fault, and will not want his insurers to find out about it, hence the threat to tell them will carry a lot of weight.
Agreed that most people do not lie but the 3rd party's behaviour, thus far, indicates he may well do.
The problem with the OP crossing that bridge when he comes to it is that at that point the insurers may have settled at 50:50 and the OP has a fault claim against him.
I'd be minded to make a claim but it certainly isn't a slam dunk.
The problem with the OP crossing that bridge when he comes to it is that at that point the insurers may have settled at 50:50 and the OP has a fault claim against him.
I'd be minded to make a claim but it certainly isn't a slam dunk.
Pro Bono said:
It's up to you, but it shouldn't be a massive problem to recover the cost of repairs. You have his name and address, so what I would do in your situation is to get an estimate from a reputable repairer (no need to get more than one) and send him a copy, saying that you want him to pay within, say, 14 days, failing which you will send the estimate to his insurers.
He won't have reported it to his insurers, and won't want you to report him, so there's a good chance he'll just pay up.
If he doesn't, then follow up on your threat and send it to his insurers. As it's such a small claim there's a good chance they'll settle quickly.
Don't take any notice of people who say you can't claim as there were no witnesses. That's very common, and you're the only witness that's needed.
Personally, I would get the quote, give it to third party and ask him to pay within 10 days or whatever, then just go ahead and get the repair done, ask again for reimbursement and if none is forthcoming, just drop itHe won't have reported it to his insurers, and won't want you to report him, so there's a good chance he'll just pay up.
If he doesn't, then follow up on your threat and send it to his insurers. As it's such a small claim there's a good chance they'll settle quickly.
Don't take any notice of people who say you can't claim as there were no witnesses. That's very common, and you're the only witness that's needed.
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