So angry... advice please... car accident!

[Gr44]

Ok, not very happy here!

Brought a new car about 2 weeks ago, love it to bits.

Left work early to goto the opticians, parked up in a college to get some information on part time courses before the appointment... I delibratly parked a little further away to get a space where there was a kerb on one side - as im paranoid about people opening doors etc onto my car.

When I pulled up a women was sitting in the car next to me, obviously waiting to go. It was an L reg mondeo... with loads of bumps/dents/scratches/marks/cracks on it... being super paranoid i decided to take her number plate before leaving incase i came back to find damage on my car... while i was ( discretly ) doing this her son comes out.

So thought I may as well wait for them to go and make sure nothing happens.....

Now, anyone with half a brain cell ( youll have to trust me here because im not drawing diagrams ) would have just pulled forward to the left and reversed out at an angle, or reversed straight and done a U turn.

No.

She decides to do THE most awkward thing possible, she misses the side of my car by an inch, maybe. because of this when she was coming forward towards it i though i would help her to ensure she wouldnt hit it... so made the hand gesture to come closer, then stop. she didnt stop... 2 inches left... still going... i shouted stop and put my hand up closer to her... BANG... straight into the back of my car.

Now the damage isn't a huge amount to be honest, but having brought the car 2weeks ago wasn't happy. Had I have come back to the car I woundl't have even noticed the damage... its a tiny scratch ( amazing... the bumper bent alot )

I told her to park up so we could get details.

So she parks up, gets out of the car... and the son. they are the two MOST GORMLESS people you will EVER meet. I've seen more intelligence in a 5 year old, both had lost the will to live many years ago by the sound of them.

The women, wearing an asda uniform, is saying something along the lines of:

Oh, well its only abit of paint.... its come off ( while wiping my bumper ) I told her there was a scratch and it needed to be fixed. she said you can hardly see it... what do you want to do about it?

While the 19/20 year old kid is saying:

Oh, I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of it... you can hardly see it, what does it matter? I'm hungrey... can't we go home, for gods sake abit of turtle wax would get that out. etc.

Now, having just spent a SHED load of money on a new car, and paying stupidly high insurance ( being 18 ) I'm not atall happy someone has just hit it, espically when I'm the highest risk of driver, driving an insurance group 12 car. Her, being about 40 - is probably right at the bottom risk wise driving and insurance group 5-6 car... and shes the muppet who hit me, and didn't even notice until I told her.

Anyway, took down her number, address and name.

On the way back from the opticians i stopped off at my local garage and got a quote.... 60-70 quid.

Phoned them up and told them it would be about 70 quid ish, I would get a quote and let them see it.

They want to go through their insurance... I said to them the excess would be more than the damage, but he said whats the point in paying insurance for all these years and not use it.

Now... if it goes through insurance - would i get done? since i was trying to be a good guy and help her out of the space without causing an accident, and just rolled forward and hit my car ?

I don't want to lose my 1 year NCB plus the part of my 2nd over 70 quids worth of damage... which wasn't even my fault!

The only details they currently have are my name and mobile number... he requested my insurance details which I told him I would get for him tomorrow as they are at work ( they are ). he doesnt have my registration plate either.

Advice, please?

[TeePee]

Do you have their insurance companies details? Ring them up, tell them you've been hit by a policy holder, that you've had a quote, and the policy holder has directed you to deal with them. They may well try to get you to use their garage etc, but thats optional.

She hit a parked car, you can't get done!

[Gr44]

Yeah but if I was telling her to come forward....

All I'm saying is for the sake of 70 quid I don't want to lose my NCB, if I did I couldn't afford the car and would have to sell it... would end up costing me thousands.

But I don't suppose I can stop it now if he has told his insurance company like he says...

Bah, wish I just hadent bothered saying anything

[Ant]

She hit you whilst you were parked up, so you shouldn't lose your NCB at all... She should though. Any excesses you pay, you should get back once your insurance has claimed it all back from their insurance company. You could always ring your insurance company and ask their opinion on the matter.

A similar thing happened to me a while back (See here.) I was just parked up, and got hit. In the end, I didn't lose my NCB, and I got the excess I paid back.

I think you should get the insurance involved. They sound like the kind of people who could give you a lot of hassle... Let the insurance company put up with that. Thats what you pay them for.

Still, sorry it happened to you mate, I know exactly how you feel. Its not nice.

Ant

[Agent]

Ill admit before I say anything that I know jack on issues such as this, but wouldn’t telling her to come back fall under controlling the traffic?
I know you can fail your test for flashing your lights at someone to let them go, I don’t know if this falls under the same kind of thing?

[Ant]

I Ill admit before I say anything that I know jack on issues such as this, but wouldn’t telling her to come back fall under controlling the traffic?
I know you can fail your test for flashing your lights at someone to let them go, I don’t know if this falls under the same kind of thing?

Hmmm, I agree with what you're saying, but at the same time, its the driver's responsibilty to be in control of his/her car. She should be using her own judgment to decide when to stop, whether you were there trying to help or not. So I don't think that should matter. Well, thats how I would have thought it should be. I may be totally wrong.

Ant

[davidstone28]

1. Have you taken photos of the damage? If not, do so now.
2. Photo's of the crash scene? Diagram of the manoeuvre?
3. Do you know the name of her insurance company?
4. Do you have details of her car inc reg number etc?
5. 2 x Quotations for repair work ?

Once you've got all that in order:-

1. Write to her setting out the details of the claim, when happened, how it happened etc Mention to her that she said she wanted to claim through her insurers etc. Include 2 x different quotations for the work. Invite to her pay for the damage within 14 days.

2. If you don't here from her within 14 days, write to her insurance company.

3. If you don't have insurance details, you'll have to get heavy handed and write to her again, this time mentioning Court proceedings etc. Before you do that it would be sensible to see if you can get some tacit admission from her in correspondence that the incident occurred.

4. You are under no obligation to provide your insurance details.

5. Any correspondence that you send will potentially be seen by others eg. insurers, Courts etc. Best to reign in any emotion, stay 'professional' and objective and stick to the facts.

[5lab]

you wont loose your ncb. for starters, if it comes to a point where it gets to that, you can just drop everything and pay out of your own pocket. if you'd directed her into the car you'd have no defence, as it is i cant see what you've done wrong..

[Nemeliza]

i share your pain, i am still waiting for a result on an insurance claim i have for someone who wrongly pulled out on a mini roundabout(failing to give way to traffic on the right)...3 months ago! For my claim i only needed 2 quotes if the damage exceeded £500

To my knowledge if your car was parked and you werent even in it at the time, i dont see how your insurance company can blame you for the accident. now for the sake of a £70 quid quote it would be silly for her insurers or her for that fact to waste even more money on a seemingly futile fight.

For what its worth, one thing i learned is that you cant go blaming yourself for the actions of other drivers.
oh and should anything car accident related happen, whip out your camera fone and get snap happy....can save alot of time!

Also dont forget that if you are paying for legal cover, ask their advice on how to proceed.