Advice reqd. Missus car bashed by numpty
Discussion
Just had a phone call from the missus. Very upset. Some muppet in a car park has let the wind catch his door and bashed her car. Thing is she was there at the time and so confronted him asking for details. He apparently told her to do one basically. She on her way home now. I told her to just stay calmn concentrate on getting home safe and well worry about the rest once she's home. She reckons she managed to get a rubbish pic of the car and elements of the reg. I don't hold out much hope given her photography skills but I've not seen the pic yet.
I'm as pragmatic as can be but still bloody annoying isn't it. The fact he was caught in the act and just told her to p
s off basically. I'm prepared to suck it up. But never know. Any good advice? Assuming the pic is good enough to identify. Would the old bill really be interested/ be able to do anything/ have the time or inclination? Does a carpark ding count in the same way as a road accident wrt refusing to give details?
Grates to let the bugger just get sea with it Scott free!
Appreciate any useful advice. I expect it to be tough luck though.
I'm as pragmatic as can be but still bloody annoying isn't it. The fact he was caught in the act and just told her to p
s off basically. I'm prepared to suck it up. But never know. Any good advice? Assuming the pic is good enough to identify. Would the old bill really be interested/ be able to do anything/ have the time or inclination? Does a carpark ding count in the same way as a road accident wrt refusing to give details? Grates to let the bugger just get sea with it Scott free!
Appreciate any useful advice. I expect it to be tough luck though.
She's back. Floods of tears. A photo of a fuzzy red blob disappearing down the road, very partial reg. She thinks he was pissed. This was a pub/ community hall car park her description to me suggests he was surprised and concerned by being confronted, then basically told her to bugger off once he realised she wasn't a threat. . She's blaming herself poor lass. I should have left earlier, I should have concentrated on his full reg. Etc etc. It's a nasty looking scab on the car. But at least she's home safe. Kudos for her confronting the guy I suppose. Shame he was a tt.
Il get me wallet out.
t. Il get me wallet out.
mini me said:
She's back. Floods of tears. A photo of a fuzzy red blob disappearing down the road, very partial reg. She thinks he was pissed. This was a pub/ community hall car park her description to me suggests he was surprised and concerned by being confronted, then basically told her to bugger off once he realised she wasn't a threat. . She's blaming herself poor lass. I should have left earlier, I should have concentrated on his full reg. Etc etc. It's a nasty looking scab on the car. But at least she's home safe. Kudos for her confronting the guy I suppose. Shame he was a tt.
Il get me wallet out.
Speak to the pub/community hall and see if they have CCTV? You may be able to get his reg plate from that.t. Il get me wallet out.
Yeah I've already told her to ask the lady who runs the thing she was at. Realistically though. Even if the unimaginable happened and we got a reg no. Would anything really come of it? Seems unlikely doesn't it. Will try of course but what's a bstard. I can't imagine it will actually cost much to sort tbh but argh. Principle. Doesn't make any difference though does it.
Definitely a clio. 2001 - 2005 (I think that is when this version was made) reg not the campus edition - Get the reg from the cctv if you can, report to your insurance who will hopefully look to subrogate their costs (Providing you get that reg) and then notify the police for driving off without providing details.
Hugo a Gogo said:
I'm not sure, but maybe the wind catching a door and bashing a car is classed as 'not his fault' as far as insurance goes, whatever you or I think of it
It is up to him to reinstate the op's vehicle to its original state - if he were not there that damage would not have taken place & therefore he is liable.I know this is easy to say with hindsight and being sat at my desk, not in shock / surprise at what just happened but isn't the best course of action to photograph everything *before* confronting anyone?
If they ask what you're photographing you can then "confront" them if they're not willingly helping by exchanging details.
If they ask what you're photographing you can then "confront" them if they're not willingly helping by exchanging details.
I guess at first you expect there to be some sort of dialogue. From the way she has described it, I'm not sure you or I would act any different and she is more annoyed with herself for spending the time to take a picture rather than concentrating on getting the whole reg number right now.
Apparently this happened as she approached her car. a proper whack and the damage ties up with that, it wasn't just a tap. The chap just shut his door looking straight at her with a look of shock on his face. She opened his door and said that he has just hit her car. his response was "what do you want me to do about it" she said she would need his details to go through insurance. His response "are you going to give me your details then?" to which she replied "yes of course the insurance will need them" he then said " yeah right that will cost a fortune" and drove off. I imagine as soon as he realised she wasn't a threat to him (petite young woman) he decided he was gonna just tell her to do one.
I imagine if it were a bloke maybe he wouldn't have acted the same. Who can tell though. Probably would have just given false details though.
Apparently this happened as she approached her car. a proper whack and the damage ties up with that, it wasn't just a tap. The chap just shut his door looking straight at her with a look of shock on his face. She opened his door and said that he has just hit her car. his response was "what do you want me to do about it" she said she would need his details to go through insurance. His response "are you going to give me your details then?" to which she replied "yes of course the insurance will need them" he then said " yeah right that will cost a fortune" and drove off. I imagine as soon as he realised she wasn't a threat to him (petite young woman) he decided he was gonna just tell her to do one.
I imagine if it were a bloke maybe he wouldn't have acted the same. Who can tell though. Probably would have just given false details though.
AyBee said:
Possible he parks in the carpark often? I'd pop back occasionally looking for a red Clio...
Thought had occurred, There is a pub nearby and not much of any other reason to be there so could be a regular. Wife is on to the community hall to try and ask about CCTV but is struggling to get through. Red Leader said:
I would also suggest she call the police as its "failure to stop and failure to provide". It will be her word against his unless there is CCTV or damage can corroborate I am afraid. Any witnesses?
Edit to add - Take pics of your damage as well before you try and repair.
No witnesses i'm afraid and with the part of reg she has (if its even correct) I doubt the police could do much really.Edit to add - Take pics of your damage as well before you try and repair.
She states EY05U2?
It cant be U2 obviously but i've looked up the range of EY05 UZ.... all BMWs or MINIs looks like a job lot of numbers used by a BMW franchise. Any advance on U2?
Rtype said:
Hugo a Gogo said:
I'm not sure, but maybe the wind catching a door and bashing a car is classed as 'not his fault' as far as insurance goes, whatever you or I think of it
It is up to him to reinstate the op's vehicle to its original state - if he were not there that damage would not have taken place & therefore he is liable.similar to a roof off a shed blowing away in the wind, if it wasn't badly maintained it's not your fault
not that I agree with it
This kind of incident can be hard to get insurance companies to take seriously.
Years ago I was driving along a busy A-road in Middlesbrough and the car in front's front wheel fell off. Not the tyre, the whole wheel. This left the car scraping along on it's brake disc, and the wheel bouncing along the road.
It looked like it was going to bounce past my car (I was slowing down obviously) but just as it got level, it bounced right on the edge of the tyre which projected it into the side of my car.
Left a bit of a dint, I pulled in behind the stopped car - it was a group of young lads on the way to a stag do. They apologised, we exchanged details, he said he worked as a window fitter in Leeds close to where I lived, and it sounded like it would all be sorted by insurance. The lads gathered up the lost wheel and fastened it back on with a borrowed bolt from each of the remaining wheels (alarm bells did ring at this point).
To cut a long story short, the driver never reported it to his insurance and never answered my calls. I did get it repaired through my insurance but they were useless dealing with my claim - 6 months later I received a letter saying it was going 50/50! I wrote an extremely snotty letter back with full details of their shoddiness and after some to-and-fro-ing (they claimed unless they could categorically prove there was negligence it would be 50/50, I argued wheels did not fall off without some negligence), they eventually agreed not to let it affect my no-claims (they did state the only reason they were doing this was the fact they'd dealt with it badly and I'd complained).
Years ago I was driving along a busy A-road in Middlesbrough and the car in front's front wheel fell off. Not the tyre, the whole wheel. This left the car scraping along on it's brake disc, and the wheel bouncing along the road.
It looked like it was going to bounce past my car (I was slowing down obviously) but just as it got level, it bounced right on the edge of the tyre which projected it into the side of my car.
Left a bit of a dint, I pulled in behind the stopped car - it was a group of young lads on the way to a stag do. They apologised, we exchanged details, he said he worked as a window fitter in Leeds close to where I lived, and it sounded like it would all be sorted by insurance. The lads gathered up the lost wheel and fastened it back on with a borrowed bolt from each of the remaining wheels (alarm bells did ring at this point).
To cut a long story short, the driver never reported it to his insurance and never answered my calls. I did get it repaired through my insurance but they were useless dealing with my claim - 6 months later I received a letter saying it was going 50/50! I wrote an extremely snotty letter back with full details of their shoddiness and after some to-and-fro-ing (they claimed unless they could categorically prove there was negligence it would be 50/50, I argued wheels did not fall off without some negligence), they eventually agreed not to let it affect my no-claims (they did state the only reason they were doing this was the fact they'd dealt with it badly and I'd complained).
Edited by shandyboy on Wednesday 18th November 11:19
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