minor damage caused by bus hitting parked car
Discussion
Hi All,
Hopefully short and sweet, I have already informed my insurance and I'm waiting for the bus company to get back to me.
Friday I took half a day off to pick my daughter up from school, end of her first week (primary) I arrived early, parked over the road, not on the pavement, not on double yellow lines, a perfectly legal parking space. Pick daughter up and nip into the shop for a treat. When I return to the car about to put my 7 month old in somebody tells me the bus has hit my car (and carried on, all of 30 yards thanks to the school rush).
Saw the damage quickly and ran after the bus, spoke to the driver who didn't know and didn't have anywhere to safely pull over. So I took his reg and bus ID and told him i would call the company and sort it out.
When speaking to them they took the details and said they would reply within 5 days. I did have a witness but didn't get his details, shouldn't be too hard to find if needed.
Damage is a minor scuff / dent on rear bumper and a dent/ripple where the bumper has pushed up into the quarter (it's tiny but i know it's there). The bus' blue paint is clearly on my rear bumper and the car was cleaned prior to her first day so not existing.
Bus struggled to get past my car as a guy parked opposite side of the road (blocking pavement and on double yellow lines) I'm not faulting the bus driver he was most likely looking for kids and I suspect it was the very end of his bus which brushed my car - although he did try to imply my car was a problem.
Have a feeling the bus company will try and brush me off as i told them I didn't have the witness details (but could get them) My insurance said they would happily peruse them as nobody was in the car at the time but they need the bus drivers name which I didn't get.
1) If the bus company refuse to play ball do they have to give me their drivers details (as he technically drove away - I did have to chase him)
2) It's <£500 worth of damage (and a hire car for the day it needs painting), if they don't play ball I would prefer to keep the insurance out and chase them through small claims court, hoping the threat of it will make them realise it's cheaper for them to just pay - is this a valid option or is insurance the only way (not bothered by the insurance just don't want hundreds of phone call's and excessive repair costs, I have protected no claims regardless) - My brother had similar damage with a rear bumper needing painting and the garage quoted / charged £1800 which was ridiculous
Hopefully short and sweet, I have already informed my insurance and I'm waiting for the bus company to get back to me.
Friday I took half a day off to pick my daughter up from school, end of her first week (primary) I arrived early, parked over the road, not on the pavement, not on double yellow lines, a perfectly legal parking space. Pick daughter up and nip into the shop for a treat. When I return to the car about to put my 7 month old in somebody tells me the bus has hit my car (and carried on, all of 30 yards thanks to the school rush).
Saw the damage quickly and ran after the bus, spoke to the driver who didn't know and didn't have anywhere to safely pull over. So I took his reg and bus ID and told him i would call the company and sort it out.
When speaking to them they took the details and said they would reply within 5 days. I did have a witness but didn't get his details, shouldn't be too hard to find if needed.
Damage is a minor scuff / dent on rear bumper and a dent/ripple where the bumper has pushed up into the quarter (it's tiny but i know it's there). The bus' blue paint is clearly on my rear bumper and the car was cleaned prior to her first day so not existing.
Bus struggled to get past my car as a guy parked opposite side of the road (blocking pavement and on double yellow lines) I'm not faulting the bus driver he was most likely looking for kids and I suspect it was the very end of his bus which brushed my car - although he did try to imply my car was a problem.
Have a feeling the bus company will try and brush me off as i told them I didn't have the witness details (but could get them) My insurance said they would happily peruse them as nobody was in the car at the time but they need the bus drivers name which I didn't get.
1) If the bus company refuse to play ball do they have to give me their drivers details (as he technically drove away - I did have to chase him)
2) It's <£500 worth of damage (and a hire car for the day it needs painting), if they don't play ball I would prefer to keep the insurance out and chase them through small claims court, hoping the threat of it will make them realise it's cheaper for them to just pay - is this a valid option or is insurance the only way (not bothered by the insurance just don't want hundreds of phone call's and excessive repair costs, I have protected no claims regardless) - My brother had similar damage with a rear bumper needing painting and the garage quoted / charged £1800 which was ridiculous
strain said:
I ... parked..., not on the pavement, not on double yellow lines, a perfectly legal parking space. ...nip into the shop for a treat. When I return to the car ... somebody tells me the bus has hit my car (and carried on, all of 30 yards thanks to the school rush).
Bus struggled to get past my car as a guy parked opposite side of the road...
Was that car there when you left your car?Bus struggled to get past my car as a guy parked opposite side of the road...
Bus companies are rarely reasonable about these sort of things (note I said rarely, not never).
My wife's car was hit by a bus in Southampton, while she was in it and stationary. She was in an outside lane of a main road and the bus came out from a side road to join the main road. There was no hatching on the road. Bus swung out wide and offside front corner of the bus impacted nearside front wheel and arch of her Fiesta. Arch dented cleanly, lower suspension components bent or broken and top mount bent.
Witnesses, well, wife plus one in the car and about 20 in the bus. Plus the other vehicles around and about, but they weren't needed.
Bus company tried to go 50:50. This was before Legal cover was commonplace and as a student she couldn't afford it anyway. So we argued with them and the best they came up with was 25:75.
My wife's car was hit by a bus in Southampton, while she was in it and stationary. She was in an outside lane of a main road and the bus came out from a side road to join the main road. There was no hatching on the road. Bus swung out wide and offside front corner of the bus impacted nearside front wheel and arch of her Fiesta. Arch dented cleanly, lower suspension components bent or broken and top mount bent.
Witnesses, well, wife plus one in the car and about 20 in the bus. Plus the other vehicles around and about, but they weren't needed.
Bus company tried to go 50:50. This was before Legal cover was commonplace and as a student she couldn't afford it anyway. So we argued with them and the best they came up with was 25:75.
Elneld said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Was that car there when you left your car?
Can I ask what that has to do with anything the OP has asked.Even if the other car WAS parked illegally...
Update,
Nothing back from the bus company but did have an accident management company call me (which I initially dodged 0844 number)
Turns out the bus company have instructed them to repair our car, sort hire car etc.
Happy days, going to call the bus company and double check everything is right but turns out its a lot less painful
Nothing back from the bus company but did have an accident management company call me (which I initially dodged 0844 number)
Turns out the bus company have instructed them to repair our car, sort hire car etc.
Happy days, going to call the bus company and double check everything is right but turns out its a lot less painful
TooMany2cvs said:
Because if two cars were parked opposite each other, restricting traffic flow, then do you not think the driver of the second car to be left should have thought a bit harder?
Even if the other car WAS parked illegally...
Doesn't give the bus permission to hit either car though, does it?Even if the other car WAS parked illegally...
Centurion07 said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Because if two cars were parked opposite each other, restricting traffic flow, then do you not think the driver of the second car to be left should have thought a bit harder?
Even if the other car WAS parked illegally...
Doesn't give the bus permission to hit either car though, does it?Even if the other car WAS parked illegally...
hornetrider said:
Elneld said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Was that car there when you left your car?
Can I ask what that has to do with anything the OP has asked.(I once got banned from a website for using the word 'throbber')
Osinjak said:
hornetrider said:
Elneld said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Was that car there when you left your car?
Can I ask what that has to do with anything the OP has asked.(I once got banned from a website for using the word 'throbber')
TooMany2cvs said:
Centurion07 said:
No good going "ohffs" when, as pointed out, your question about who parked there first is irrelevant to the fact the bus hit one of them.
Because, of course, it's so unpredictable that buses might be going past schools at kicking-out o'clock.That aside, what would you have posted had he said A) I parked there first or B) I parked there second, and how would either answer have helped him deal with the bus company?
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