some guy hit my bumper at work
Discussion
Not that bad, but I'm still interested in opinions of what will be required to sort this out. Some of the scratches are primer deep, so IMO it will need a respray. Do you agree? If so, any ideas of a ballpark figure?
He handed his details in at the security hut beside the car park. It's also on camera. I now have his details and will be speaking to him later today (only happened yesterday at 4).
Hopefully he is reasonable (all signs thus far suggest he is) and agrees to pay to sort it.
If he doesn't, and I guess that depends on the quote, I'm not sure what the next step is regarding insurance, as I have never made a claim before. I think my voluntary excess is £250 anyway. Plus, I don't want my premiums to increase.
Thanks for the replies.
He said he would call past to talk to me but has sent me this text instead:
"To be honest I looked at your car and it's not bad at all. A good black t-cut and a good polish and a buff which I have experience at would take it out...I would like you to try and work with me on this. At the end of the day I did the right thing, I could of easily drove off."
My next move??
He said he would call past to talk to me but has sent me this text instead:
"To be honest I looked at your car and it's not bad at all. A good black t-cut and a good polish and a buff which I have experience at would take it out...I would like you to try and work with me on this. At the end of the day I did the right thing, I could of easily drove off."
My next move??
Of course that won't polish out! You could improve it a lot, but it wouldn't be like before. How can you replace missing paint?!
Get quote from one or two body shops then tell him your choice cash or insurance. If cash take it and agree that's that.
If insurance ideally get his insurance details & policy number, then phone up your company and give the details to them and they will arrange repair & claim back off his (You don't need his insurance details though). You'll pay your excess and be able to claim that back too. In the interim you'll lose your NCB and have a fault claim - but once settled this disappears.
Also remind him if he had drove off he would have been breaking the law, punishable by points / disqualification / court sentencing - he can't take a morale high ground here and that would properly piss me off.
Get quote from one or two body shops then tell him your choice cash or insurance. If cash take it and agree that's that.
If insurance ideally get his insurance details & policy number, then phone up your company and give the details to them and they will arrange repair & claim back off his (You don't need his insurance details though). You'll pay your excess and be able to claim that back too. In the interim you'll lose your NCB and have a fault claim - but once settled this disappears.
Also remind him if he had drove off he would have been breaking the law, punishable by points / disqualification / court sentencing - he can't take a morale high ground here and that would properly piss me off.
Calza said:
Of course that won't polish out! You could improve it a lot, but it wouldn't be like before.
Get quote from one or two body shops then tell him your choice cash or insurance. If cash take it and agree that's that.
If insurance ideally get his insurance details & policy number, then phone up your company and give the details to them and they will arrange repair & claim back off his (You don't need his insurance details though). You'll pay your excess and be able to claim that back too. In the interim you'll lose your NCB and have a fault claim - but once settled this disappears.
This, however the claim won't disappear. You'll still have to declare it, albeit it'll be a non-fault claim.Get quote from one or two body shops then tell him your choice cash or insurance. If cash take it and agree that's that.
If insurance ideally get his insurance details & policy number, then phone up your company and give the details to them and they will arrange repair & claim back off his (You don't need his insurance details though). You'll pay your excess and be able to claim that back too. In the interim you'll lose your NCB and have a fault claim - but once settled this disappears.
Sounds like he's getting cold feet. I wouldn't appreciate the tone of that text. At the end of the day he is the cause of the damage, and I'd want it restoring to how it was in the first place.
Tell him you will be getting quotes from the body shop of your choice and will be letting him know the costs, and tell him its that or his insurance company can cover it.
Tell him you will be getting quotes from the body shop of your choice and will be letting him know the costs, and tell him its that or his insurance company can cover it.
manmaths said:
Thanks for the replies.
He said he would call past to talk to me but has sent me this text instead:
"To be honest I looked at your car and it's not bad at all. A good black t-cut and a good polish and a buff which I have experience at would take it out...I would like you to try and work with me on this. At the end of the day I did the right thing, I could of easily drove off."
My next move??
A guy ran into the back of me in Sept, and let's just say the tone of communication was a lot more appreciative of my not being a dick about it than this text is.He said he would call past to talk to me but has sent me this text instead:
"To be honest I looked at your car and it's not bad at all. A good black t-cut and a good polish and a buff which I have experience at would take it out...I would like you to try and work with me on this. At the end of the day I did the right thing, I could of easily drove off."
My next move??
Hi, you need to progress it through your insurance and do it fast.
Unfortunately it's not difficult to tell where this will otherwise go.
The guy will do his best to get it back to normal and it won't be, it'll be rubbish. It will cost you time and money and much calling and texting believe me i have gone through it and it's no fun.
You pay insurance to deal with all of this, to mitigate your situation and get you back to where you were, use them.
it usually isn't as painful or difficult as you think but this guy who hit you is clearly on a different wavelength.
Unfortunately it's not difficult to tell where this will otherwise go.
The guy will do his best to get it back to normal and it won't be, it'll be rubbish. It will cost you time and money and much calling and texting believe me i have gone through it and it's no fun.
You pay insurance to deal with all of this, to mitigate your situation and get you back to where you were, use them.
it usually isn't as painful or difficult as you think but this guy who hit you is clearly on a different wavelength.
Read the note. He is doing "the right thing" because he believes he has been caught by the CCTV. He is telling you what a low life he actually is.
He will be reluctant and argumentative from beginning to end and will most likely dispute or even refuse to pay whatever final bill you arrive at.
Go through your insurers.
He will be reluctant and argumentative from beginning to end and will most likely dispute or even refuse to pay whatever final bill you arrive at.
Go through your insurers.
Edited by Prof Prolapse on Wednesday 25th February 12:43
Calza said:
Of course that won't polish out! You could improve it a lot, but it wouldn't be like before. How can you replace missing paint?!
Get quote from one or two body shops then tell him your choice cash or insurance. If cash take it and agree that's that.
If insurance ideally get his insurance details & policy number, then phone up your company and give the details to them and they will arrange repair & claim back off his (You don't need his insurance details though). You'll pay your excess and be able to claim that back too. In the interim you'll lose your NCB and have a fault claim - but once settled this disappears.
Also remind him if he had drove off he would have been breaking the law, punishable by points / disqualification / court sentencing - he can't take a morale high ground here and that would properly piss me off.
Yes I know - I laughed at that bit. His tone does not bode well. Get quote from one or two body shops then tell him your choice cash or insurance. If cash take it and agree that's that.
If insurance ideally get his insurance details & policy number, then phone up your company and give the details to them and they will arrange repair & claim back off his (You don't need his insurance details though). You'll pay your excess and be able to claim that back too. In the interim you'll lose your NCB and have a fault claim - but once settled this disappears.
Also remind him if he had drove off he would have been breaking the law, punishable by points / disqualification / court sentencing - he can't take a morale high ground here and that would properly piss me off.
Transiter said:
This, however the claim won't disappear. You'll still have to declare it, albeit it'll be a non-fault claim.
I'm fine with that as long as I don't see a hike in premium next year. It's been dropping steadily since I was 17, and 11 years later I am now paying £350. If it went up significantly it wouldn't be worth it. Spooge said:
Sounds like he's getting cold feet. I wouldn't appreciate the tone of that text. At the end of the day he is the cause of the damage, and I'd want it restoring to how it was in the first place.
Tell him you will be getting quotes from the body shop of your choice and will be letting him know the costs, and tell him its that or his insurance company can cover it.
Yes, totally agree with this. Tell him you will be getting quotes from the body shop of your choice and will be letting him know the costs, and tell him its that or his insurance company can cover it.
toasty said:
What's the rest of your car like? If it's pristine then by all means go for a full respray.
If it's a shed I'd take £50 for the inconvenience and take the T-cut option.
All IMHO, of course.
Totally understand what you are saying. It's a '08 Vectra so not exactly my P&J but I always take good care of my cars. Only picked it up a few weeks ago. Aside from some very light scratches and swirls (which WILL buff out) and one very small ding which I want pulled, it's mint. I was going to spend some time in the summer giving it a full detail with a DA polisher (that I don't own yet). If it's a shed I'd take £50 for the inconvenience and take the T-cut option.
All IMHO, of course.
So, I would like the bumper to be back to how it looked.
Ahimoth said:
A guy ran into the back of me in Sept, and let's just say the tone of communication was a lot more appreciative of my not being a dick about it than this text is.
Yes the tone did annoy me!Thankyou4calling said:
Hi, you need to progress it through your insurance and do it fast.
Unfortunately it's not difficult to tell where this will otherwise go.
The guy will do his best to get it back to normal and it won't be, it'll be rubbish. It will cost you time and money and much calling and texting believe me i have gone through it and it's no fun.
You pay insurance to deal with all of this, to mitigate your situation and get you back to where you were, use them.
it usually isn't as painful or difficult as you think but this guy who hit you is clearly on a different wavelength.
Unfortunately it's not difficult to tell where this will otherwise go.
The guy will do his best to get it back to normal and it won't be, it'll be rubbish. It will cost you time and money and much calling and texting believe me i have gone through it and it's no fun.
You pay insurance to deal with all of this, to mitigate your situation and get you back to where you were, use them.
it usually isn't as painful or difficult as you think but this guy who hit you is clearly on a different wavelength.
Prof Prolapse said:
Read the note. He is doing "the right thing" because he believes he has been caught by the CCTV. He is telling you what a low life he actually is.
He will be reluctant and argumentative from beginning to end and will most likely dispute or even refuse to pay whatever final bill you arrive at.
Go through your insurers.
Yes I think I will end up doing this. There's no way I would let him attempt a repair, and if he thinks T-Cut is an acceptable product then we are clearly on a different wavelength. He will be reluctant and argumentative from beginning to end and will most likely dispute or even refuse to pay whatever final bill you arrive at.
Go through your insurers.
Roo said:
£70 at the bodyshop I use to get that painted.
Ok cheers for the help.Prof Prolapse said:
ETA: Didn't realise your excess, and can't see the damage. It will be almost certainly less than £250 to repair though. You might have to do a deal with the devil.
Didn't see your edit. Like Calza said, can I claim my excess back?I have never made a claim before so not sure about how it works.
Ignore my edit I was having a senior moment.
Ask for his insurance information. Then tell your insurer, they'll guide you through it and as long as his story stays the same my understanding is you shouldn't have to pay anything as there is no claim against your policy.
The bodywork should be as it was before, not a "chips away" style repair job which you can always see and never lasts.
If he starts giving you the sob story and won't shut up, rather than enter into a debate just tell him it's a company car and your hands are tied.
Ask for his insurance information. Then tell your insurer, they'll guide you through it and as long as his story stays the same my understanding is you shouldn't have to pay anything as there is no claim against your policy.
The bodywork should be as it was before, not a "chips away" style repair job which you can always see and never lasts.
If he starts giving you the sob story and won't shut up, rather than enter into a debate just tell him it's a company car and your hands are tied.
Edited by Prof Prolapse on Wednesday 25th February 12:45
Personally, I wouldn't go through your own insurer due to the excess. Get his insurance details and go direct to his insurer - you can either get them from him or from your own insurer with his licence plate.
I had someone hit me, total claim was £500 and once again my insurance premium has gone done this year despite the no-fault claim 12 months ago.
I'd also make sure you get a copy of that CCTV before someone wipes it.
I had someone hit me, total claim was £500 and once again my insurance premium has gone done this year despite the no-fault claim 12 months ago.
I'd also make sure you get a copy of that CCTV before someone wipes it.
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