hit and run, please help
Discussion
Parked my car in the Tesco car park, when I returned I did not notice it and went to get some petrol, after paying for petrol I noticed that I have a 4 foot long scratch running across both the doors on drivers side, was livid on this and went back to the car park, noticed the car next to where I was a vaxhaul corsa with the scratch at the similar high on the passenger side front bumper. Both my scratch and the scratch on the vaxhaul is very fresh. Obviously the owner of vaxhaul had made the scratch, no note on the car claiming responsibility or anything.
I had taken photos and registration numbers of my car showing the scratch and the vaxhaul.
Noticing me taking pictures another nice lady who came back after shopping said it is very bad people act this way and she is willing to provide witness but unfortunately she has not seen the deed in action but very convinced it is the vaxhual which made the said scratch. I have got her name and mobile phone number.
I decided to wait for the vaxhual owner, I met her when she showed up. On see me and my car she said "Did you hit my car oohhh!!", I politely said that it looks that her car has caused some damage to mine. She totally disowned any wrong doing, told that the scratch is 2 week old and she is not responsible about anything I am taking about and I was trying to use the system etc ..., essentially screamed at me and went away, totally not interested in any more discussion.
I am well positioned at the moment to spend to fix the problem. My insurance premium(over 1000 pounds) is already killing me even though I have 3 years NCD and a clean license.
I am afraid that if I report this it might further increase my premiums due to loss of NCD if the issues goes for a 50/50 settlement or if the vaxhaul owner is keen on not accepting the mistake.
I have attached both the phots of the my car and the vaxhaul.
Photo of the scratch to my car,
Photo of the vaxhaul showing the scratch to the bumper,
Please advice if I should file a police report and seek my insurance help.
Thanks for your help in advance.
I had taken photos and registration numbers of my car showing the scratch and the vaxhaul.
Noticing me taking pictures another nice lady who came back after shopping said it is very bad people act this way and she is willing to provide witness but unfortunately she has not seen the deed in action but very convinced it is the vaxhual which made the said scratch. I have got her name and mobile phone number.
I decided to wait for the vaxhual owner, I met her when she showed up. On see me and my car she said "Did you hit my car oohhh!!", I politely said that it looks that her car has caused some damage to mine. She totally disowned any wrong doing, told that the scratch is 2 week old and she is not responsible about anything I am taking about and I was trying to use the system etc ..., essentially screamed at me and went away, totally not interested in any more discussion.
I am well positioned at the moment to spend to fix the problem. My insurance premium(over 1000 pounds) is already killing me even though I have 3 years NCD and a clean license.
I am afraid that if I report this it might further increase my premiums due to loss of NCD if the issues goes for a 50/50 settlement or if the vaxhaul owner is keen on not accepting the mistake.
I have attached both the phots of the my car and the vaxhaul.
Photo of the scratch to my car,
Photo of the vaxhaul showing the scratch to the bumper,
Please advice if I should file a police report and seek my insurance help.
Thanks for your help in advance.
Edited by mail2z on Sunday 8th January 00:24
Heartworm said:
Did you ask Tesco for any CCTV footage they may have?
I asked Tesco if they had CCTV footage and was told that they have targetted CCTV only, which means they will have repoint the camera only when they have a need to otherwise they do not have entire coverage of the car park. Honestly they are not very helpful, probably they will provide it police if it comes to that but I am not getting very far with my request.I do have a witness who is ready to helpful me but again she has not seen the incident with her own eyes so not sure if that is going to be helpful.
mail2z said:
...... Honestly they are not very helpful, probably they will provide it police if it comes to that but I am not getting very far with my request.
I do have a witness who is ready to helpful me but again she has not seen the incident with her own eyes so not sure if that is going to be helpful.
With regard to them being helpful, you are not the police. They have no obligation to help you establish what happened.I do have a witness who is ready to helpful me but again she has not seen the incident with her own eyes so not sure if that is going to be helpful.
And your witness is not a witness, they are a person who agrees with you. A witness, by definition, has to witness something.
Brite spark said:
Are you sure they caught your car, rather than you catching theirs when you pulled out?
Could the spaces be driven into from either end, and which way round were the cars to each other?
No, the space could be assesed from one side only without crossing the white line and anyway the other side has cars parked so there is only one way into the parking space. Both mine and theirs were parked with front of the car into the space.Could the spaces be driven into from either end, and which way round were the cars to each other?
The damage on the vaxhaul is the front bumper which is facing into the parking slot, if I caught their bumper on my way out it should be back bumper. So sure it is not me.
That damage looks really bad, I wouldn't describe the photo as a scratch. Out of interest what car is it (not that it particularly matters aside from cost of repair).
I'd report to the police if you have not done so - useful to get it on record.
As above they may be able to get CCTV from tesco.
Being very honest and from personal/family experience I'd brace to get it sorted yourself, as much as some might disagree with me if you want the car repairing either claim on insurance or sort it yourself.
No matter how skint I was I'd always own up if I'd done something like this- there are a lot of scumbags out there.
I'd report to the police if you have not done so - useful to get it on record.
As above they may be able to get CCTV from tesco.
Being very honest and from personal/family experience I'd brace to get it sorted yourself, as much as some might disagree with me if you want the car repairing either claim on insurance or sort it yourself.
No matter how skint I was I'd always own up if I'd done something like this- there are a lot of scumbags out there.
Nick3point2 said:
With regard to them being helpful, you are not the police. They have no obligation to help you establish what happened.
And your witness is not a witness, they are a person who agrees with you. A witness, by definition, has to witness something.
If I do not have a 100% case I will not go for it, I did rather drive with a scratched/dented car than not be able to afford insurance at all. And your witness is not a witness, they are a person who agrees with you. A witness, by definition, has to witness something.
Where did all the human values go anyway?. Am I wrong to expect it?.
But, the feeling of not being able to something against this is hurting.
0a said:
That damage looks really bad, I wouldn't describe the photo as a scratch. Out of interest what car is it (not that it particularly matters aside from cost of repair).
I'd report to the police if you have not done so - useful to get it on record.
As above they may be able to get CCTV from tesco.
Being very honest and from personal/family experience I'd brace to get it sorted yourself, as much as some might disagree with me if you want the car repairing either claim on insurance or sort it yourself.
No matter how skint I was I'd always own up if I'd done something like this- there are a lot of scumbags out there.
I excluded the name of the car for the fear of being outlawed from here. It is 58 plate Prius. I know how you all feel about it, but that is what I got, it got me from point A to point B with minimal noise I'd report to the police if you have not done so - useful to get it on record.
As above they may be able to get CCTV from tesco.
Being very honest and from personal/family experience I'd brace to get it sorted yourself, as much as some might disagree with me if you want the car repairing either claim on insurance or sort it yourself.
No matter how skint I was I'd always own up if I'd done something like this- there are a lot of scumbags out there.
, minimal cost and hardly any issues. My previous car hurt me so badly with broken aircon compressor, leaking engine oil, steering column lock defective all in a 3 year old car. (previous shape Passat).0a said:
That damage looks really bad, I wouldn't describe the photo as a scratch. Out of interest what car is it (not that it particularly matters aside from cost of repair).
I'd report to the police if you have not done so - useful to get it on record.
As above they may be able to get CCTV from tesco.
Being very honest and from personal/family experience I'd brace to get it sorted yourself, as much as some might disagree with me if you want the car repairing either claim on insurance or sort it yourself.
No matter how skint I was I'd always own up if I'd done something like this- there are a lot of scumbags out there.
Does reporting to police mean that I need to report to insurance also?, my insurance will not so kind to me, they never have been. I will have to think about sorting it out myself when I have the means to do it. I'd report to the police if you have not done so - useful to get it on record.
As above they may be able to get CCTV from tesco.
Being very honest and from personal/family experience I'd brace to get it sorted yourself, as much as some might disagree with me if you want the car repairing either claim on insurance or sort it yourself.
No matter how skint I was I'd always own up if I'd done something like this- there are a lot of scumbags out there.
Will I have time to get to insurance depending upon how police take it further meaning if police is able to establish the other car owner as the culprit then I can take it to my insurance otherwise if the police has better things to do then I bite the bullet and not do anything.
mail2z said:
If I do not have a 100% case I will not go for it, I did rather drive with a scratched/dented car than not be able to afford insurance at all.
Where did all the human values go anyway?. Am I wrong to expect it?.
But, the feeling of not being able to something against this is hurting.
You seem to have missed my point entirely:Where did all the human values go anyway?. Am I wrong to expect it?.
But, the feeling of not being able to something against this is hurting.
To be a witness, the witness has to have witnessed something. Your 'witness' did not see anything happen, and so is not a witness.
As for having a 100% case, that's not for you to decide. Unless you are capable of proving beyond all reasonable doubt that the corsa did that damage to your car then you are at the mercy of your insurer.
Also, a picture of the relative positions of the cars would be helpful as I don't see how the corsa could have a scratch where it has with the wheels in the position they are.
And another thing, it's an corsa B, they all have a knackered bumper like that, doesn't mean it was done on your car. It's much more likely that someone pulled into the space, scratched your car, then buggared off. If anything, the corsa is just as likely an innocent victim (of a potentially false allegation) in all this as you are a victim of damage to your vehicle.
Generally speaking, when 2 cars run along eachother like that, on picks up paint of the other: granted they are both blue cars but has your car got any flakes of their shade of paint or has their car got any flakes of your shade? And how were you determining the damage to their car was new?
See, not so clear cut is it?
Edited by Nick3point2 on Sunday 8th January 01:10
Nick3point2 said:
You seem to have missed my point entirely:
To be a witness, the witness has to have witnessed something. Your 'witness' did not see anything happen, and so is not a witness.
As for having a 100% case, that's not for you to decide. Unless you are capable of proving beyond all reasonable doubt that the corsa did that damage to your car then you are at the mercy of your insurer.
Also, a picture of the relative positions of the cars would be helpful as I don't see how the corsa could have a scratch where it has with the wheels in the position they are.
And another thing, it's an corsa B, they all have a knackered bumper like that, doesn't mean it was done on your car. It's much more likely that someone pulled into the space, scratched your car, then buggared off. If anything, the corsa is just a likely an innocent victim in all this as you are.
See, not so clear cut is it?
[car A ][car B]To be a witness, the witness has to have witnessed something. Your 'witness' did not see anything happen, and so is not a witness.
As for having a 100% case, that's not for you to decide. Unless you are capable of proving beyond all reasonable doubt that the corsa did that damage to your car then you are at the mercy of your insurer.
Also, a picture of the relative positions of the cars would be helpful as I don't see how the corsa could have a scratch where it has with the wheels in the position they are.
And another thing, it's an corsa B, they all have a knackered bumper like that, doesn't mean it was done on your car. It's much more likely that someone pulled into the space, scratched your car, then buggared off. If anything, the corsa is just a likely an innocent victim in all this as you are.
See, not so clear cut is it?
[my car][Corsa]
Not sure how I could get the car positions, since when I went in for petrol the space that I had occupied previouly was taken up by someone else.
The scratch on my car is powdery and the scratch on the corsa was powdery as well, both looked fresh, the heigths of the scratches match exactly well as well, when you see the rubber beading on the corsa bumper, it has left a slight mark on my car as well just above the scratch.
Again, as you say it not clear cut in the absense of a witness.
A women hit my car while it was parked trying to get into the space in front, my wife was sat in the passenger seat and got the reg and model as she sped off. We reported it to police, who checked the computer, told me the other car was local and insured but they could do nothing, go through insurance. Contacted insurance they contacted her and she denied all knowledge. In the absence of an independent witness this was as far as it went. My car was fully comp but decided not to claim as damage was similar to excess and mostly polished out. 6 months later renewing insurance on 2nd car with seperate policy, I was asked if I had any claims or accidents in the last 12 months. I said no as to be honest had forgotten about it. They then said the spiel about not notifying and gave me the date of the accident.
For an accident where I wasn't in the (legally parked) car, insured on a completely seperate policy that had to accrue its own no claims, (that I decided not to claim on) they wanted to put my premium up by £75. they lost a customer.
In the same situation as much as it sucks and is very very wrong I wouldn't bother. You damage is worse than mine was though and you have q slim chance of CCTV cover.
(Oh and I went back to the police after she denied it and asked if they could visit the women and check her car to see if it had a scratch at the same height, they said no, I forget why now).
For an accident where I wasn't in the (legally parked) car, insured on a completely seperate policy that had to accrue its own no claims, (that I decided not to claim on) they wanted to put my premium up by £75. they lost a customer.
In the same situation as much as it sucks and is very very wrong I wouldn't bother. You damage is worse than mine was though and you have q slim chance of CCTV cover.
(Oh and I went back to the police after she denied it and asked if they could visit the women and check her car to see if it had a scratch at the same height, they said no, I forget why now).
I had a similar incident when parked up in my old VX220 - some 
in a Cavalier came barreling past, not bothering to move over even though I was parked sensibly, collecting my wing mirror and putting a scratch on the car in the process. By the time I'd turned around and set chase, he'd vanished and I was being shouted at by some doddery old fart for racing. I caught the numberplate and filed a police report - I'm guessing they filed it in the big circular folder as all I got was a "sorry we have no evidence" statement. I ended up getting the scratches taken out on my own back, and in a typical immature fashion, showing complete disregard for road safety for a few months afterwards. Before you start grilling me, I'm completely sensible now and over it - scratches happen, that's why I have a daily runabout.
in a Cavalier came barreling past, not bothering to move over even though I was parked sensibly, collecting my wing mirror and putting a scratch on the car in the process. By the time I'd turned around and set chase, he'd vanished and I was being shouted at by some doddery old fart for racing. I caught the numberplate and filed a police report - I'm guessing they filed it in the big circular folder as all I got was a "sorry we have no evidence" statement. I ended up getting the scratches taken out on my own back, and in a typical immature fashion, showing complete disregard for road safety for a few months afterwards. Before you start grilling me, I'm completely sensible now and over it - scratches happen, that's why I have a daily runabout. mail2z said:
Does reporting to police mean that I need to report to insurance also?, my insurance will not so kind to me, they never have been. I will have to think about sorting it out myself when I have the means to do it.
Will I have time to get to insurance depending upon how police take it further meaning if police is able to establish the other car owner as the culprit then I can take it to my insurance otherwise if the police has better things to do then I bite the bullet and not do anything.
I don't know about the insurance issue, but I'd be worried about an accusation that you hit the other car - you have had significant damage to your car, why not report it might be a question asked later should she make an allegation. Will I have time to get to insurance depending upon how police take it further meaning if police is able to establish the other car owner as the culprit then I can take it to my insurance otherwise if the police has better things to do then I bite the bullet and not do anything.
In my opinion there is nothing wrong with a Prius, a smooth congestion charge free non-diesel car, I have borrowed a company one many times. It's your car and someone has damaged it, whatever car it is.
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