Someone hit my car.
Discussion
Hey guys I'm new here so hello!
I'm 19 years old, been driving for 2 years now in 2 different cars. One was a Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 which had many problems so i sold it. I then invested in an 06 Suzuki Swift 1.5 which is lovely and It's great.
Anyway I was parked in my girlfriend street in front of another car but not close. I'm there everyday and park in roughly the same place every visit.
After around 30 minutes my girlfriends sister shouted down that someone had hit my car. She was watching in the window as this car which was in between me and another car reversed straight into my car with enough force that it moved it about 2-3 meters when the hand brake was on.
I inspected the damage and my car was badly dented, paint was scratched off and the release button for the boot was hanging off. After further inspection the inside of the boot was also cracked. The girl driving was 18 years of age and lived 4 doors down from my girlfriend house. She stated to me and 2 other people "I was going to work, I'm so tired I work 40 hours a week". As she was going to work we did not contact the police also because she lived so close. We told her to pop over the next day and give us the details. if she does not give the insurance details tomorrow then the police will be called.
I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what is next?
I'm obviously not for blame for one I wasn't in the car, 2 my car was parked more than enough distance away from her car. Also I have time stamped photos of the car damages just after it happened.
Thanks.
I'm 19 years old, been driving for 2 years now in 2 different cars. One was a Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 which had many problems so i sold it. I then invested in an 06 Suzuki Swift 1.5 which is lovely and It's great.
Anyway I was parked in my girlfriend street in front of another car but not close. I'm there everyday and park in roughly the same place every visit.
After around 30 minutes my girlfriends sister shouted down that someone had hit my car. She was watching in the window as this car which was in between me and another car reversed straight into my car with enough force that it moved it about 2-3 meters when the hand brake was on.
I inspected the damage and my car was badly dented, paint was scratched off and the release button for the boot was hanging off. After further inspection the inside of the boot was also cracked. The girl driving was 18 years of age and lived 4 doors down from my girlfriend house. She stated to me and 2 other people "I was going to work, I'm so tired I work 40 hours a week". As she was going to work we did not contact the police also because she lived so close. We told her to pop over the next day and give us the details. if she does not give the insurance details tomorrow then the police will be called.
I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what is next?
I'm obviously not for blame for one I wasn't in the car, 2 my car was parked more than enough distance away from her car. Also I have time stamped photos of the car damages just after it happened.
Thanks.
It sounds like everything is in order. When I was in the same situation we swapped details, she called her insurance and reported it. Her insurance then called me directly and agreed to recover the car etc. A courtesy car was provided and after a week somebody came on a low loader and dropped my repaired car off, job jobbed.
Its not all plain sailing though, my insurance went up lots
Its not all plain sailing though, my insurance went up lots
Sir Bagalot said:
Pop over the next day? What? She damaged your car and drove off (hoping to get away with it) and you're giving her 24 hours?
Ask for the insurance details now!!
Seems reasonable if she's fessed up and the OP know's where she lives. Doesn't sound like she's trying to get off the hook (albeit now that she's been rumbled)Ask for the insurance details now!!
OP: I hope you get it sorted. Due to your age and driving experience I'd be trying to do this outside of insurance if she's willing. Even though you're not at fault it might affect your premium come renewal time.
rb5er said:
When this happened to me my insurance company gave it to a claims company to sort out between them and her insurance company. They assured me it would not count as an insurance claim as was effectively being sorted out privately.
You need to get this sorted today!
Still counts as a non fault claim you need to declare when taking out insurance though...You need to get this sorted today!
Use an accident management company like helphire. Don't claim off your insurance. You will need her details though but the police should get them if she doesn't comply.
This way you won't loose NCB, no excess to pay or claim back.
Not interested in those who say it puts insurance up, as your insurance company often sell your details to these companies anyway!
This is the easiest, hassle free way.
This way you won't loose NCB, no excess to pay or claim back.
Not interested in those who say it puts insurance up, as your insurance company often sell your details to these companies anyway!
This is the easiest, hassle free way.
Thank you all for replying so quickly.
The 40 hours a week thing also made me laugh as i work 40+ hours and I'm only a year older. She cannot get away with this as I've got her number and she text me saying something along the lines of "I don't want to go through insurance it's my first year driving and I don't want to loose my NCB~(Which she doesn't have.. o.O)." She then said "Sorry about what I did to your car".
With this being said if she can afford to pay for the repairs then all is fine, if not then it's down to her to get onto her insurance. Although my premium may go up next year (This is unclear).
The damage to the car isn't 'bad' but it's noticeable. The boot lid is badly dented and scratched, the bonnet release button has come awawy from the car as I said in my origional post. The car boot does rattle when driving, althoug this may have been the case before the damage It may just be me being paranoid. Hidden damages may be there I will be contacting Suzuki to ask for advice.
Thanks for all the luck guys.
The 40 hours a week thing also made me laugh as i work 40+ hours and I'm only a year older. She cannot get away with this as I've got her number and she text me saying something along the lines of "I don't want to go through insurance it's my first year driving and I don't want to loose my NCB~(Which she doesn't have.. o.O)." She then said "Sorry about what I did to your car".
With this being said if she can afford to pay for the repairs then all is fine, if not then it's down to her to get onto her insurance. Although my premium may go up next year (This is unclear).
The damage to the car isn't 'bad' but it's noticeable. The boot lid is badly dented and scratched, the bonnet release button has come awawy from the car as I said in my origional post. The car boot does rattle when driving, althoug this may have been the case before the damage It may just be me being paranoid. Hidden damages may be there I will be contacting Suzuki to ask for advice.
Thanks for all the luck guys.
Lawbags said:
I wish I only worked 40 hour weeks!!
But it sounds a tough one. If there is that much damage, it may be written off. It'll need inspecting properly too.
Also, how bad is her car??
As it is in these situations, her car was pretty much damage free. Her boot had a few scratches and possible a dent or two but my car was the worse off.But it sounds a tough one. If there is that much damage, it may be written off. It'll need inspecting properly too.
Also, how bad is her car??
OP, you'll want an 'approved' repair done properly with full come back if you are not happy with the job.
Ignore her offer to settle privately, it will only end in sqabbles over prices as I'm sure her dad/uncle/boyfriend has quoted it as a £250 job from his mate under the arches vs your quote of £2,500...
Also, unless this is sorted at once you may be too far down the road to contact the insurance company as I think you have an obligation to call them straight away. And 4 weeks later you don't want the other party suggesting that the damage to you car is now worse in their opinioin and that you must have damaged it further hence they want to negotiate a part payment...
My advice: call your insurance company now, tell them everything you know, take loads of photos and your witness statements and follow up with them when you have more details from her. If she doesn't play ball with her details today, let your insurance company know and call the police. Stuff her not wanting to lose her NCD, if it was that important she would have looked where she was going. Fine, accidents happen but it is her who should be facing hassle, not an innocent party. Dealing privately for anything more than a surface scratch holds risk for only one person - you, so don't bother with the hassle.
I had a non-fault which was an easy case to prove, as it yours. My insurance premium did not go up a penny (in actual fact at renewal it was lower).
Ignore her offer to settle privately, it will only end in sqabbles over prices as I'm sure her dad/uncle/boyfriend has quoted it as a £250 job from his mate under the arches vs your quote of £2,500...
Also, unless this is sorted at once you may be too far down the road to contact the insurance company as I think you have an obligation to call them straight away. And 4 weeks later you don't want the other party suggesting that the damage to you car is now worse in their opinioin and that you must have damaged it further hence they want to negotiate a part payment...
My advice: call your insurance company now, tell them everything you know, take loads of photos and your witness statements and follow up with them when you have more details from her. If she doesn't play ball with her details today, let your insurance company know and call the police. Stuff her not wanting to lose her NCD, if it was that important she would have looked where she was going. Fine, accidents happen but it is her who should be facing hassle, not an innocent party. Dealing privately for anything more than a surface scratch holds risk for only one person - you, so don't bother with the hassle.
I had a non-fault which was an easy case to prove, as it yours. My insurance premium did not go up a penny (in actual fact at renewal it was lower).
Matt UK said:
OP, you'll want an 'approved' repair done properly with full come back if you are not happy with the job.
Ignore her offer to settle privately, it will only end in sqabbles over prices as I'm sure her dad/uncle/boyfriend has quoted it as a £250 job from his mate under the arches vs your quote of £2,500...
Also, unless this is sorted at once you may be too far down the road to contact the insurance company as I think you have an obligation to call them straight away. And 4 weeks later you don't want the other party suggesting that the damage to you car is now worse in their opinioin and that you must have damaged it further hence they want to negotiate a part payment...
My advice: call your insurance company now, tell them everything you know, take loads of photos and your witness statements and follow up with them when you have more details from her. If she doesn't play ball with her details today, let your insurance company know and call the police. Stuff her not wanting to lose her NCD, if it was that important she would have looked where she was going. Fine, accidents happen but it is her who should be facing hassle, not an innocent party. Dealing privately for anything more than a surface scratch holds risk for only one person - you, so don't bother with the hassle.
I had a non-fault which was an easy case to prove, as it yours. My insurance premium did not go up a penny (in actual fact at renewal it was lower).
I will go with your advice thank you Matt, i will ring my insurance company as soon as I finish work. I have around 8-12 photos on more than one device with time stamps so that should be fine, also there was a few people out in the street at the time so if I needed a statement I'm sure they'd provide. Yeah I agree her NCD means nothing to me if it was swapped roles I'm sure she wouldn't hesitate to ring my insurance. I hope my premium doesn't go up I'm on quite a low sallary so paying for it would be a problem. Ignore her offer to settle privately, it will only end in sqabbles over prices as I'm sure her dad/uncle/boyfriend has quoted it as a £250 job from his mate under the arches vs your quote of £2,500...
Also, unless this is sorted at once you may be too far down the road to contact the insurance company as I think you have an obligation to call them straight away. And 4 weeks later you don't want the other party suggesting that the damage to you car is now worse in their opinioin and that you must have damaged it further hence they want to negotiate a part payment...
My advice: call your insurance company now, tell them everything you know, take loads of photos and your witness statements and follow up with them when you have more details from her. If she doesn't play ball with her details today, let your insurance company know and call the police. Stuff her not wanting to lose her NCD, if it was that important she would have looked where she was going. Fine, accidents happen but it is her who should be facing hassle, not an innocent party. Dealing privately for anything more than a surface scratch holds risk for only one person - you, so don't bother with the hassle.
I had a non-fault which was an easy case to prove, as it yours. My insurance premium did not go up a penny (in actual fact at renewal it was lower).
Thanks Matt!
cirian75 said:
when my 107 was reversed into while parked by the dozy twonck across the road, I got his details and was in contact with the insurance in 10 minutes.
I did forget to mention this happened quite late so around 8-9 and after everything calmed down it was too late to ring any insurance company for anything. Also as I work it is difficult to ring them at work but I will get on the case after work 
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