Car Damaged by Child
Discussion
Hi Ph Collective.
Just after some advice/opinions on this situation.
Child (age 9) damages a parked car by accidentally riding into it on their bike, damage amounts to a scratch on the front wing and a small dent on the drivers door (from the pedal), car is a small 15yr old city car.
Parent goes to the owner of the car and offers to arrange for a mobile repair guy to quote and pay for the repair (expecting it may be around £300ish)
Owner decides he would like to explore other options of repair, parent says ok let me know what you come up with and we can discuss it further.
Parent hears nothing for 3 months and then receives a letter through the post saying the owner has arranged to have the car repaired at a bodyshop who usually deal in high end car repairs and he would like the parent to pay the estimate of £1300 before the work commences.
Parent thinks the owner is taking the p*ss and confronts owner and advises him he is not willing to pay the estimate and if the repair is going to be so expensive then he would advise to go through his car insurance.
Owner says he is going to contact the police and get a crime number and then pursue the parent through the legal route.
Basically the Parent would like to know if there is anything legally that the owner can do? or is he just scaremongering.
Parent did feel a moral obligation not leaving the owner out of pocket but now feels his unreasonable behavior has jeopardised any goodwill that was there.
Just after some advice/opinions on this situation.
Child (age 9) damages a parked car by accidentally riding into it on their bike, damage amounts to a scratch on the front wing and a small dent on the drivers door (from the pedal), car is a small 15yr old city car.
Parent goes to the owner of the car and offers to arrange for a mobile repair guy to quote and pay for the repair (expecting it may be around £300ish)
Owner decides he would like to explore other options of repair, parent says ok let me know what you come up with and we can discuss it further.
Parent hears nothing for 3 months and then receives a letter through the post saying the owner has arranged to have the car repaired at a bodyshop who usually deal in high end car repairs and he would like the parent to pay the estimate of £1300 before the work commences.
Parent thinks the owner is taking the p*ss and confronts owner and advises him he is not willing to pay the estimate and if the repair is going to be so expensive then he would advise to go through his car insurance.
Owner says he is going to contact the police and get a crime number and then pursue the parent through the legal route.
Basically the Parent would like to know if there is anything legally that the owner can do? or is he just scaremongering.
Parent did feel a moral obligation not leaving the owner out of pocket but now feels his unreasonable behavior has jeopardised any goodwill that was there.
Heathwood said:
It’s not criminal damage and, like other posters have said, the damage was caused by a child. The police will do nothing and rightly so. It’s a civil matter. The car owner can, however, claim through the courts (small claim I’d imagine).
Tiny claim I imagine depending on the perpetrator's height at the time.Going “legal” will surely cost the owner more than the claim value. I just can’t see an insurer being at all interested in funding the owner to pursue that.
IMHO it’s a power play by the owner to try and get the parent to stump up for the £1300 quote. Call them out on it and make sure the parent has a written quote from the smart repairer for any settlement without admitting liability.
Does the parent have legal cover on their home insurance policy? If so crack on with seeing how far the owner will push it.
IMHO it’s a power play by the owner to try and get the parent to stump up for the £1300 quote. Call them out on it and make sure the parent has a written quote from the smart repairer for any settlement without admitting liability.
Does the parent have legal cover on their home insurance policy? If so crack on with seeing how far the owner will push it.
Daniel-3ov01 said:
No, there were other children around when accident happened who will have seen it but the conversation between parent and owner was not witnessed or overheard to my knowledge.
Stand your ground. He should have accepted the offer of a mobile repair. He is scaremongeringCaveat - if this is a neighbour and/or nutter it could get ugly.
Canon_Fodder said:
OP is worried about being sued - not prosecuted.
I agree that plod is an irrelevance
Exactly this, i know there not going to arrest a 9 yr old for crashing his bike.I agree that plod is an irrelevance
its more a case of can a parent be forced to pay a bill when they havent been given a chance to find an alternative?
It's easy for me to say as I'm not in that position but id ignore the car owner now or just deny it (explain the kid now says it was someone else and you don't know what to believe).
If he's able to prove it then you'll consider contributing towards the £1300.
He's had his chance and you tried to do the right thing. I'm going to guess it was parked on the road at the time. And, as above - it should/could probably be written off at that cost.
If he's able to prove it then you'll consider contributing towards the £1300.
He's had his chance and you tried to do the right thing. I'm going to guess it was parked on the road at the time. And, as above - it should/could probably be written off at that cost.
Edited by Torquey on Tuesday 1st November 21:44
Driver is on a hiding to nothing here.
Police aren't going to do anything for the reasons stated. An accident is not criminal damage, and even if it was the child is too young to be prosecuted for anything.
He can try to sue the child if he wants to, but
(1) he would have to prove that the child was negligent, which is very difficult for a young child, because the standard of care expected of a child is much lower than that expected of an adult, and
(2) even if he wins, how is he going to force a 9 year old to pay £1300? Send the bailiffs round to seize his teddy bear? Attachment of earnings order on the boy's pocket money?
Or he can try to sue the parents. But contrary to popular belief parents are not usually legally liable for damage done by their children. To hold the parents responsible he would have to show that the parents were negligent themselves, ie they failed to supervise the child to the level expected of a reasonable parent. Is it unreasonable or negligent for a parent to let a nine year old ride a bike? I certainly hope not.
So he can huff and puff, but not really do much more than that. If he does try to go legal and the parents have home insurance it will come with liability cover, so they can pass any claim that does appear over to their home insurers if they want to.
Police aren't going to do anything for the reasons stated. An accident is not criminal damage, and even if it was the child is too young to be prosecuted for anything.
He can try to sue the child if he wants to, but
(1) he would have to prove that the child was negligent, which is very difficult for a young child, because the standard of care expected of a child is much lower than that expected of an adult, and
(2) even if he wins, how is he going to force a 9 year old to pay £1300? Send the bailiffs round to seize his teddy bear? Attachment of earnings order on the boy's pocket money?
Or he can try to sue the parents. But contrary to popular belief parents are not usually legally liable for damage done by their children. To hold the parents responsible he would have to show that the parents were negligent themselves, ie they failed to supervise the child to the level expected of a reasonable parent. Is it unreasonable or negligent for a parent to let a nine year old ride a bike? I certainly hope not.
So he can huff and puff, but not really do much more than that. If he does try to go legal and the parents have home insurance it will come with liability cover, so they can pass any claim that does appear over to their home insurers if they want to.
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