Minor supermarket bump and leave

[peekay74]

Hi all,
Someone has bumped my car in supermarket car park, and just left. Not major but cracked bumper, broken light etc. There was a witness who got the number plate of car. It looks to be a VW Polo which in our area points towards a young driver. I do have the number plate.
Looking online I need to contact police and report a ‘non - stop’ following accident.
Is there anyway of getting the details for f driver without going to police - would like to give (potential young driver) chance to sort before involving any potential police enforcement ? Would also rather not go through insurance as regardless of fault it will affect my premium and suspect repair will be hundreds not thousands of pounds.
Thanks in advance

[Austin_Metro]

You’re being too magnanimous. Report it. Get the details.

[CLX]

I had this situation.

I called the police. Obviously, they wouldn't give me the other person's details, but I was hoping they would call them and ask them to call me. They wouldn't do that.

Your only options are to repair it yourself or go through your insurance company. With the latter, they will attempt to claim off the other person, but as we all know, that'll cost us in the end!

[Sheepshanks]

I think you're going to be surprised at the repair estimate, especially if there's any paint required.

[RustyNissanPrairie]

"You can get a person's address from the DVLA by using a form to request information, which is available for reasons like a traffic accident. For information about another vehicle, you can submit form V888/2A to request the registered keeper's name and address."

[Cliftonite]

DVLA will supply RK details in these circumstances, upon completion of form V888. In exchange for a small fee, of course.

Link:

https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla/r...

[klunkT5]

He/She hit your car and cleared off, That shows all you need to know about the type of person they are, I would report it, They need a lesson in life.

[MDMA .]

klunkT5 said:

He/She hit your car and cleared off, That shows all you need to know about the type of person they are, I would report it, They need a lesson in life.

Is the correct answer. That and the reintroduction of corporal punishment wouldn’t go amiss in these circumstances.

[Simpo Two]

FWIW there might be CCTV footage as well.

[peekay74]

Haha - thanks guys - will try the DVLA route. I might regret it but let’s see … was thinking of posting number plate on local forums to see if it brings anyone to the surface but not sure it’s a great idea !!

[craig1912]

peekay74 said:

Would also rather not go through insurance as regardless of fault it will affect my premium and suspect repair will be hundreds not thousands of pounds.
Thanks in advance

It won’t and you have no idea how much it costs. I’d just give the reg and witness details to my insurer and let them get on with it. That’s what you pay them for.

[E-bmw]

craig1912 said:

peekay74 said:

Would also rather not go through insurance as regardless of fault it will affect my premium and suspect repair will be hundreds not thousands of pounds.
Thanks in advance

It won t and you have no idea how much it costs. I d just give the reg and witness details to my insurer and let them get on with it. That s what you pay them for.

This, all day every day.

You have an independent witness, you have sufficient for the Ins Co to trace the owner, it is EXACTLY what you pay them for, IF they do try to put up your renewal just shop around, many don't, so don't assume it will.

FYI for context a bumper & light (depending on car) could VERY EASILY top £1,000 & then some, especially at Insurance Co approved body shops.

A small wing & bumper repair on a Citroen C1 of mine a few years ago was £800 and that didn't need parts.

[KungFuPanda]

If you use the askmid website, you can pay a £10 fee to find the insurance details of the third party vehicle that has hit your car.

Try contacting the insurer and tell them what happened and the fact that you have a witness too.

[KungFuPanda]

If you use the askmid website, you can pay a £10 fee to find the insurance details of the third party vehicle that has hit your car.

Try contacting the insurer and tell them what happened and the fact that you have a witness too.

[Ian Geary]

So I might be the spectre at the feast, but when you next buy insurance and are asked:

"Have you or any named driver on this policy had any accidents or incidents in the past [number] years, whether or not a claim was made?"

what are you going to say?

And if the insurance company rumbles you, what are you going to say then?


There was a thread on here a while back with a chap getting caught by this (though admittedly he had told the insurance co about he incident, but then decided not to claim, and assumed the matter would be forgotten about. He was wrong.)


Ultimately it's a probability x consequence thing, but I like to make my life simple: and when i read about people's complicated insurance problems, I often wonder why they didn't just make their life simpler for themselves?

[KungFuPanda]

If you use the askmid website, you can pay a £10 fee to find the insurance details of the third party vehicle that has hit your car.

Try contacting the insurer and tell them what happened and the fact that you have a witness too.

[Pica-Pica]

Ian Geary said:

So I might be the spectre at the feast, but when you next buy insurance and are asked:

"Have you or any named driver on this policy had any accidents or incidents in the past [number] years, whether or not a claim was made?"

what are you going to say?

And if the insurance company rumbles you, what are you going to say then?


There was a thread on here a while back with a chap getting caught by this (though admittedly he had told the insurance co about he incident, but then decided not to claim, and assumed the matter would be forgotten about. He was wrong.)


Ultimately it's a probability x consequence thing, but I like to make my life simple: and when i read about people's complicated insurance problems, I often wonder why they didn't just make their life simpler for themselves?

'had' an incident, or ' suffered' an incident, or 'been subject to an incident'?
As a matter of fact, I reported an incident to my insurance company, even though we settled privately. They said they would keep it on record in case there was a future claim. There wasn't, and it seemed to have no effect on my future premiums.

[Richard-D]

Pica-Pica said:

'had' an incident, or ' suffered' an incident, or 'been subject to an incident'?
As a matter of fact, I reported an incident to my insurance company, even though we settled privately. They said they would keep it on record in case there was a future claim. There wasn't, and it seemed to have no effect on my future premiums.

Same thing in their eyes. Many years ago a neighbour hit my (parked) car. He admitted it and I contacted his insurers, got it fixed. Later when I was due to buy another car my premium doubled after the initial quote as I 'had been involved in an accident'. These things are not always well defined in the way you suggest.

[paul_c123]

You can claim any future increase in insurance premiums, as an extra loss, against the other party.

[Cliftonite]

paul_c123 said:

You can claim any future increase in insurance premiums, as an extra loss, against the other party.

I would like to have Twig's view on this.