Parked car hit at pool CCTV + third-party claim advice

[LurkerLarry]

Hi all, looking for practical advice;

What happened:

Reverse bay parked my car outside the swimming pool next to a LWB van that was reversed into it's bay

Came back to find impact damage on my car (offside nose dent, headlights wrecked, pretty bad) . There’s a camera directly above and likely coverage of entrances/exits.

What I’ve done so far

Took photos of damage/scene and noted times and bay location.

Spoke to the manager, asked them to preserve footage for the relevant window and submitted a Subject Access Request for any footage where my car is identifiable. If/when I get the reg of the van (or whoever is to blame), I'll check if it is insured

Car is now off the road on my driveway and will stay there.

Complication (please go easy…)

I’ve discovered a payment failure from two months ago means my own policy didn’t actually incept. I’m sorting cover now and/or SORN, and I will not be driving the car until it’s legal. I realise that’s a separate issue; not asking anyone to help me dodge anything. Been a bit of a plonker here I know and I'm mortified.

What I’m trying to do next

If I can get the other vehicle’s reg from CCTV, I plan to identify their insurer (askMID “after an accident”) and open a direct third-party claim.

Questions for PH wisdom

Once I have their reg, can I deal directly with their insurer (third-party claim) without involving my own? Any gotchas in practice?

For a parked-car hit-and-run, is it better to report via the force’s online portal or call 101 to get a reference? Any wording tips to keep it incident-focused?

When I tried to report it online with the police, they asked me for my insurer details. I'm afraid to dox myself as uninsured. Will I face any blow back if I admit I am uninsured?

Anything specific I should ask the gym (retention period, exact camera IDs, secure transfer) to avoid them saying it’s too late or “we can’t share”?

If the other driver turns out uninsured or untraced, any recent experiences with MIB for property damage? Anything you’d do early to strengthen that route?

First contact template you’ve used with success when emailing the at-fault insurer (what to attach, what to ask for upfront)?

Evidence I have/expect

Photos of damage and parking bay, timestamps, staff names, and I’m pushing for CCTV covering the bay and the entrances/exits. Potential paint transfer colour.

Thanks in advance; constructive advice appreciated on what to do next.

[alscar]

Complication (please go easy…)

I’ve discovered a payment failure from two months ago means my own policy didn’t actually incept. I’m sorting cover now and/or SORN, and I will not be driving the car until it’s legal. I realise that’s a separate issue; not asking anyone to help me dodge anything. Been a bit of a plonker here I know and I'm mortified.


Just on this point to start , were you paying monthly and made one payment etc and the policy was then cancelled for non payment or this was a new policy and you didn’t in fact pay any premium at all so the policy was cancelled abinitio ie as though it didn’t exist ?

[LurkerLarry]

alscar said:

Complication (please go easy )

I ve discovered a payment failure from two months ago means my own policy didn t actually incept. I m sorting cover now and/or SORN, and I will not be driving the car until it s legal. I realise that s a separate issue; not asking anyone to help me dodge anything. Been a bit of a plonker here I know and I'm mortified.


Just on this point to start , were you paying monthly and made one payment etc and the policy was then cancelled for non payment or this was a new policy and you didn t in fact pay any premium at all so the policy was cancelled abinitio ie as though it didn t exist ?

I let my old policy elapse after I got a cheaper quote elsewhere. I "paid" for the new policy in one lump sum. Unknown to me at the time, the payment didn't go through and I have been oblivious since. In hindsight I should have checked for a confirmation email after payment and on my credit card statement.

[POIDH]

LurkerLarry said:

I let my old policy elapse after I got a cheaper quote elsewhere. I "paid" for the new policy in one lump sum. Unknown to me at the time, the payment didn't go through and I have been oblivious since. In hindsight I should have checked for a confirmation email after payment and on my credit card statement.

And you got no reminder emails or post to say the payment had no gone through?

I would worry here that if you kick the hornets nest of finding another driver, a civil matter over damage on private property to your car, it may come back and bite your lack of insurance which is a criminal matter...

[Gnevans]

How much is/was your car worth? How much would it cost to repair yourself? I’d look at this before going down any route as an uninsured driver.

[LurkerLarry]

POIDH said:

And you got no reminder emails or post to say the payment had no gone through?

I would worry here that if you kick the hornets nest of finding another driver, a civil matter over damage on private property to your car, it may come back and bite your lack of insurance which is a criminal matter...

Correct

ChatGPT suggested I could bypass the police and reach out to the other drivers insurance company directly, with the footage and handle the claim that way.

EDIT, the pool owner has confirmed they have clear footage of the van damaging my car as I suspected

[alscar]

LurkerLarry said:

I let my old policy elapse after I got a cheaper quote elsewhere. I "paid" for the new policy in one lump sum. Unknown to me at the time, the payment didn't go through and I have been oblivious since. In hindsight I should have checked for a confirmation email after payment and on my credit card statement.

Unfortunately that is the worst option.
I’m not going to pile on pain deliberately instead stating the obvious but that excuse won’t wash as 2 months is a long time to not see payment was taken.
It also doesn’t allow you to argue with the ( almost ) Insurer.
As such you are and were always uninsured and so when anyone asks you questions that is where the issue starts as you were breaking the law.
Assuming the OP’s insured himself ( and perhaps better for you if he also isn’t ) maybe trying to get the repair money from him privately perhaps is an option but it has potential to go wrong.
If he wants to put through Insurance then your problem will escalate from a civil to a criminal one once it becomes known you had no insurance though.
Sucking up the repair costs yourself whilst no doubt very painful may be an option - maybe the only option - but that also relies on the other party not also claiming from his insurance.
I wouldn’t describe your predicament as easily as a complication though and equally you might want to consider talking to a solicitor.
You will also have to advise future potential Insurers of the cancellation.
Driving without Insurance is an issue for all those that have Insurance.
That’s as nice as I can be ( some here will say far too nice ) but wish you luck in sorting.

[alscar]

LurkerLarry said:

ChatGPT suggested I could bypass the police and reach out to the other drivers insurance company directly, with the footage and handle the claim that way.

Which would be correct if you had been Insured.
I bet Chat didn’t tell you of then the pitfalls in doing so though ?!

[speedking31]

Get the van's reg., go back to the Pool in a week's time and see if the van is there and approach the driver in a friendly fashion. "You damaged my car we have CCTV evidence, to avoid insurance pay me £xxx for a repair." But if it's more than a couple of hundred quid they are unlikely to engage, and if it's less it would be easier to fix it yourself.

[TimmyMallett]

I don't think the fact that you were not insured at the time has any bearing on liability and your ability to claim from a 3rd party IF the evidence supports it.

However you'd normally go though your own insurers, which you cant do, but you should be able to identify the 3rd party insurer eventually if its as you think it is. You might eventually get stung for no insurance (even on private land, its accessible to the public so you need insurance)

I think.

[LurkerLarry]

alscar said:

Which would be correct if you had been Insured.
I bet Chat didn t tell you of then the pitfalls in doing so though ?!

ChatGPT is very conservative and "by the book", it will always talk about the risks etc

Putting my insurance mistake aside, my car has been wrongly damaged and there is footage of the culprit. I could take them to small claims court

[KungFuPanda]

Your vehicle being uninsured doesn’t have any impact on the liability aspect of your claim. You can still pursue the driver or insurer of the third party vehicle for restitution. The difficulty you have is pursuing them without having any firm details.

On the criminal side of things, if you did decide to proceed with the claim, the third party might decide to report you to the Police for being uninsured which will cause you to being charged with driving without insurance which at the least will be a fine and six points.

If it were me, I’d keep quiet and suck up the damage.

[LurkerLarry]

alscar said:

You will also have to advise future potential Insurers of the cancellation.
Driving without Insurance is an issue for all those that have Insurance.
That s as nice as I can be ( some here will say far too nice ) but wish you luck in sorting.

My insurance wasn't cancelled though. The old insurance elapsed and a new insurance product wasn't purchased. (I thought I had purchased it but ultimately it wasn't)

[FiF]

Years ago my wife renewed her insurance, paid with card the whole premium, subsequently got a letter from the insurance company saying thank you for renewing, your detailed policy papers will follow.

Quite some time later a letter arrived that the insurance had been cancelled because the payment had not gone through. Turned out this was an error by the clerk who had handled the renewal. There had been no previous notice, and the situation was that the letter arrived on a Thursday, insurance had been cancelled the previous Monday, without notice remember, so she had been driving uninsured for a few days through no fault of her own.

The attempt to sort this was a shambles, suffice to say we have since given that organisation no more business.

However this is the point relating to the OP case, in that when we have mentioned this to other insurance companies in answer to the question "have you ever had insurance cancelled?" they all state that this situation does not count as a cancellation and doesn't need to be reported. The slight difference to the OP case is that there was no incident while uninsured.

HTH

[alscar]

LurkerLarry said:

alscar said:

You will also have to advise future potential Insurers of the cancellation.
Driving without Insurance is an issue for all those that have Insurance.
That s as nice as I can be ( some here will say far too nice ) but wish you luck in sorting.

My insurance wasn't cancelled though. The old insurance elapsed and a new insurance product wasn't purchased. (I thought I had purchased it but ultimately it wasn't)

So no documents ever received for the policy that you thought you had paid for ?

[kiethton]

Get the registration from the pool, get 3 quotes to repair the damage (plus other transport, hire car and ancillary costs incurred) and get the drivers/insurers details via ask
MID/DVLA.

Send a letter before action and if left unsettled escalate to money claim online.

While your car had no policy it was parked on private property and could have been driven by another under their DOC entitlement, not that this is relevant.

The short is that whether the car is uninsured or not the third party is liable, their insurer is responsible.

[alscar]

kiethton said:

Get the registration from the pool, get 3 quotes to repair the damage (plus other transport, hire car and ancillary costs incurred) and get the drivers/insurers details via ask
MID/DVLA.

Send a letter before action and if left unsettled escalate to money claim online.

While your car had no policy it was parked on private property and could have been driven by another under their DOC entitlement, not that this is relevant.

The short is that whether the car is uninsured or not the third party is liable, their insurer is responsible.

The short will be somewhat longer than that as the OP is also understandably anxious to avoid the chance of a criminal prosecution for driving without Insurance and suggesting another driver actually drove it there is now adding in potential for “additional” Insurance Fraud which if the CCTV cameras are looked at could all unfold rapidly.
No idea how likely all this would be but seems to add yet more risk to his situation not reduce it.

[simon_harris]

You were on private land so your insurance status at the time has no relevance, you are able to deal directly with the vans insurer these days they are pretty helpful as it is cheaper for them to deal with you than with a claims co or your insurance co.

I was hit in the rear earlier this year and just dealt with the third parties insurance directly (after informing mine) it was all very quick and simple.

[KungFuPanda]

For those citing that the OP technically didn’t need insurance as they were on private land, they’re wrong.

For the purposes of the Road Traffic Act 1980 vehicles have to have insurance if they’re parked on private land that the public have general access to such as car parks.

[valiant]

Surely all the van driver has to simply say “let’s exchange insurance details” and then you’re stuffed?