Damage To My Car

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Kathy

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I need some advice please. On the way to Brighton racecourse last Saturday I stopped in The Pease Cottage Service Station for a quick coffee and a bun. On the way back to the car, I saw a woman slam her passenger door into my driver's door. She looked up, didn't realise it was my car she had just hit and walked passed me. When I got to my car I have a dent and paint chipped out too which is noticeable. I was furious and waited for her to return to the car. Her husband arrived first and I showed him the damage and the corresponding damage to his door and, as I had had my camera with me (always useful) I had taken some photos too. When the woman returned (her hubbie had rushed off to meet her before she got back to me) she said it was an accident and it wasn't noticeable. I asked for her name and address and she refused so I told her I would trace her via the police. She then gave me her address.

I have had a quote to repair the damage of £110.00 plus VAT from the garage I purchased the car from only 6 weeks ago. Now, the query is, do I charge her the full amount, or 50% as it was an accident, assuming she pays at all.

Thanks for your help. My fella says she should pay the whole amount but as it was an accident, should I just ask for a lesser amount.....

Please help! :unsure:
What would you do?
 
well as she appeared to try and get away with it, i would charge her the full ammount. but you need to be sure she hasnt given you a false address. last thing you want to do is send a bill to the wrong person. give her a deadline in which to reply, and point out if she fails to meet this deadline, you will inform the police.

best of luck with it!
 
I would have put my size nine into two of her panels and driven off...








































That's a joke just in case any of the forum members who live by the book take offence.
 
It is annoying and frustrating when something like this happens. However, it doesn't help using emotive words like "slamming" and then apparently accepting it was an accident.

Much would depend on how your insurers might react and what your excess is. £110+VAT isn't a lot and might even be less than your excess. If you claim it on your insurance and ask them to pursue her the chances are your next premium will go up because you made a claim unless they're very understanding and are also ultimately successful in pursuing her for the amount.

It might be cheaper to get it repaired and send her the bill and if she 'disappears' pay it yourself and make sure the insurance people don't know.

I've been there before and the insurance company told me that's what I should have done :angry:
 
Maurice,

She did slam the door (hence the dent in the door), but she said it was an accident as she had dropped her glasses. She certainly didn't look the "type" to have done it on purpose, but I am still left with an £110 bill plus VAT. I clearly don't want to go via my insurance company for that amount BUT by the same token I saw her do it.....and I have witnesses and photographic evidence of the dame on both doors.
 
There will probably be CCTV footage, too, Kathy, at Pease Pottage. Did you take her numberplate? That would determine if she's given you a false ID and maybe the DVLA could help if it turns out false. What a shame - after I'd admired your lovely new chariot, too!
 
I was cutting my grass when the next door neighbour hit my car as he was parking.

"I've hit your car," he says, seeing I saw it happen.

We inspected the damage and he apologised saying, "At least it's only a little dent. Will £20 cover it?"

I said no, I'll get three quotes from reputable local bodyshops and he can choose which I should go to, and he agreed. When the cheapest estimate worked out at over £100, he said he wasn't paying that amount for a little dent.

By this time I had informed my insurance and sent in his details but he never ever contacted his insurers so it came out of my insurance, losing me my NCD. After several months of complaining I told my insurers to sort it out in my favour or lose my business, which they did, re-instating my NCD, but I wouldn't go down that route again, certainly not for £110+VAT at today's prices.

However, I'd make sure the other person knew I was on their case.
 
Originally posted by krizon@Sep 29 2005, 07:57 PM
There will probably be CCTV footage, too, Kathy, at Pease Pottage. Did you take her numberplate? That would determine if she's given you a false ID and maybe the DVLA could help if it turns out false. What a shame - after I'd admired your lovely new chariot, too!
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Krizon, I took photos of the cars parked next to each other on my digital camera, and her registration number, and the photo was dated. I don't leave anything to chance as you know! B) To be honest, I have a gut feeling she will pay, I just don't know whether to go for the full amount or not. I want her to pay something to deter her from doing it again, but at the same time I know it wasn't the wilful act of a vandal.

Maurice, I definitely won't be going via my insurance and will pay for it myself, or get it paid by my company as I have full NCD. It's annoying and frustrating, especially as I saw her do it. How many times do people go back to their cars and find a fresh dent or scratch and no one around. This time I caught someone in the act and she thought she had got away with it.

I will sleep on it.....
 
Kathy, you charge her the full amount. No thought. Your car didn't need work doing on it when you pulled into the services, it was her negligence that caused the damage, and you are inconvenienced enough by losing your car for a day or two when it is repaired as it is.
 
Mo, has your grass-cutter gone 'accidentally' berserk since then, mowing down all of your neighbour's flowerbeds and prized rose bushes?
 
Shouldn't the damages be covered by her insurance policy?
Surely it's her problem not yours Kathy.
I would send her the estimate for repairs and ask her if she wants to pay it in full herself, or have her insurance company pay for it.
If she thinks you are going to claim against her insurance, she will probably pay up to avoid the hassle.
 
Kathy - your attitude and thinking on this topic has disappointed me almost as much as the other thread when you called my beloved Anti Kri a bit of a pudding.

Heres how to proceed. Agree to award the work to the garage at £110, on condition that they furnish you an estimate of £440. Make the estimate known to your adversary. She will baulk, scream and howl. Hang up.

Next day - call her back and say that you have slept on it, and will share the total cost- £220 each. She will initially dispute this then hang up and call her husband. He will talk sense into her and she will call you back and agree. Two days later a cheque for £220 will pop into your home.

Get your car repaired, and with the excess, make yourself look nice for your man. You know he deserves it.

Now cut out the wooly thinking, will you.
 
I'd strongly suggest you don't take your new car to Spain then - over here they use other cars as buffers; bouncing off them to help park their cars!! :lol: :lol:
 
An, it was a Main Toyota Dealer so I doubt they would pull a stunt like that.... nice idea though.

As for the making myself look nice for my man, I am sure there is no where you can go to get major plastic surgery done that I would need for £220.00 :shy:

Krizon, knows I think she is absolutely lovely! I went to Fontwell today and met Steve (the Fireman) who she works with and he is clearly one of her (many) fans! B)
 
My dear AC, the days of Anti Kri enjoying anyone's pole are long consigned to the mists of ever-fading memory. How sad, I hear you murmur sympathetically. BTW, I'm sure you'll be cheered to know that today was 'Irish Day' at Fontwell Park, and that in order to relive the pleasure of hearing 'The Irish Rover' 2,503 times by the Hookey Boys, I've bought their CD, featuring it, the Barber's Pole medley, Black Velvet Band, I'll Tell Me Ma, Seven Drunken Nights (featuring someone called Gearoid Norris), Parting the Whiskers, :shy: The Wild Rover, the Crafty Butcher's Choice, Dirty Old Town, Tunes for Mr. Brown at the Window, Marie's Wedding and the Mason's Apron, the Wizard's Sleeve, and begorrah, the Fields of Athenry. I'll need a bit of practice, but by the time we meet up at Leopardstown, I should have most of them off pat, along with a wee bit of straight-armed jiggin' to brighten up the parade ring crowds.

Kathy, I was told by Stevie Wonder that you were in attendance with BP, so hope you had a good old bask in the excellent results of the day?
 
Krizon, I'm really getting into the National Hunt scene already. Fontwell was perfect, and only sorry you weren't present. Ian was serving behind the bar, Steve was singing your praises as ever, the horses ran brilliantly and there was great craic. We went to see the horses in the stables, and the two Jockey Club security men recognised me from Newbury so they knew I wasn't off to nobble Henrietta's runner. Richard Dunwoody was strutting his stuff in The O & T surrounded by a bevy of beauties and it was just a fantastic atmosphere. The results of the day obviously helped too B) . There is a strong chance we are off to Wincanton on Thursday. :)
 
Excellent - we'll be getting you into tweeds and wellies for a mid-February meet at Plumpton yet! And that lovely new, if slightly dented, 4x4 will enjoy the heavy going, too... ;) Half the sport of Plumpton is seeing who's most likely to need the tractor to be pulled out of the centre. Our best record is just 15 minutes after gates opened!
 
Originally posted by krizon@Oct 2 2005, 11:16 AM
Excellent - we'll be getting you into tweeds and wellies for a mid-February meet at Plumpton yet!
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Looking forward to it already! B)
 
Originally posted by Kathy@Sep 29 2005, 05:39 PM
On the way back to the car, I saw a woman slam her passenger door into my driver's door. She looked up, didn't realise it was my car she had just hit and walked passed me.
What would you do?
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I would have got in the car, unlocked the device i use to secure my gearstick/hand brake together and twatted her over the head with it.
 
:lol:

After she told me the dent hardly showed, whilst her husband rapidly tried to remove the evidence from their car, I was sorely tempted! h:)
 
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