advice needed

[tombo]

Last week i was in my car and the girl in front decided that she would rather be in another lane and reversed into my stationary car quite hard. The damage does not look too bad but she hit the light wing bonnet grill and bumper.

She said that she would pay for the damage and she did not want to go through the insurance, alarm bells ringing I guessed that she was not insured.

I got a quote for the work to repair my car and its about 700 quid, she was as shocked as i was at the cost but i want a reputable repairer to do the work and have it guaranteed. So as far as i am concerned its either this or i tell my insurance company.

I just want my car fixed as quickly as possible, any ideas

Tom

 

[wizer]

IMHO: Go to the insurance company, do not let her get away with driving uninsured

 

[cambournepete]

Tell you insurance company.

If she's not insured she should not be on the road. No excuses.

Pete

 

[martyn2]

tom get her insurance details ASAP or if you got her reg go to the police even if she did,nt want to go through the insurance you should still get her details

Martyn

 

[superunknown]

I agree with the others, go straight to the insurance company and let them sort it out. Thats what they are there for.

 

[frank]

tombo get her insurance details if she wont give them get the police . all cars should display a tax disk and i think they should display insurance and mot disks, if you dont have tax or an mot your insurance company can cancel your insurance,( just my litle rant )

a friend of my lads had his new car bumped into, the bumper got a small scrape the guy said to get it repaired and he would pay for it. now the car was a porche the cost to get it repaired by the agent was :shock: :shock: . i dont know if the guy took out a second morgage or not

tombo hope it all gets sorted for you .

frank

 

[tim]

she did not want to go through the insurance

Unless she has other reasons like affecting no claims/ excess etc which may have been her first thought if it appeared that the damage was light.

With a £700 tag its going to be cheaper for her to use her insurance.

If she hasn't any then get the police involved. I'm assuming that since you got hold of her to tell her the cost of repair then you know where she lives etc so the chances of her disappearing are lower. Royal pain for you.

Personally I'd get the insurers involved anyway. What happens if something else shows up later as a result or you get the work done and she refuses to pay?

Cheers

Tim

 

[Alf]

What happens if... you get the work done and she refuses to pay?

Get the money first...

My folks had just this situation not long ago; got the wing and door damaged (on their new motor, natch :roll: ) by a Little Old Lady trying to reverse in the local supermarket car park. They weren't there at the time, but she waited in the supermarket to find them and explain (wow :shock: ). She didn't want to go through insurance, possibly because she was a serial scraper judging by her car and risked being taken off the road on the grounds she was ancient, and my folks decided okay. After all, they're verging on ancient too... Got the quote (many, many hundreds), sent it off, got the cheque back by return of post! :shock: Got the work done, got the bill. Aaaargh! Disaster! The VAT was missing off the quote! Uh-oh. 8-[ Contact the LOL and explain the situation, more in hope than expectation and thinking using the insurance would have been a smarter option. But nope, the extra arrived also by return of post. Feather, knock us down with, you could have. I can only assume she was all right for funds, just in mortal fear of being transportless - which is no joke out here in the sticks.

So it can work. But it helps if it's a Little Old Lady and you know where she lives.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Adam]

What happens if something else shows up later as a result or you get the work done and she refuses to pay? Cheers Tim

My dad was hit by a work colleague - rear end shunt - they thought they'd get away with some of the folding stuff changing hands - but over the weekend - when he went shopping - the boot wouldn't open - something must have "pinged" and instead of a few scraps it turned into a "proper" insurance job - so things can show up later.

Also, if you get the work done, and she refuses to pay, and subsequently you try and "claim" on her insurance - their may be no route to get the money to pay your preferred garage - as insurance companies all seem to have "affiliated" garages for most work these days.

Adam

 

[Anonymous]

Tom

that's quite a leap to her being uninsured mate. It could be that she is worried about no claims or exces - excesses can be seriously high, or thought it would be cheap to repair

Put it through your insurance regardless. My policy actually states that I should not attempt to negotiate with a 3rd party but leave it up to them

 

[matt]

My policy actually states that I should not attempt to negotiate with a 3rd party but leave it up to them

That's not to stop you agreeing to settle without the insurance. It's to stop you admitting liability (on behalf of your insurer, and then putting them in a tricky position).

Where do you stand if you go through the insurance and the other driver is not insured? I recall that there is some form of fund (that all insurers contribute to) to cover this eventuatlity, however, I am not sure what you'd get.

I'm not advocating NOT going through the insurance, just suggesting that you tread carefully.

 

[Freetochat]

The insurance fund is for personal injury only. Damage only is down to you and your insurers. Oh! and the magistrates court and county court if the magistrates don't award the repair costs.