Advice about a car insurance claim

NickyBo_2

Hi,
I'm having a problem with an car insurance claim against my husband and I was hoping for some advice.

A couple of weeks ago we were doing a bit of shopping in a local retail park. When we get back to the car someone had parked rather close to us. As dh was putting our son into his car seat our car door slightly knocked against their door. It didn't hit out, bang it or anything like that, it barely touched it. Yet suddenly the owners appeared and were going on about this dent and scratch that our door had caused! The car was absolutely full of dents and scratches! I might believe that our door had caused a TINY 3mm long scratch as it was in the place where our door had touched there's, but there was absolutely no dent as the man kept trying to claim. It just wasn't there. They were so insistant and wrote down our reg plate so dh had to give them our address. I'm fuming about that, I feel like it was a right set up. We have no problem paying for the little scratch to be sorted as it was miniscule and dh could probably fix it himself!

However, we have just had a phonecall from our insurance company saying that they've been informed (by the other man's insurance company) of a COLLISION we had with them :eek:! Dh told them exactly what had happened and they are going to 'look into it'. He then phoned the other man's insurance company to ask what was happening and they said that there garage had looked at the car and it was going to cost £500+ to fix!! HELP!! At the most we caused a tiny scratch, there was no dent at all other than the dozen others around his car nowhere near where we were.

What can we do? I really think he's trying it on. I suspect either he is claiming for more than the one little scratch or the garage is trying it on. Personally I think it's the car owner as when it happened he started going on about a dent (that we could not see at all!).

Any advice is hugely appreciated as I've never had to deal with anything like this before. Where do we stand legally and how can we fight this?

Thank you.

JPS29

Are there cctv cameras in the shopping complex?

Could you point these out to the insurance company and get the claims handler to try and gain access to them. They may not be interested for a 3mm scratch but if the TP is trying it on as a full blown "collision" then I would not bet against them being in the car at the time of the "crash" and having whipcash

huckster

Hi

If it happened as you say, your Insurance company just need the facts. Ask them whether they want a claim form completed, so that you can provide full details. They should then dispute the 3rd parties claim and only deal with the damage related to the door banging.

Whether it is £100 or £500, you will still have a claim against your policy, so you could lose 2 years No claims if not protected. Or if protected, you should still expect an increase in premium at renewal.

Due to the other driver trying to stitch you up with other repairs to their car, I think you have lost the chance to just pay for the scratch, outside of Insurance. I am not sure it would be wise to deal with them anyway. Safer to let the Insurers handle it.

This is a sign of the times I am afraid. There are some lowlifes out there who look to take advantage from such minor events. I am suprised that they have not tried claiming for personal injury as it appears everyone gets whiplash, even at 1 mph.

Rolandtheroadie

The facts are, your DH opened a door and it connected with someone elses door. It seems to have caused a 3mm scratch. You are liable for the damage (I dont believe you are denying it)
Tell your insurer what happened and leave it with them. The only thing you can really do is ensure it's the door you hit thats being repaired and nothing else.
A scratch is probably the same as a dent to repair cost wise.

NickyBo_2

Thanks for the replies. We have no problem paying for the little scratch we caused, but we are certain it wasn't £500 worth of damage, that's the issue. I think the man is probably trying to claim a full paint job as his car already had quite a few scratches. We are going to contact our insurers tomorrow and give them all the details. We are also going to ask to see photos of the damage that is being claimed for to ensure he isn't trying to claim for more than the one scratch. Dh has repaired scratches like that himself before and it costs nothing like £500!

Quentin

In view of the claim being made against you being clearly far more than just a "little scratch", you oughtn't to get involved with offering anything at all to the third party yourself.

As you have been advised, ensure your insurer is given your side of the story and let them resolve the issue. Whatever the outcome, they will be able to ensure that the matter is properly concluded, with no further comeback possible against you by the third party.

After the claim has been settled, you can always repay your insurer to save your NCD if the sum involved makes this an economic proposition.

Rolandtheroadie

The problem comes when the other driver wants his car door painted/reskinned by a professional that is carrying out guaranteed work to a guaranteed high standard.
Yes, they're probably at it, but as long as you ensure they're only getting the door damaged done, theres not much else you CAN do.
My motorbike was knocked over recently by someone in a car. Literally fell over. Couple of scrapes and scratches, the guys wife said "At least there isnt much damage".
Repair costs? £2800. Bike's a write off.

alias123

huckster wrote: »

Hi

This is a sign of the times I am afraid. There are some lowlifes out there who look to take advantage from such minor events. I am suprised that they have not tried claiming for personal injury as it appears everyone gets whiplash, even at 1 mph.

I had something similar happen to me (No damage to my own car, 3rd party claiming for dent clear caused by a stone/gravel). The third party's husband just 'happen' to turn up with some 'claims handlers' at the scene. They're claiming for x2 personal injury (even though only person in the car) repair, storage and hire and personal losses????????? I just simply took some photos and told my insurance company everything. Its still ongoing!