Cyclist damaged my wing mirror

Glitterari

Just need a bit of advice.

Whilst parked in my work car park, which is a public right of way, last week a young cyclist cycled into my wing mirror. I don't know exactly what happened but she hit my wing mirror and came off her bike and hurt her fingers. In the process, she has damaged my wing mirror, cracking the clear plastic bit where the indicator is and also some of the black wing mirror casing, mirror is still in tact. The girl who hit my car is about 15 and was cycling with her mother. My work colleague saw what happened and got me from the office. At the time, the Mum and I swapped contact details and she said they would pay for the damage. Took it to the VW garage who says a new wing mirror will cost in the region of £150 as it will need to be spray painted to match the body work and that bumps up the cost. I bought my car from a VW dealership just under a year ago and it came with an approved all component warranty, so I have asked if any of it can be done under that to bring down the cost but the garage was vague about it.

When I called the Mum to let her know, she was obviously shocked it would cost so much and said she would need to discuss it with her husband. She asked if I had any paperwork, which I don't but said I was happy for her to contact the garage if she wanted to check and gave her the name of the garage. I don't know if she did this or not.

What is the best way of dealing with this? I did not inform my insurance company as they weren't in a car and I don't want a claim on my insurance. Should I get the garage to send them the quote and get them to pay for it upfront so it's out of my hands, or should I pay for it myself and try to get the money from them afterwards by showing them the invoice? I really can't afford to pay for this if I won't get the money back as I'm just about to move into my first rented place!

paulofessex

Sorry to hear about the damage. I'm wondering if the parent can make a claim via their home or car insurance i.e. the legal cover part.....just a stab in the dark

iamana1ias

Glitterari wrote: »

I bought my car from a VW dealership just under a year ago and it came with an approved all component warranty, so I have asked if any of it can be done under that to bring down the cost but the garage was vague about it.

A warranty covers faults that causes components to fail, not accidents where a third party causes damage.

Inform your insurers and if necessary they can go after the parents or their home insurance.

paulofessex

I think you should get 2-3 quotes, pay to get the work done. Send copies of all the quotes and the receipt to the parent and it will be up to them how they will rasie the money to cover the cost. You could consider suggesting accepting payment over a period of months at least this way they may be more willing or able to pay. I feel if you go in too hard they may just say no and then you wil have the issue of small claims, although you need to get legal advice as the claimant l guess is really the child and you cant sue a child, can you?

If you went through your insurance they may just chase their home insurance etc

geri1965_2

If they have contents insurance it will be covered under the personal liability section (they don't need to have legal expenses cover).

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

You have a witness, phone records, an estimate. She's going to have to pay for it.

If she gives you any !!!!, fix the mirror and take her to court.

johnfarquhar74

Does all of the above still apply if it was a minor(as posted) that caused the damage?
I live in Scotland and a few years back a young kid cycled into my parked car and caused damage worth £300 (fill & respray) I didn't go through my insurance, got legal advice from CAB and from my union solicitors, I was told then that it would be very difficult to get compensated if it was a genuine accident with a minor?!?
Was I mis-led?

sebdangerfield

With the litigious society we now live in it may be a suprise to some that the law still does account for what used to be referred to as, "an accident".

To clarify, as the poster above mentioned, with the brief outline of the story given it's difficult to advise thouroughly but unless the damage was caused by some form of malice or recklessness then there is nothing to claim against. It sounds by the OP's first comment that the people had full right to be in the car park as it's a right of way and the accident could easily be attributed to the girls age or inexperience in riding a bike (by a decent defence lawyer), niether forms grounds for a claim unfortunately OP.

With more detail or further extinuating circumstances surrounding the matter like proof of recklessness then there may be a case but then the moral dilema of sueing a 15 year old for riding her bike comes into the ordeal.

My advice, from a purely moral background would be to get the damage fixed and be grateful of any renumeration from the girl's mother. Afterall, as a cyclist she was under no obligation to even stop in the first place, let alone pay.

My advice from a legal background would be to grab any money you can now as I can see even the poorer lawyers having a field day defending that one.

Hope it works out either way.

forgotmyname

Wouldnt have thought home insurance would pay out unless you hadsome form of personal cover.

They should help you in the event of someone taking you to court but not pay the costs awarded.

pendulum

sebdangerfield wrote: »

My advice from a legal background would be to grab any money you can now as I can see even the poorer lawyers having a field day defending that one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Res_ipsa_loquitur

Straightforward case if you ask me. 15yo in sole control of the bike. 15yo hits parked car. This would not normally happen unless there was negligence. Kid defaults to being responsible.

Really the chances of this winning in court are very high, and you must surely admit that the OP has almost nothing to lose by suing in small claims, if indeed it comes to that.

PS) Strongly agree with getting other quotes before you go ahead with the repair work - at least 3 - so you can show you've mitigated losses.

dannymccann

First off, why not get a quote from somewhere other than a stealership, which will provide the same, if not better service, for half the cost, and second ask the person to go halves on the quote you are happy with and be done with it. Surely the effort and cost of a court case isnt worth even £150 to you? And lets face it, it was an accident, if the girl was out with her mates leaving a trail of destruction behind her I could understand, but she was out with her mum!

In the future park somewhere else further away from the obvious point of travel for pedestrians and cyclists in your new shiny car. Or buy a shitter and then there is no need to worry