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Questions about an accusation about driving into a car door
Comments
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What if the witness is wrong? Surely having no damage at all to your car is a good defense? I'd certainly be fighting this.0
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My one and only accident.
I reversed out of my parents drive into a dark green volvo estate against a dark green conifer background in the dark.
I didn't hit it hard at all but the angle i was at the corner of the bumper broke through the double skin of the front wing.
The bumper on my car (which was black) had no mark on it at all.
Even so i felt the resistance of pushing against it so i would expect her to have noticed some resistance.
Having said that i saw an older lady reverse into a parked car last saturday 3 times (backwards and forwards into a parking bay and through the back) and it appears she didn't notice.
Another person in the car park actually pointed it out to her as she was about to walk off.
So anything is possible.
I also saw one of those asda "we'll deliver your shopping" vans push a parked car into a wall, whilst reversing, and the driver didn't notice / feel it.
I'd personally admit nothing until the witness tells you what they did / didn't see and make sure you get photos of the damage to the other car and your car if you intend to fight it.
As some others have said, the neighbour might have heard a "bang" seen your car driving off and just noticed that car had a dent in it.
The dent could have happened 3 weeks ago for all you and the neighbour know (in that scenario).0 -
Believe me we don't want to admit liability (and haven't done)
The only reason I said we will have to bite the bullet was because I was taking her at her word that the witness was genuine.
My wife is so upset that she's being accused of this,she is so not the person to pretend it didn't happen, infact a while back our son opened his door in a car park and put a mark on the car next to hers so she waited 30 minutes for the man to come back to tell him and he said don't worry about it.
I was just wanting clarification on contacting our insurance company.
If there wasn't a witness involved then we would have never heard anything about it.
After the advice on here my wife just phoned our insurance company and told them the whole story and all correct details, she said that she was aware of the car being there as it makes reversing out of our drive awkward anyway.
She explained about the potential witness being away for 2 weeks and was told to do nothing until they get back and then speak to them about what they saw, times etc and tell them they need to write a statement, draw picture etc, but if they are unwilling to do this or get times wrong then it will be her word against my wifes.
Then if the 3rd party wanted to pursue it with us then they can send someone out to trace any paintwork residue left on her car with ours.
If the witness does the paperwork then the 3rd party can claim.
But direct line have made a log of what happened and the advice they have given.0 -
It is not really for you to advise the third party's witness how best to go about proving their case! If the witness proves useless by not providing any statements, then there is no witness at all! But if you encourage the witness to provide a written statement, it makes it more of a liability issue!
Just leave it to the third party to deal with getting any witnesses to comply.
It is more important for your wife to now write down exactly what happened (including times etc). Then keep it on file in case anything comes up in future.0 -
It is not really for you to advise the third party's witness how best to go about proving their case! If the witness proves useless by not providing any statements, then there is no witness at all! But if you encourage the witness to provide a written statement, it makes it more of a liability issue!
Just leave it to the third party to deal with getting any witnesses to comply.
It is more important for your wife to now write down exactly what happened (including times etc). Then keep it on file in case anything comes up in future.
Many thanks for some very useful info, as said before this is our first experience of insurance claims etc so we both know zero!
I just felt I wanted to speak to the potential witness myself but if that's best left to the 3rd party then that's what I will do.
The possible witness cannot have seen the impact, only heard a bang as their house is set back some 10 metres from the road,and he said that he was by his front door, the car being parked 5 houses away from him with the impact side of the car facing away from him.
We will see, I'm happier knowing we have done the right thing, informed our insurance company, not admitted anything and will leave it to the 3rd party to contact the witness, she hasn't asked our insurance details but will give them if requested.0 -
Yes, don't get involved with the witness - if you report something that they say to you which is untrue, then it gives them the opportunity to say they felt harassed by you questioning them, and just said anything to get rid of you.
Much better to see their statement (if they do send one in), then see what they claim to have seen, and take it from there.
(If the witness only heard a collision, then they aren't much use as a witness!)0 -
What if the witness is wrong? Surely having no damage at all to your car is a good defense? I'd certainly be fighting this.
Bring your car around and I'll drive into every panel and you would never know that I had.
Sure the witness could be dodgybut this will (on the evidence we have) be srttled on the balanve of probability. Which doesn't look good for the OP.
Having said that, OP can you not try and see if the site of impact matches the height of your bumper etc to see if it was at least possible.0 -
Having said that, OP can you not try and see if the site of impact matches the height of your bumper etc to see if it was at least possible.
Go drive into another panel and see if the damage matches
It'd all be settled on the same insurance claim anyway
“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
<><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/0 -
Having said that, OP can you not try and see if the site of impact matches the height of your bumper etc to see if it was at least possible.
I second that - reverse your car up to compare the shape of the rear of your car and the shape of the damage to the door. If it does not match then take lots of photos and send to your insurance company0
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