Son's "Old" Car - Dented in Car Park

JohnG

19lottie82 wrote: »

so, by saying you don't plan on getting the car MOT'd after the next one, or asking if you should knock it out yourself, are you saying that you wouldn't use any money to get the dent fixed? If so, then sorry but that's dishonest and wrong.

If you are going to get the dent fixed, then of course, get the other party to pay for it, but if not that's pretty sneaky asking for compensation to try and make a quick buck. If the car isn't worth getting put through another MOT then it must be a heap anyway. Do the decent thing, accept that accidents happen, accept the guys apologies and don't try and get money out of him under false pretences.

Thanks very much for your forthright reply and comments on that but I must respond further......

a) The car is old and it's not great but has been a godsend since my son passed his test but we will most likely be scrap it but that won't be until mid autumn assuming it's still running OK. So, for now it's got a visible dent in the door that it didnt have before the chap ran into it - of course we could leave it like that, or, probably, pay more money to repair it than the cars worth and then ask the guy to settle the bill himself, or more likely go thru the insurance which I doubt he would want either.

b) I think, if I spend my own time (especially as I'm self employed) on removing the inside panel, and attempt to bash out the dent myself then I don't think it's unreasonable to look for a something in return? I certainly don't see it as dishonest, in fact I had no intention of claiming the sort of amount it would no doubt cost to repair properly - simply a nominal sum which is what I would explain - something like £50-£75 (I would then donate it to my sons forthcoming Uni fees).

I certainly don't consider myself as dishonest or that I was trying to get money under false pretences - I thought I was looking at the situation in a fair and reasonable manner.

JohnG

vaio wrote: »

although as you say you should report all incidents to your insurance company I can see the thinking that suggests not doing so.

although you are not going to claim for yours because of the age/condition does the same apply to the car that hit you because if he claims for his damage then you will both be on the database and you have zero chance of getting away with not reporting.

Well I don't believe the other vehicle was affected but we can never be sure, something might crop up subsequently in which case, as you say, he may well want to go thru insurance himself which we will have to accept and then hope it doesnt have an adverse affect on my son's NCD.

McKneff

You do realise that by not informing your insurance company you are breaching your contract.

It's in all insurnce T&Cs that you have to inform them of any incident, whether at fault or not.

It may just come back and bite you in the behind if they do find out, maybe if he has a serious crash in the future,
having the claim turned down, other car;s a write off, personal injury to pay for, etc, etc, etc.

You say 'but i still say they damage it, they pay up, end of story'

If you go by thos standards then,

I say 'there was an incident, inform the insurance company, end of story.

diable

McKneff wrote: »

You do realise that by not informing your insurance company you are breaching your contract.

It's in all insurnce T&Cs that you have to inform them of any incident, whether at fault or not.

It may just come back and bite you in the behind if they do find out, maybe if he has a serious crash in the future,
having the claim turned down, other car;s a write off, personal injury to pay for, etc, etc, etc.

You say 'but i still say they damage it, they pay up, end of story'

If you go by thos standards then,

I say 'there was an incident, inform the insurance company, end of story.

Claim for whiplash and for the other 4 people in the car maybe a permanent disability and a loss of a leg while you are at it.

19lottie82

JohnG wrote: »

Thanks very much for your forthright reply and comments on that but I must respond further......

a) The car is old and it's not great but has been a godsend since my son passed his test but we will most likely be scrap it but that won't be until mid autumn assuming it's still running OK. So, for now it's got a visible dent in the door that it didnt have before the chap ran into it - of course we could leave it like that, or, probably, pay more money to repair it than the cars worth and then ask the guy to settle the bill himself, or more likely go thru the insurance which I doubt he would want either.

b) I think, if I spend my own time (especially as I'm self employed) on removing the inside panel, and attempt to bash out the dent myself then I don't think it's unreasonable to look for a something in return? I certainly don't see it as dishonest, in fact I had no intention of claiming the sort of amount it would no doubt cost to repair properly - simply a nominal sum which is what I would explain - something like £50-£75 (I would then donate it to my sons forthcoming Uni fees).

I certainly don't consider myself as dishonest or that I was trying to get money under false pretences - I thought I was looking at the situation in a fair and reasonable manner.

I apologise if I came across as a bit harsh, which I obviously did. Perhaps I should have worded it differently.

As I said I think it's a difference of opinions, and personally I wouldn't dream of taking any money from the other party in this situation, again, as I hope they wouldn't if the roles were reversed.

JohnG

19lottie82 wrote: »

I apologise if I came across as a bit harsh, which I obviously did. Perhaps I should have worded it differently.

As I said I think it's a difference of opinions, and personally I wouldn't dream of taking any money from the other party in this situation, again, as I hope they wouldn't if the roles were reversed.

You're obviously a very charitable person (normally ) so hat's off to you for that.

Personally though, if the situation was the other way around and we we the guilty party I know I would expect to have to pay something towards the cost as I've done once myself in the past. , I'm afraid though, it's unlikely the injured party would simply say "Never mind accidents do happen"

As an aside, when I was younger riding a moped a car pulled out on me causing me to slide the bike and skid along the road causing some damage but nothing terrible. I went to the woman's house that evening with my Father to resolve the situation in good faith
but somehow the woman suddenly changed her tune suggesting she thought I was letting her out and somehow we went away feeling rather bemusedand empty handed - I can't figure out why we didnt go thru the insurance then, probably because the damage was relatively minor and wasnt worth affecting my insurance? Mind you, I was lucky I didnt get hurt when I think about it. Still, blinking annoying when I think about it! :mad:

JohnG

McKneff wrote: »

You do realise that by not informing your insurance company you are breaching your contract.

It's in all insurnce T&Cs that you have to inform them of any incident, whether at fault or not.

It may just come back and bite you in the behind if they do find out, maybe if he has a serious crash in the future,
having the claim turned down, other car;s a write off, personal injury to pay for, etc, etc, etc.

You say 'but i still say they damage it, they pay up, end of story'

If you go by thos standards then,

I say 'there was an incident, inform the insurance company, end of story.

McNeff,

Yes, I saw a previous response from you on another thread stating the same clear instruction which made me hesitate and ask the question I did on behalf of my son. However, whilst it's black and white to you and no doubt the insurance industry it's not so black and white when it comes to how it may or may not affect NCD when it's clearly not your fault. It's seemingly a risk not to report but if it's clear there is likely to be no recriminations with accident then it's seems a risk worth taking as opposed to a risk to a young drivers NCD.

Personally I would see this as a very minor transgression if it doesnt harm anyone especially when compared to drivers who don't have insurance at all!

mcjordi

im sure the other driver would pay the £50/75 your gonna ask as his/her premium would go up much more than that for a fault claim

when i hit a car a few years back- no damage to his but mine was wrecked i paid him some cash he was happy with not to claim off me.. was worth the £100 to retain my NCB and it fixed mine myself.

McNeff - i didnt report that to my insurer so how are they gonna know unless you tell them. OP ask a nominal amount your happy with and get it in writing that your accepting it in full and final settlement of the accident/damage caused on x date and time by xx driver who admitted fault blah blah and get him to sign it with his name/address etc so if he did come back and say your fault they you can produce this letter..

McKneff

But anyone who hits you has up to 3 years to make a personal injury claim, i know it doesnt happen all the time, but if someone did try this on even up to 2 years and 365 days and tries to claim from your insurance youre stuffed.

Its unlikey, I know, but it does happen, there have been threads on here which have started

Help, I had an accident xxx months/x years ago, it ended amicably but now Ive had a solicitors letter claiming for whiplash.

Then your insurance company find out you havent informed them and the shoite hits the fan.

I do hope everything turns out well for your lad, I think at times we've all been there, done that.

Last year a cement mixer didnt wash his machine out and we met going round a bend and he covered my car with concrete.
they paid for it to be cleaned off, i didnt inform my ins of this.

2 months later I was parked on a road, not in the car and an 11ft wide tractor tried to get through a 10.5ft gap, I certainly informed my ins. co about that one, but i sorted it myself directly with the thrid party. Luckily I am with the Coop and they ddidnt load my premium for a non fault incident.

I felt that someone up their was getting at me, twice in 2 months, it was so stressful and I hadnt done a thing wrong.

Like I say, hope things go okay for him.

Quote

Both cars were reversing? Sounds like a 50/50 to me.