Bump in Car park

ckerrd

If you are still concerned about the above then get your Mum to write to the insurance compnay, stating "further to my phone call..." and then lay out all the details again. She shold keep a copy and at least then she has a paper trail. It sounds as if the insurance company are not interested but if your Mum feels she needs to do this for her own peace of mind, all well and good.

Rewind_Bo

Brilliant - never thought of doing that. Will definately get her to do this as want to cover her back as much as possible.

Might sound cheeky but anyone any idea of how to word it (my english is as common and rough as they come)

ckerrd

She really just needs to write down the facts as she discussed on the phone.
Perhaps as the end she could ask for a reference number for her records.

Dear xxx

As per my telephone call to yourselves on ??/??/?? I would like to confirm the details of the accident I reported.

At xxx on ??/??/?? I was in xxx car park. As I was driving in/out? I bumped car (Reg no ABC 123) .
I stopped my car, got out and made a visual inspection of both cars.
As far as I can tell there has been no damage to either vehicle.
I was unable to leave any notice for the driver of the car.

I contacted you to alert you to the fact that I had been involved in an accident and am now confirming this by letter.

I would be grateful if you could issue me with a reference number in case any further action is reqquired.

Many thanks

Yours Sincerely

xxxx

Rewind_Bo

You're a star. Thanks for this.

steveo3002

now poor old mum is going to have to state she had a accident next time the insurance is due

thats why i said report it the police..chances are if the other car wasnt damaged nothing further would happen, but she would have corvered herself just incase

Rewind_Bo

Will she still have to inform the police or will she be covered after telling her isnurance company (as bossyboots stated).

tigs78

Technically it is a reportable collision as details have not been exchanged, the chances of a prosecution if she didn't report it would be very unlikely but, yes, it should still be reported to the Police although I can almost guarantee the report will simply be filed.

I wouldn't have involved the insurance co as like steveo3002 says they might be cheeky and put her premium up as a result.

Edited to add: If your Mum does decide to report it she will have to do so in person, it can't be done over the phone, and take along both parts of her driving license (counterpart and card part), Certficate of Insurance and MOT if the vehicle requires one.

lottee

I would say call the police definitely. My friend passed recently, & scratched a parked car. (although I know there was no visible damage to the other car your mum bumped) Someone else reported her registration details to the police, as from an outsider, it appeared she had just driven away. She had actually taken down the other registration on her mobile (no pen/paper!), & when she called the police station, they seemed to know more about it than her!
As above post from tigs78, they did require her to go into the station in person.

Rewind_Bo

Does anyone know the legal stuff on this? Is contacting the insurance company good enough? As bossy said they should now be the ones chasing this up.

tigs78

If nobody witnessed it then your Mum has absolutely nothing to worry about as there is no damage the car owner would be none the wiser. If, however as happened in the case above, someone does the good samaritan bit and passes your Mum's number plate to the car owner by way of a note on the windscreen or reports it directly to the Police then your Mum could be in trouble - ignorance of the lawful procedures is no defence I'm afraid.

When she goes to make the report the person she speaks with will probably be a bit peeved as it's quite a lengthy document that has to be filled in and it's going nowhere realistically. If they refuse to take the report, fantastic, just get their shoulder number and a compliments slip to prove she's been in. If they do take the report your Mum has nothing to worry about, she didn't exchange details as the owner was not present and she was loathe to leave her personal details in the public domain ie) on the windscreen. Don't forget to tell her to take her driving documents in otherwise she will be given a producer to produce them within 7 days.

Hope this helps

Edited to add: When did this happen? A report should be taken as soon as reasonably practicable or in any case within 24 hours. If it's over the 24 hours then your Mum should still go in, just be prepared for them to refuse to take the report on that basis. Again, get their shoulder number and a compliments slip to prove she's been in.