Car has been hit, no idea who did it - what happens next

CATS

Hi All,

I was hoping to get some advice, I have just realised that my car has been hit and dented, quite a bit. However I have no clue who did it, I think this has been done in the last couple of days whilst the car was parked outside my house. I think this was done by a van as I have a 4x4 so it could not have been a normal car. It looks like someone reverse and reversed straight into the back of my car. surprise, surprise no note left, there is no CCTV camera around so I have no idea who did it. i am unsure as to what to do next, if I contact my insurance am I likely to loose my no claims bonus? obviously not my fault but have no one else to blame. Would it be cheaper in the long run if I just get this fixed myself outside the insurance?

Any ideas would be great, feeling a bit stressed out at the moment

Thank you

vaio

contacting your insurer (even if you don't claim) will likely result in increased premiums for the next 3/5 years.

contacting them and claiming for the damage done by an unidentified third party will definitely result in increased premiums together with loss of NCB (unless protected)

How much damage are you talking about?

portia88

This happened to me when my car was parked outside my house minding its own business.

I didn't bother trying to do anything about it - even if you simply ring your insurers to enquire about this scenario, it can affect your next year's premium - no. I didn't believe that either when I heard it discussed on Radio 4's moneybox programme a couple of years ago, but apparently it's true.

Unless it caused a lot of damage, I'd let it go.

CATS

Hi both,

it is dented quite a bit, a football size dent at the back, right hand side and some paint cracked and damage to the bumper. I have been told that it might be a few hundred pounds to fix but I wont know properly until I take it to a body shop. I am so angry that someone would do this and now I am left out of pocket and with the hassle of sorting this out. I feel so angry. I dont really want to loose NCB but not sure what the best thing to do wouldnt be either. I have about 6 years NCB, would I loose all of it if I claimed?

mysk_girl

I had this, car parked outside the house while we were away. Except the damage made mine undriveable, I ended up having to have the whole front steering up to and including the CV joint replaced. I lost 2 years of my no claims bonus to put it through my own insurance. There is NO WAY whoever hit it didn't realise with that level of damage. It also cost £1200 to demolish our rickety tandem garage so we could finally get both cars off the road!

vaio

CATS wrote: »

Hi both,

it is dented quite a bit, a football size dent at the back, right hand side and some paint cracked and damage to the bumper. I have been told that it might be a few hundred pounds to fix but I wont know properly until I take it to a body shop. I am so angry that someone would do this and now I am left out of pocket and with the hassle of sorting this out. I feel so angry. I dont really want to loose NCB but not sure what the best thing to do wouldnt be either. I have about 6 years NCB, would I loose all of it if I claimed?

nope, you'd lose 2 years but without the other driver to claim against you would end up with a fault claim on your record and a significant increase in premium as well as having to pay your excess..

CATS

Hi All,

Just an update on this in case it helps anyone else in future. The repairs were going to cost upwards of £1000, I had some estimates done at garages, so the best thing here was to go through my insurance.
They will take 2 years of my NCB as it was not protected and I had to pay the excess. I am sure next year they will also increase my premium.

Valeria12

Well this is very difficult to find that who hit your car but I think if you have car insurance you can claim insurance company. They recover your damage.

666diablo

1. Is there any indication of the colour of vehicle that hit you? Maybe a scrape on a bumper, or flakes of paint left by the other vehicle.
2. Approach your neighbours in person. Someone may have a camera (as I do) or someone may have heard the impact and saw the vehicle leaving. Or may have been visited by someone who parked near your vehicle.

Basically, do not underestimate what you can find out yourself.

As it was a hit and run, ask your insurers if you can make a claim to the Motor Insurers Bureau? You should also report it to the Police.

Unfortunately, it will require more work for you. But do not give up straight away. But also do not get fixated on this. Your insurers and the Police will basically do as little as possible and have procedures to follow. Without any further information, your claim will no doubt be processed as per in-house procedure via paperwork only, with absolutely no regard for you.

Quentin

666diablo wrote: »

.............As it was a hit and run, ask your insurers if you can make a claim to the Motor Insurers Bureau? ......

MIB won't help unless you can identify the vehicle.

666diablo

Technically, still a hit and run. So worth asking?