Driver reversed into me from driveway

Hmummy

A driver reversed into me ( I was stationary in my car ) out of his driveway ( he was in a rush and drove off but later got details from him as i knew where he lived as he was reversing out of his house )

there were no witnesses

I took photos of the damage ( got photo of his car the next day ) and sent them to my insurance company it clearly shows my car has a big dent in the side

exchanged insurance details

now he is claiming i was reversing the same time as he was and settle 50/50

I have refused

My insurance company have said that they can go no further with the claim unless they take it to court and unless I get the repairs done they cannot take it to court as they have nothing to claim for

Is this right? I don't really want to fork out for repairs myself as i've got a £500 excess its alot of money to pay out

Any help or advice would be gratefully received as this has been going on now for 10months and i'm getting abit desperate

OddballJamie

Can you give the full details of what led up to the accident?
As in, how you became to be stationary over someone's driveway.

Hmummy

yes the traffic had queued up from the traffic lights so was a queue of traffic which I was waiting in and he reversed into the side of my car when he pulled out of his driveway but claims we were both moving hence the 50/50

it was dark so not good lighting

the photo which I sent to my insurance company clearly shows a nice dent in the side of my car if i had been moving there would have been a nice scrape mark too but it is just a straight forward dent

hope that makes sense

DTDfanBoy

Even if you were going backwards you would still have priority

InsideInsurance

Without you having claimed from your insurance your insurers will be in a purely defense mode.

At the end of the day with one word against the other most insurers will settle on 50/50 rather than risk going to court. I would go back to your insurers again, advise you reject the 50/50 and give more details on why you were parked there, where you'd come from, how long you'd be stationary and then push them to the photo with the comment that if you'd have been moving you'd have had scrapes not just a clean dent etc.

scaredofdebt

If he wants to be awkward, which it sounds like he does, then it might be tricky for you.

Does your dent have any paint from his car on it and vice versa?

He was reversing into a main road so it's his fault regardless if you were moving or not, but he could deny all knowledge and then all you have is photos of two cars with dents in them, hence the paint might be handy.

Well done on getting photos as it does help your case but it's still not going to be easy if your insurance company isn't being very helpful, good luck though and you have my sympathies!

peter_the_piper

""he reversed into the side of my car when he pulled out of his driveway but claims we were both moving hence the 50/50""

How could it be 50/50 when he T boned you?

colino

Reversing into a poorly lit street in traffic, drives square into you and wants 50/50? Hand it over to your insurer to sort out and kick his teeth in for Christmas.

Hmummy

yes i'd handed it over to the insurance company but they are saying now I've got to pay for repairs to my car until we go to court and then they will claim it back, i was hoping to go to court in order for him to be found liable and then his insurance company pay for the repairs without me being out of pocket

If in the end it goes to 50/50 ( which I'm hoping it won't ) then I can actually get my car repaired cheaper than £500 by a friend who does body repairs which is why I thought I'd come and ask for advice as I really don't know what to do

Its annoying that I was quietly minding my own business and it was clear that he was not paying due care and attention otherwise why drive off in such a hurry after

oldhand

"he was in a hurry and drove off"??,he left the scene of an accident so I would have contacted police soon as he left.Sounds like he was in the wrong but is now looking for a cheap get out.Could you not still report him to the police? might concentrate his mind.

InsideInsurance

Hmummy wrote: »

yes i'd handed it over to the insurance company but they are saying now I've got to pay for repairs to my car until we go to court and then they will claim it back, i was hoping to go to court in order for him to be found liable and then his insurance company pay for the repairs without me being out of pocket

If in the end it goes to 50/50 ( which I'm hoping it won't ) then I can actually get my car repaired cheaper than £500 by a friend who does body repairs which is why I thought I'd come and ask for advice as I really don't know what to do

Its annoying that I was quietly minding my own business and it was clear that he was not paying due care and attention otherwise why drive off in such a hurry after

Do you have legal expenses cover? If you do then get the work done by your mate and then claim for his invoice via the LE cover. If it goes 50/50 then limits your costs and if it goes 100% in your favour you've been out of pocket for less for that length of time.