Car Park claim

georgiemchisholm

Hi All, I am hoping you can help me out because I've been worried out of my mind over this!
Yesterday, I was leaving Tescos car park. I had reversed out of my bay, across the lane of opposing traffic, acknowledged the driver who had slowed to allow me to finish my manoeuvre and made progress out of the car park. I cant have travelled more than 20 feet when a Volvo XC60 reversed square into the side of me. (The damage begins at the back of my front wheel arch and finishes before the front of my rear wheel arch).
I got out of the car and the first thing the driver said to me was, "i'll be getting a new bumper off you then" and his snotty wife said "is that even insured?" - To explain, I drive a 20 year old VW Golf convertible which isn't so easy on the eye, but being a biker, a car is merely a boat for shopping! However I am fully comp with Green Insurance (Aviva).

If they hadn't have been so audacious, I would have suggested a hand shake would have solved the matter, because another scrape on my 20 year old banger was inconsequential to me.

They went on to say that I was speeding and that there is no way they could have seen me. - There is no way I could have been speeding having literally just changed from reverse into first gear.

To finish snotty woman insisted on calling the Police, after an hour of waiting the cop came along and said "looks like they have reversed into your line of way". However, they seemed to get a witness on side to say that I was speeding? However nice copper said that "speed is a perception and impossible to prove"

I really cant afford to lose my no claims and quite frankly I'm so affronted by their audacity, I'm wondering if I should just make a claim on their insurance.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Havent slept worrying about it. As far as I can see, I have done nothing wrong. I can't prove I wasn't speeding - just as they can't prove I was. But I can prove that the damage is in the middle of my car. Are they just chancing it or am I being naïve?

forgotmyname

Its going to be an insurance job anyway so claiming probably wont do any more danage than whats done.

Just make sure you point the doubt at their independant witness. Are they pals?

Also make a point of they said there was no way they could have seen you so did they bother looking or just reverse out blindly?

nobbysn*ts

Make sure you get a copy of the police report.

oldbaldman

How many exits and/or entrances are there to the car park?

And most importantly, this sort of thing is not worth losing sleep over.

obm

[Deleted User]

Start a claim off their insurance for damage to your car. It was their fault, and you need to be very clear about that to their insurance company.

Getting the police involved was just a scare tactic. They are trying to bully you.

RuthnJasper

Sounds like it was their fault. You were in motion and they reversed into you, OP.

Hope it gets sorted OK. x

magpiecottage

Does Tesco have any CCTV of it?

InsideInsurance

Its not 100% clear to me, were you both reversing at the time or were you driving forward and they reversing?

OnanTheBarbarian

Sounds to me like he had driven forwards towards the exit and the Volvo has reversed out into the side of him.
Was this your passenger side that was hit?

Did you take any pics?

Odds are Tesco won't have CCTV

georgiemchisholm

I had completely finished my manoeuvre, I was driving down my side of the road and the car shot back out of its space into the middle of the passenger side of my car. I only mention my manoeuvre because it was literally seconds after I had completed my manoeuvre - making it impossible for me to have got my gutless little car up to any sort of 'dangerous speed' and then 'screeched to a halt'.
I have called my insurer and made a claim against them, someone is coming to assess the damage to my car, which on further inspection is minimal, but given the value of my car it will probably be written off.
I can't understand how they thought it could have been my fault, if they had been a bit nicer I would have just said, "oh well, whats another ding in a 20 year old car", they could have replaced the plastic trim on their bumper for about £40 quid and that would have been that, but I feel like I've been forced into being an a55hole.
#feelingfedup

georgiemchisholm

oldbaldman wrote: »

How many exits and/or entrances are there to the car park?

And most importantly, this sort of thing is not worth losing sleep over.

obm

There is one entrance/exit and a roundabout coming off it, but its a huge car park with about 10 rows of 30 bays, I was somewhere right at the front, about 500 yards away from that? They were parked about 10 bays further up and on the opposite side to where I was, which is inconsequential as I had finished my manoeuvre, changed gear and was driving merrily away.