Very Minor Car Accident - Is settling outside insurance Legal??

Neill1981

Thanks.
No we have a photo, no obvious damage at all, the impact would have been at 3mph...is was in a traffic jam on the motorway

LilElvis

Neill1981 wrote: »

Thanks.
No we have a photo, no obvious damage at all, the impact would have been at 3mph...is was in a traffic jam on the motorway

Doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't any.

I was rear-ended at about 5mph on the M25 in stop-and go traffic the car who hit me refused to pull over and exchange details (shouted out of car window) as she said there was no damage. Fortunately another car called out that they had witnessed it and would stop and give me their details.

The cost of repairs (to the insurers of the idiot who hit me) was £1900 - there were cracks in 3 panels (Smart car, so plastic) and had wrecked the whole exhaust.

mumx3

Sounds almost the exact same thing that happened to me, I bumped a learner driver after pulling away from traffic lights, she stalled I bumped her at about 5mph!
The instructor got out and found a tiny scratch on his bumper, I didnt for one minute think I had done it, anyway a couple hours later he rang telling me his car was underivable, underneath was so crunched etc etc he made it sound like I'd hit him with a ten ton truck!
I told my insurance that he was trying to pull a fast one, long story short, he finally only claimed for whiplash!! at less than 5mph, I would think impossible:mad:

So I think your guy is trying it on, just ignore him and deal with the insurers only, let them know that you think he is trying it on etc!

LilElvis

mumx3 wrote: »

Sounds almost the exact same thing that happened to me, I bumped a learner driver after pulling away from traffic lights, she stalled I bumped her at about 5mph!
The instructor got out and found a tiny scratch on his bumper, I didnt for one minute think I had done it, anyway a couple hours later he rang telling me his car was underivable, underneath was so crunched etc etc he made it sound like I'd hit him with a ten ton truck!
I told my insurance that he was trying to pull a fast one, long story short, he finally only claimed for whiplash!! at less than 5mph, I would think impossible:mad:

So I think your guy is trying it on, just ignore him and deal with the insurers only, let them know that you think he is trying it on etc!

See my story! 5mph tap and £1900 of genuine damage - and no, I didn't claim for whiplash.

The other driver also got points for failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

Gavin83

I was hit at no more than a few MPH and it left a crack in the rear bumper so a slow crash can certainly cause damage.

Exile_geordie

Just leave it to yoru insurers. That is what you pay the money for.

If anything is untoward about the person she hit then they will find it and deal with it how they see fit.

And also, should she happen to bump someone again make sure she takes photos also - this could counter act against anything he has since done to his car and show it in a worse state then it is.

elsien

Similar thing happened to my elderly mother. She admitted being at fault, just touching an old banger parked in a stupid position. The driver became very aggressive (to the point where passesby had to intervene) and tried to say a multitude of existing bumps nowhere near where she reversed into him were caused by her.
As my mother is not easily intimidated, she said she would pay for any damage she'd caused (barely visible) but she'd fight him all the way if he tried to claim for years worth of prior damage.
She had a phone call a week later saying he'd dropped all claims against her. I think he saw an apparently easy target and decided to see what it was worth.

George_Michael

5mph isn't very fast but when you consider a small car will weigh somewhere in the region of 1100 or 1200Kg, there is a fair amount of energy in that slow moving vehicle, energy that has to go somewhere in the event of it hitting a stationary object.

With older cars that didn't have much in the way of crumple zones and had strong metal bumpers and panels this wouldn't be too much of a problem, but with plastic bumpers and cars with areas that are designed especially to deform to absorb that energy, even a low speed shunt can result in quite an expensive repair.

hollydays

hollydays wrote: »

I'd speak to the police. Give them the details and ask should you go ahead with this, or do they need to know.

He may have a criminal record and doesn't want to be traced.

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Its not a police matter. Its a non injury RTC and both parties have exchanged details. Its a matter for the insurance company to resolve.

Yes thanks I'm aware of the law,. I'm also aware of how criminals think,

Checking out this info with the police costs nothing

haz25a

In some cases it is entirely possible to deal with minor bumps without involving your insurance company BUT this guy sounds really dodgy!

At the scene of any accident your car is involved with you should always take down the registration number, make, colour of car. I'm pretty sure that the driver and yourself must disclose the name of your insurers but no names and addresses or telephone numbers are needed. IMPORTANT - get witnesses if you can! This could prove crucial, it did in my case.

I suspect he isn't insured to drive this car. Let your insurer contact his (if he has one) and let them fight it out.

Good luck and maybe consider Protected No Claims in future.