car accident insurance claim

rocketfixer

Q. Why has it taken so long to respond. Could he have had a another prang and be trying to blame me, is it a scam to get money.

impy78

rocketfixer wrote: »

I was involved in a accident. I could not stop in time and hit the car in front of me. My car was fairly badly damaged but the other car only seemed to have minor scratching to the bumper. We exchanged phone numbers, but the other driver said dont worry about the damage it will polish out. I,m assuming I would be held liable, but I do not intend to claim off my Ins, because my car was of very low value.. loss of no claims, only 19, etc etc, and the other driver was not fussed. This all happened about a month ago, now the other driver has contacted me saying there is £400 worth of damage. Q. Why has it taken so long to respond. Could he have had a another prang and be trying to blame me, is it a scam to get money. What should I do? My Ins excess is £400!

Bumpers are funny things - they may look like no damage has been done, but they can be quite badly damaged. it is probably that he has gone for his MOT and they won't pass it.

You won't have to pay an excess as this would be a third party claim.

laalaa

You think one months wait is bad!

My mum had a claim after 5 months. It was 50/50 liability, and at the time they agreed no insurance claim, they would each fix their own cars. My mums indicator was cracked, the other womans bumper was scratched.

5 Months later she got a claim for £700.

Other party described my mums car as a small green car, when it is infact a blue people carrier.

She said it happened in a side street, when in fact it was a shopping centre car park.

The list could go on!

Direct line said even though they suspected she was trying to defraud them, it was easier for them just to pay than contest it.

Needless to say my mum didnt renew her policy with them

rocketfixer

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess i should get my own inspection done on his car. I know it is possible there could be more damage than just a bumper, but there must be limits to the claim? He knows I,m a young driver and will not want to get involved with Ins companies. Is it acceptable to make a reasonable settlement offer. I dont think he is being honest... can I just say it is unreasonable, refuse to pay, and see what happens.
Cheers

impy78

rocketfixer wrote: »

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess i should get my own inspection done on his car. I know it is possible there could be more damage than just a bumper, but there must be limits to the claim? He knows I,m a young driver and will not want to get involved with Ins companies. Is it acceptable to make a reasonable settlement offer. I dont think he is being honest... can I just say it is unreasonable, refuse to pay, and see what happens.
Cheers

I would offer to pay to have the car inspected by an independent garage, and see hat they say about the damage to the bumper. If he is being reasonable, he should have no reason to object.

nickmack

rocketfixer wrote: »

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess i should get my own inspection done on his car. I know it is possible there could be more damage than just a bumper, but there must be limits to the claim? He knows I,m a young driver and will not want to get involved with Ins companies. Is it acceptable to make a reasonable settlement offer. I dont think he is being honest... can I just say it is unreasonable, refuse to pay, and see what happens.

As you stated it only appeared to have minor scratching at the time, this may have been the case. There *could* have been other impact damage you didn't see and the whole bumper may need to be replaced.

By all means satisfy yourself that the other driver is not trying it on, but remember the accident was your fault. They are entitled to be put back in the position they were before it happened. If it is genuine damage and you refuse to co-operate, they can simply take the insurance route. You will need to inform your insurers anyway, even if a claim isn't made.

Coupon-mad

When a neighbour's car hit my back bumper when my car was parked one evening, initially it looked just like a scrape/scratched area on the bumper. Luckily I was non-committal about the damage at the time and said I would check the cost & let them know (even though I couldn't see much damage).

On closer inspection the next morning the bumper was actually cracked and the whole bumper needed replacing, which on my people carrier would have cost about £300 at the time. We got a couple of quotes & discussed it immediately with the neighbour that same week.

So it's possible this what has happened, although I can't understand why they took so long to claim unless they are actually trying it on. If it's just a crack it I am sure wouldn't normally fail its MOT for that, seeing as we never repaired ours and that was a few years ago, the car is OK! We just agreed to accept £200 cash from the neighbour, telling him that we may or may not put it towards a new bumper (we didn't, other priorities took precedence!).

If you have the address, OP, how about just turning up there with a friend (ideally someone who knows about cars/repair costs), at a reasonable time of day like 5 or 6pm (before it gets too dark but hopefully when they are in and the car is parked in full view). Then you will know if it's true....;)

LNieuwhof

Was the £400 estimate by him? Or can he supply you with a quote from a garage?
I would be very wary about paying anyone money when you don't have breakdown of the costs, and would encourage you to ask if he has tried to find any cheaper quotes.
Also is it possible to have a look at his vehicle to see if the damage "now" is consistent with when the incident happened "then"?

You could ask whether the damage repair would have been cheaper had it been fixed earlier. Use of the vehicle may have contributed to worsened damage.

In any case I think its more complicated than solving yourself. Ask your insurance company to help you, because there are questions which need asking.