Someone claims I hit their car

skyblue67

I received a letter today from a person who claims I reversed into their car in a local supermarket carpark damaging the rear passenger wing. This was supposed to have happened in July. He or she noted my number and reported the incident to the police and have "forms to fill out to send them regarding prosecution". The delay is due to the time taken by DVLA to pass on my details. I have no recollection of this incident although it's quite possible I was in the supermarket at the time stated. My car does have reversing sensors so I find it hard to believe I actually did this. I am concerned that DVLA has passed my details on to a private individual. I'm not sure how to respond, the writer has sent a mobile number, their initial and surname but no address. Any advice on what I should do?

cb1979

Possibly a scam..if they had reported this to their insurance company they would have been in touch long ago

Sounds a bit similar to this recent thread....................https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5733547

System

skyblue67 wrote: »

I'm not sure how to respond, the writer has sent a mobile number, their initial and surname but no address. Any advice on what I should do?

Ignore. Wait until you actually see something from the police (you never will) or their insurers.

skyblue67

Thanks for the reply. It's similar but my letter has come through the post as DVLA (allegedly) supplied my details and the incident has (allegedly) been reported to the police. I'm not going to contact the person but I'm concerned about the consequences of doing nothing.

skyblue67

Also how does a private individual get my address from DVLA?

shaun_from_Africa

skyblue67 wrote: »

Also how does a private individual get my address from DVLA?

Very easily.
All they need to do is to fill in and submit a form giving the reason for wanting the information and pay £2.50.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/644983/v888-request-by-an-individual-for-information-about-a-vehicle.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla

EssexExile

You'd have had a visit from the police by now, they don't require victims of crime to do their investigating for them. To put your mind at rest take the letter to them & see what they think.

shaun_from_Africa

It might be worth doing a search for the mobile phone number on Google to see if it brings anything up.
If it is a scam and the person concerned has tried it before, there may be something on another forum about it.

skyblue67

I searched the number on google and facebook but nothing came up

Car_54

Bear in mind that you are almost certainly obliged to pass any claims to your insurer, unanswered.

Before doing that, I would send a text demanding their name and address. It is entirely reasonable to refuse to respond to anonymous communications.

shaun_from_Africa

Car_54 wrote: »

Before doing that, I would send a text demanding their name and address. It is entirely reasonable to refuse to respond to anonymous communications.

But only after getting a new sim card for your phone. (you can get these free or for a very small amount).
You don't really want to give them your normal phone number just in case you get plagued with calls or texts from them in the future.