A Public Bus Hit My Car, Can I Do Anything? *RESOLVED*

jimbo6977

A couple of years ago a service bus owned by one of the very large national companies scraped my parked car. I wasn't present, had no witnesses or CCTV, but I could tell which company it was by the colours of the paint it left behind. That and an idea of the bus routes at the location was all I had.

The company involved handles it's own claims up to a pretty high value limit and has its own claims office, who were extremely helpful and paid the repair costs based on an estimate from a local insurance-approved garage.

So I'd say it's definitely worth trying to identify the company and route if you can and contacting them, especially if it's a fairly large company.

Inner_Zone

sperre wrote: »

I have no idea what bus it was other than the shape and size. I wouldn't know who to contact. I've never had an accident before, so I wasn't sure if I contacting my insurer would be a waste of time given the information I have.

I would respectively suggest you read your policy documents. It will all be set down there.

AdrianC

Mercdriver wrote: »

You didn't get the reg number of the bus then. Needle in haystack springs to mind.

The OP knows the location, therefore the route(s).
They know the time.
That will allow the bus operator to identify the bus in question.

Shaun_of_the_Dead

AdrianC wrote: »

The OP knows the location, therefore the route(s).
They know the time.
That will allow the bus operator to identify the bus in question.

But if the bus company doesn't play ball it's the end of the road without other evidence.

shaun_from_Africa

As Bradford is among the worst areas for "crash for cash" accidents in the UK, there's a good possibility that if any of the passengers saw the contact between the two vehicles, there will be a claim or two going in.

With the amount of fraudulent claims in that area of the UK, I wouldn't be surprised to find that the bus company is more than willing to investigate especially if the collision has been reported to the police (which it should have been).

AdrianC

Shaun_of_the_Dead wrote: »

But if the bus company doesn't play ball it's the end of the road without other evidence.

The chances of them "not playing ball" are roughly zero.

RichardD1970

chrisw wrote: »

I would weigh up my options before informing my insurance company.

If you can track down the bus that hit you then go ahead. However, if it's unlikely you will get anywhere and the incident will never otherwise come to light, I would decide whether to leave it as it is, pay to get it repaired myself or claim on my insurance bearing in mind I would lose my no claim bonus and pay an increased premium for the next few years.

Not necessarily, I made an at fault claim last year on my insurance. No third party involved, protected NCB. Cost of claim just over £2000. I still got a cheaper quote when it came to renew. It also didn't effect my wife's insurance on which I'm a named driver.

Shaun_of_the_Dead

AdrianC wrote: »

The chances of them "not playing ball" are roughly zero.

Based on what? You don't know the third party.

AdrianC

Shaun_of_the_Dead wrote: »

Based on what? You don't know the third party.

Based on simple reality, and the fact that all of Bradford's bus services are provided by corporates with reputations to protect. Not by half-arsed cowboys.

sperre

Thank you everyone. Your comments and opinions have been really helpful. I know the general colour scheme of the bus and also how it looked. It is, as previously mentioned, a First Bus operated bus and I have contacted the company.

There are also various shops on the junction where it happened which I am contacting to ask about cctv.

Your contributions to my dilemma have been really helpful.