Hit and Run - Police not interested as there is no Personal Injury, even with evidence

Ectophile

Herzlos said:

You could always file a Letter Before Action to the resident of the house for the cost of the repairs, if you've got video evidence of the car being known to them. 

They may just give you their visitors details to avoid the hassle.

Of course given it looks like your neighbours it may be more hassle than it's worth. 

And they will say "it wasn't us, we didn't go out that evening".  You can't sue someone just because they know someone who caused damage to your property.

MarvinDay

DullGreyGuy said:

MarvinDay said:

abeezar said:

The video shows the car hitting my car and my car wobbling at the time of the hit.

Not really.
All it shows is the other car reversing towards your car then your car moves but there is no video proof that contact was made.
If the other driver was found and taken to court, they could claim that your car had someone sitting behind the wheel and when their car was reversing out, the person in your car started the engine and it looked as if it was in gear because it jumped forward slightly.

I'm not saying that they didn't hit your car but as there is no video of the actual collision, proving the impact may not be too easy.

They could, but then it would ultimately come down to who the judge believes is the more probable story... civil law is based on the balance of probability rather than beyond reasonable doubt. 

Failing to stop and give details when required after an accident is not a civil offence. It's a criminal offence under the Road Traffic act so the proof required is not that of the balance of probability as this is the offence that the CPS would prosecute for. 

Grey_Critic

***The Insurance company has put the claim as a "Fault Claim" and I need to pay the excess.***

We all have to pay the excess - it is an uninsured loss which we (sometimes with help from our insurance) claim back from the third party.

Just how much damage is there to your vehicle?

user1977

Ectophile said:

Herzlos said:

You could always file a Letter Before Action to the resident of the house for the cost of the repairs, if you've got video evidence of the car being known to them. 

They may just give you their visitors details to avoid the hassle.

Of course given it looks like your neighbours it may be more hassle than it's worth. 

And they will say "it wasn't us, we didn't go out that evening".  You can't sue someone just because they know someone who caused damage to your property.

Indeed. The cops aren't interested because, even if they had evidence sufficient for a prosecution handed to them on a plate, it isn't likely to be treated as a priority given all that's happened is some damage to the OP's car. If the driver was caught at the time and e.g. was drunk, that would be of more interest to them.

And they know that if they call round at the neighbours, if the neighbours say "sorry, can't remember anything about who visited that night", there's nothing more they can do.

DullGreyGuy

MarvinDay said:

DullGreyGuy said:

MarvinDay said:

abeezar said:

The video shows the car hitting my car and my car wobbling at the time of the hit.

Not really.
All it shows is the other car reversing towards your car then your car moves but there is no video proof that contact was made.
If the other driver was found and taken to court, they could claim that your car had someone sitting behind the wheel and when their car was reversing out, the person in your car started the engine and it looked as if it was in gear because it jumped forward slightly.

I'm not saying that they didn't hit your car but as there is no video of the actual collision, proving the impact may not be too easy.

They could, but then it would ultimately come down to who the judge believes is the more probable story... civil law is based on the balance of probability rather than beyond reasonable doubt. 

Failing to stop and give details when required after an accident is not a civil offence. It's a criminal offence under the Road Traffic act so the proof required is not that of the balance of probability as this is the offence that the CPS would prosecute for. 

Well that depends on what you meant by the other driver being taken to court... a criminal court for failing to stop or a civil court for the OP claiming their damages/losses. Inevitably in threads like this the OP is most likely more concerned about being left out of pocket than a summary offence being leveled at the TP.

Even if you were intending to talk about a criminal court then it would seem an extraordinarily odd thing for a driver to remember about a car that they made no contact with a few weeks ago... presumably your story also suggests that they clearly remember that the same random vehicle they've seen in a few weeks ago already had accident damage to it? Could it tip something into reasonable doubt? Possibly, though having worked with insurer counter fraud operations, its these highly unlikely "clearly remember" statements that tend to trip up most the fraudsters. 

crazydragon

abeezar said:

[ Hit at the time: 20th sec ]

I became a victim of a Hit and Run where my car was damaged by a third party. The incident happened at night time 

I was able to get the evidence video of the third-party car coming out of a DRIVEWAY opposite where I had parked.
The video shows the car hitting my car and my car wobbling at the time of the hit.
The guys who hit the car came out to see the damage, visit the house they were parked to inform the members of the house, and then come out and drove off.
Because it was dark and also as the car lights were on - the registration number of the car is not seen.

Before I got video evidence, I went to the house and asked if they know about the incident,  they have a camera for any evidence. They denied it by texting me and do not know about the incident.

I filed a Hit and Run Police report - the police came back with insufficient information and closed the case.

I then spoke to the case officer and she said they need the Vehicle Registration number - which I explained ..boss.. I have given you the house number/address
on which the car was parked and hit my car..so isn't that enough .... NO...she said. ..and as there was no Personal Injury they cannot pursue it .....also one of the other case officers I spoke she said they don't have enough resources. I just wanted them to ask one question - can you ask ONE house about the incident?

When I asked her did she saw the video and it hit my car - she said the video did not have my car wobbling - so definitely she did not do her job.
I replied to the case officer to again view the video with specified timestamps.


Please can someone advise what are my best options?

Thanks in advance.

Regards
AB

Might be worth reading up on Norwich Pharmacal Orders - from my understanding they are a mechanism for getting information out of third parties without which you would be unable to identify someone you have a claim against.

Could you also make a DSAR request on the neighbour to compel disclosure of any cctv footage at the relevant time? 

An option could be a letter to the neighbour making the DSAR request, demanding they provide details of the car that left their property at x or y which must be known to them otherwise you reserve the right to make a court application requiring them to provide that info and you’ll ask the court to order them to pay your costs. Possibly OTT depending on the value of the damage and you’d need to read up to check it’s a feasible way forward/one you feel comfortable progressing, but you’d hope the neighbour would see sense and do the right thing if faced with that.

Good luck whatever route you go, I’d be fuming in your shoes!

user1977

crazydragon said:

abeezar said:

[ Hit at the time: 20th sec ]

I became a victim of a Hit and Run where my car was damaged by a third party. The incident happened at night time 

I was able to get the evidence video of the third-party car coming out of a DRIVEWAY opposite where I had parked.
The video shows the car hitting my car and my car wobbling at the time of the hit.
The guys who hit the car came out to see the damage, visit the house they were parked to inform the members of the house, and then come out and drove off.
Because it was dark and also as the car lights were on - the registration number of the car is not seen.

Before I got video evidence, I went to the house and asked if they know about the incident,  they have a camera for any evidence. They denied it by texting me and do not know about the incident.

I filed a Hit and Run Police report - the police came back with insufficient information and closed the case.

I then spoke to the case officer and she said they need the Vehicle Registration number - which I explained ..boss.. I have given you the house number/address
on which the car was parked and hit my car..so isn't that enough .... NO...she said. ..and as there was no Personal Injury they cannot pursue it .....also one of the other case officers I spoke she said they don't have enough resources. I just wanted them to ask one question - can you ask ONE house about the incident?

When I asked her did she saw the video and it hit my car - she said the video did not have my car wobbling - so definitely she did not do her job.
I replied to the case officer to again view the video with specified timestamps.


Please can someone advise what are my best options?

Thanks in advance.

Regards
AB

Could you also make a DSAR request on the neighbour to compel disclosure of any cctv footage at the relevant time? 

Even if the neighbour has CCTV footage, and even if the DPA applies to such a domestic installation - who is the data subject making the request? Unless the OP was filmed (which doesn't sound the case) there's no need for anybody to hand over CCTV to them.

(and even if CCTV is handed over to a data subject, the data controller is entitled to redact everybody else in the footage...)

gplinge

Reading up on Norwich Pharmacal Orders - assuming you tried this (and there are some criteria that must be complied with - it seems you can't easily demand information against someone who was a "mere witness". The sting in the tail is that you are responsible for all the costs of the application (yours and your opponents) even if you win (unlike most litigation where the loser pays the costs. quick search suggests you'd have to pay somewhere towards £7k just for the application plus any costs for the other party.

You might be able to claim them back as part of your action against the motorist (if successful of course)

jimjames

Grey_Critic said:

Just how much damage is there to your vehicle?

It's a good question, if the car barely wobbles then it can't be too much of a hit. It would definitely be worth checking if the excess is more than the damage done. Resprayed bumper could be £200 at paintshop.

crazydragon

user1977 said:

crazydragon said:

abeezar said:

[ Hit at the time: 20th sec ]

I became a victim of a Hit and Run where my car was damaged by a third party. The incident happened at night time 

I was able to get the evidence video of the third-party car coming out of a DRIVEWAY opposite where I had parked.
The video shows the car hitting my car and my car wobbling at the time of the hit.
The guys who hit the car came out to see the damage, visit the house they were parked to inform the members of the house, and then come out and drove off.
Because it was dark and also as the car lights were on - the registration number of the car is not seen.

Before I got video evidence, I went to the house and asked if they know about the incident,  they have a camera for any evidence. They denied it by texting me and do not know about the incident.

I filed a Hit and Run Police report - the police came back with insufficient information and closed the case.

I then spoke to the case officer and she said they need the Vehicle Registration number - which I explained ..boss.. I have given you the house number/address
on which the car was parked and hit my car..so isn't that enough .... NO...she said. ..and as there was no Personal Injury they cannot pursue it .....also one of the other case officers I spoke she said they don't have enough resources. I just wanted them to ask one question - can you ask ONE house about the incident?

When I asked her did she saw the video and it hit my car - she said the video did not have my car wobbling - so definitely she did not do her job.
I replied to the case officer to again view the video with specified timestamps.


Please can someone advise what are my best options?

Thanks in advance.

Regards
AB

Could you also make a DSAR request on the neighbour to compel disclosure of any cctv footage at the relevant time? 

Even if the neighbour has CCTV footage, and even if the DPA applies to such a domestic installation - who is the data subject making the request? Unless the OP was filmed (which doesn't sound the case) there's no need for anybody to hand over CCTV to them.

(and even if CCTV is handed over to a data subject, the data controller is entitled to redact everybody else in the footage...)

It would be the OP making the request. I would assume if the camera covers his car then he is presumably being captured getting into it. The licence plate of his car is also ‘personal data’ regarding him I would say. As for redaction, perhaps your neighbours are more data protection orientated and used to handling complex requests than most but I see no reason for OP not to ask. Defeatism and negativity gets you nowhere, always a reason not to try something!