Failing to Stop - Car Damage

[vabenzi]

So i come back after work to find my car wheel arch and bumper has been scratched due to some little idiot [another merc driver unfortunately] who was unable to park properly/reverse onto a space on the road.

it was witnessed by a onlooker who was kind enough to leave me his contact details so that he could talk me through what happened.

So i got the reg number now and the model of the car.. i rang 101 to report the incident and also went into the local police station and filled out a form to report it [they said 48hours to hear back but nothing so far - its been a week]

rang up 101 today to ask for an update and they said i was miss informed and that it could take months to get a response and that i should have informed my insurance company [which i wasnt told to do by the 101 adviser or the local police station]

problem i have is that 1.. i have looked at my insurance and i got a total excess of £450 and 2.. i have looked online and it looks like even though its not my fault its very likely that my insurance will go up next year on renewal.

so keeping those two things in mind i am not sure how to proceed.. need some advise here ... i was going to request the details of the registered driver via the DVLA website [small charge] but its going to annoy me even more if i get the details of the person and approach them personally and they just blow me off and deny it.. i need to have a game plan..

any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated.. im fuming at the moment

 

[Red C220]

Do you have contact details of the witness?

 

[vabenzi]

Yup he left me his telephone number on the note he put on my car. But understandably he didn't want to give me his address when I was filling in the form at the local police station but he was happy for them to give him a call and go from there

 

[Red C220]

Yup he left me his telephone number on the note he put on my car. But understandably he didn't want to give me his address when I was filling in the form at the local police station but he was happy for them to give him a call and go from there

Your best chance is to inform your insurers if you are sure the witness will provide them with a statement.

If the witness won't do that then strike it up as one of those things, get it repaired and carry on enjoying life.

If the total cost of repair is less than your excess I might just get it sorted, leave it to the police to chase the third party and simply look at that as a bonus if any of the repair cost is eventually recovered.

Ultimately the cost of repair is going to determine the most appropriate way forward.

 

[renault12ts]

You'll not get satisfaction except by finding out who did it and putting a small dent in each of his metal panels...glass is too easy to repair.

 

[Delayed Steve]

If you don't want to involve your insurance company just chalk it up to experience. The police are going approach the other driver, he is going to say "he didn't know he'd hit anything " the police are going to then say "let the insurance sort it out".
Been there got the t shirt ! I work for a logistics company and we have calls regularly saying " your truck has hit my car and I have a witness" and every time it goes to the insurance company.

 

[rf065]

The police are going approach the other driver, he is going to say "he didn't know he'd hit anything " the police are going to then say "let the insurance sort it out".

I've heard cases like this where the police don't bother to contact anyone anymore, too busy, not enough time etc etc.

Russ

 

[TheFoX]

Once upon a time, the Police did just that, police. Now-a-days, their role has changed so much that actual policing seems to take second place to bureaucratic paperwork, meaning that they have to make decisions on what crimes to attend, and what crimes they will pass on.

Hit and running is still an offence, yet it ranks so low on the list that they won't bother attending it unless someone has been hurt, so your car being hit doesn't warrant a uniformed response. Besides, when I was in a collision with two scrotes who were threatening physical violence to me, I was told to simply 'exchange details' with them. How do you ask for someone's name and address when they are threatening you with a knife?

It also reminds me of the time that a number of people rang 999 to report a vehicle that had left the road. Two days later the Police attended. Unfortunately, the occupants had died while waiting for the Police.

Times are changing. It won't be long before we'll all be in a queue waiting for our call to be handled by a human. 'Your call is important to us, so please wait until an advisor becomes available'.

Mind you, haven't governments looked at privatising the Police Force, with a view to selling them off to the highest bidder. G4S will probably get the contract, and bugger it up in the process.

I am not slandering individual officers by the way, but Police bureaucracy has turned the Force in to a laughing matter.

 

[flowrider]

The Police around me always treat hit and run seriously, as it is now a criminal offence and the repercussions on the offender are huge.

 

[rf065]

The Police around me always treat hit and run seriously, as it is now a criminal offence and the repercussions on the offender are huge.

Perhaps if they hit another person, but not a car.

Russ

 

[Delayed Steve]

The Police around me always treat hit and run seriously, as it is now a criminal offence and the repercussions on the offender are huge.

That's how it should be, but how do they prove the offender knew they hit the other vehicle ?
In the case of HGV's people phone and say " your truck/van has hit my vehicle whilst it was parked and I've got a witness" when infact they're lying and the witness is a mate !
Lucky for us we've got cameras fitted that we can check when they give us a time and place..

 

[Alps]

Report it to the police, but they will do nothing.

if you want it repaired then either through your insurer or pay out.

i had the same when someone reversed into my car in a car park, i had a witness who took a picture and the police said it wasnt in the publics best interest to prosecute.

It cost me £150 and my time stripping the bumper and dropping it off to get sprayed.

not worth going through insurance in the end

good luck!

 

[flowrider]

Perhaps if they hit another person, but not a car.

Russ

It is a criminal offence to leave the scene of an accident without leaving valid contact details. It doesn't matter if no one was injured, you will still get a criminal record if caught and prosecuted.

 

[Meldrew2]

It would be completely wrong to get number plates made up with his car's registration on, then speed past a few cameras to get him fined, and hopefully banned from totting up the points.

Completely wrong.

So I wouldn't suggest doing that at all.

 

[vabenzi]

It's just a **** feeling when you've taken the time to park properly and be considerate of others and you come back to find that you've been hit...and they didn't even bother to leave their details. Like I said earlier the excess on my insurance is £450 so means I'll be picking up the cost either way...having had work done on my previous w203 it's around £150 a panel. Just sucks the guy gets off lightly... I might go the dvla path since it will allow me to get his details and approach him and maybe as a fellow MB owner he might own up to the incident... Pitty I don't have any contacts at kwikfit anymore that could get me the info faster..

Insurance.. 450 excess plus increase in next year renewal kinda outweighs sticking it to him.. Hope he gets done by the failure to stop criminal offence charge

 

[vabenzi]

It would be completely wrong to get number plates made up with his car's registration on, then speed past a few cameras to get him fined, and hopefully banned from totting up the points. Completely wrong. So I wouldn't suggest doing that at all.

Lmao I agree completely wrong...

 

[rf065]

It is a criminal offence to leave the scene of an accident without leaving valid contact details. It doesn't matter if no one was injured, you will still get a criminal record if caught and prosecuted.

No one is questioning that, but unless someone is injured, it's very likely the police will not do anything.
A witness told a mate of mine that a car had hit his in a car park and gave us the registration number. He went straight down to the police station and they told him the car park was not a public road so nothing to do with them. That's the point.

Russ

 

[markjay]

What's the damage like? If it's substantial, report it to your insurer and give them the details of the other car and of your witness (name and tel no.). Often just the mention of a witness is enough to make the other party's insurer accept liability even if their insured driver denies it.

If the damage is small, get the other driver's details from the DVLA for a fee and contact the other driver directly. Mention witness and police... he will know that the witness story is true given that you managed to track him down.

 

[219]

If your witness is willing to make a written statement of what he/she saw , you could obtain the details of the other vehicle's registered keeper , then raise a small claims action in your local court against him/her . If he doesn't show up to defend , you can win by default and apply for enforcement ( bailiffs ) .

Downside is you'd have to pay for repairs upfront , then gamble on winning

With luck , the court could also convict other party of leaving scene/failing to report .

 

[Scott_F]

If your witness is willing to make a written statement of what he/she saw , you could obtain the details of the other vehicle's registered keeper , then raise a small claims action in your local court against him/her . If he doesn't show up to defend , you can win by default and apply for enforcement ( bailiffs ) .

Downside is you'd have to pay for repairs upfront , then gamble on winning

With luck , the court could also convict other party of leaving scene/failing to report .

A small claims action will only allow the court to make a financial decision in favour of one party or the other and won't lead to anybody being convicted of anything.