Petrol Station Incident... Any advice?

[moonym20]

Hoping to solicit the advice of anyone of the great folks on here to an unpleasant collision on a station forecourt earlier today near Oxford. It was in my 05 C270.

Short story is that I was driving through the forecourt (well, along the outside edge) when a chap in a Nissan Navara flung his door open just as I drew level with his vehicle. It's totalled the nearside bumper with a deep crack that runs about half the length of the bumper and smashed the facia that wraps around the bumper on that quarter. Damage to the third party was a small dent to the last bottom two inches of his door. It was never pushed past its opening limit and it was still alligned with the doorsill, opened and closed freely. The impact was at less than 5mph by this time.

Third party jumped out, launched into a triad of colourful abuse, took various pictures and insisted I was going too fast. I at this point said nothing, eventually extracted the basic details (reg, insurance... that's all the guy would offer) took a couple of photos for the insurers and left the scene. A few minutes later I called the garage this happened at to beg them to put the CCTV to one side and then called my insurers (fully comp) before the third party does.

Now it gets a bit muddy.

My insurance is actually due to be renewed in 2 days, so before I had finished the call to notify them of a possible claim I got an email to say my renewal has gone up by just short of £300...

I'm annoyed some careless Pratt has damaged my car, agitated I have been hit in the pocket already.... and I really do not know where I stand with liability, insurance etc etc.

Can anyone help? While I am bothered about the damage to my own car I am getting the horrors that the third party will no doubt try it on and claim for a new door...rental car...loss of earnings etc etc...

The incident was captured by CCTV and my insurers know that fact, is that something they can legally obtain?

Any help, advice, anything... Would be welcomed. I would go down the bar to drown my sorrows.... But I'm at work :fail

Cheers

 

[Giantvanman]

First things first, approach the petrol station manager and request, at your expense, a copy of the CCTV; there is likely to be some and you may have to pay an admin fee and complete a Data Protection form-take some single use burnable DVD's with you. Petrol stations often burn discs for police so are familiar with the process; you will need to print of an MG11 statement form for them to describe that they have downloaded the footage and burned the disc and exhibit the disc. Secondly, have a look at the Road Traffic Act as there is an actual offence for opening a vehicle door to the damage or danger (which section I can't remember offhand) and there is guidance in the Highway Code which says something like

'Check before opening your door - you MUST ensure you do not hit anyone when you open your door - check for cyclists or other traffic.'

However, as the other driver is alleging you were travelling too fast, the CCTV is critical, I would suggest, as there will likely be a 50/50 knock for knock insurance settlement unless you can disprove his/her allegation. As long as the CCTV shows you were moving slowly and reasonably, then you should have no problems and be able to add you expenses (obtaining the CCTV) to the claim.

EDIT:regarding the CCTV, system storage varies from (usually) a rolling seven days to twenty-eight days so leaving for the insurance company to act in time may not work in your favour…you can always argue that any lost footage down to their neglect should not penalise you but that is unlikely to be a winning position, I would suggest.

 

[developer]

Common sense (but only my opinion) would dictate that you are insured by your ins company at the time of the incident.

They are required to act on your behalf regardless of renewal dates and premiums etc.

I'd let them sort out the rest.

 

[AMGeed]

I'm surprised the OP's insurance company have suddenly emailed to advise of a £300 increase in his imminent renewal. There should be no increase in the case of a non fault incident. Seems more than a coincidence to me.

As John above, let the insurance company deal with everything. Write down exactly what happened while it's fresh in your mind.

 

[geraldrobins]

Why has the insurance premium increased? If its because of a loss of some NCD the insurance company usually do this until liability is established and whether they have to make a payout.

 

[tec]

I think it will be 50/50 insurance claim.

Your insurance has gone up a lot because you now have an unsettled claim, but it should go down once the claim is settled regardless of who was at fault.

Getting the CCTV evidence may be difficult due to data protection act.

 

[neilrr]

It's not 50 /50, it's the fault of the idiot who opened his door!

If he was watching you enough to see you were going too fast why did he then open the bloody door for you to drive into it?

Entirely his fault. Contact his insurers, make a claim & if they start humming & hawing say the magic words "claims management company" & "Mercedes rental replacement".

 

[Doodle]

Your insurance has gone up a lot because you now have an unsettled claim, but it should go down once the claim is settled regardless of who was at fault.

While you will always get any excess returned once settled in your favour, the chances of getting any "extra" premium back is almost non-existent. While you might have some leverage because you already have a renewal notice, I would expect you'd have more chance of sticking the other guy's insurance on for the increased premium than clawing it back from your own.

 

[grober]

Your insurance is valid for the period stated on the policy insurance certificate. This is independent of whether you renew your policy or not. I would shop around for a quote from another company. You must declare any previous accidents of course [ resolved or otherwise] to the new company. You might chose to renew with your present company but if they offer a " cooling off period" you may still be able to cancel without major penalty.


Customers have a 14-day ‘cooling off’ period following the start of a new policy or renewal of an existing one, during which time they are legally entitled to cancel it. If you realise the error within this period, then you should be able to cancel your policy, although you may incur some pro-rata costs for the time and reasonable administration charges. Your insurance provider's exact terms should be easy to find within their policy document.
Once you have passed that 14-day cut-off, though, many insurance providers will charge you a hefty sum to cancel your policy; with one reader being charged a massive 50 per cent of his yearly premium to escape his contract. However, even if you have paid this fee already, that needn’t be the end of it, and you may still be entitled to get your money back.

might give you a bit more " room for manoeuvre" ??

 

[SquabzZz]

Common sense (but only my opinion) would dictate that you are insured by your ins company at the time of the incident.

They are required to act on your behalf regardless of renewal dates and premiums etc.

I'd let them sort out the rest.

+1

i had a car stolen off me in the second day of my insurance..

you cant help what day anything happens long as your insured your insured

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Odd first post.

 

[tec]

Odd first post.

Took 4 years to post.

 

[roastbeef]

As has been said, I reckon it will be a 50/50 settlement also you don't need to renew with your present company as you was covered at the time of the incident ,but I would not hold out much hope of police getting involved with retrieving CCTV footage unless any one was shot or killed .I had a incident on a petrol station forecourt where I was actually putting fuel in my car and some one reversed out of a parking space and crashed into my car then drove off I managed to get what I thought was the reg number informed the petrol station reported to the police they was unable to help as they said because it is filmed in 10 second clips (or something like that ) it didn't actually show the other vehicle hitting my car and although I gave them description of the car they would not give me the correct reg number .And I would of gave chase my self at the time it happened but fuel gun got stuck in the fuel filler pipe and the other half had the keys in the petrol station so I huffed and puffed lol

 

[jay1983]

Ref CCTV footage: The law states that all footage should be retained for 28 days. The systems I use automatically erase footage over 28 days old.
You are also legally entitled to request any footage you believe the petrol station has which has you included in it. This is covered under the DPA and can be requested regardless if an incident has taken place. They will normally charge an admin fee and ask you to complete a subject to access form.
If they refuse to provide you with the footage, they are in breach of the DPA and can be prosecuted. Have a look at the CCTV signs on or around the forecourt. If it's a large company it should have a tel number of someone within the company who is responsible for the CCTV (data controller)

 

[markmifsud]

From my understanding of the ICO rules on data retention, they specify that data should be deleted as prompt as is possible and not retained for longer than needed. With a petrol station it would be reasonable for them to retain footage if there was a reported crime, but if there were no crimes or other reasons then it would not be unreasonable to have the data deleted on an hourly basis.

With this in mind you should make the request for a copy of the data recorded of you and your car asap. They are allowed to charge an admin fee of no more than £10 for this.

further info can be found here

 

[mat8n]

I bet he's with Admiral.

Good luck if you are!

 

[wongl]

According to my insurance company, my insurance premium went up by £50 following a no-fault accident (one which the insurance company for the other party had accepted full liability) because statistically I am more likely to have another accident than someone who hasn't had an accident!

 

[moonym20]

Thank you to everyone who has posted with advice, it's not a position I have found myself in before with car insurance, never have a knock before.

It probably is an odd post, I signed up after taking ownership of my C270 a few years ago and normally used to browse the forum for general information. It's kind of rude of me to use this subject as a first post, but all the same I hugely appreciate all the advice so far.

The car is insured fully comp with LV. The third party were very abusive and made it clear they were prepared to try and claim against me immediately. To keep one step ahead of this I caled LV to tell them what happened. I did not submit a claim on my behalf yet and only gave them details of the incident and the third party. It was during this conversation LV noted I was due to renew in a couple of days and that quote was now void subject to a revisited renewal. Sure enough during the conversation an email came through with the inflated renewal quote.

What I don't want to do is give the insurance the green light to replace the front bumper and associated fixings, only for them to say it went 50/50 and I am then left with a claim and all the associated stuff with it. I genuinely do not know where I stand on this, especially if the third party really do try it on and submit a claim against me.

I'm also worried about what the third party will try to do if they take the rise and try to claim the door of the car requires replacement along with any other associated structures and 'costs'...

Thank your for detailing my rights with obtaining CCTV. When I am back in the area tomorrow I will visit the garage and take steeps to secure the CCTV of the incident.

Does the fact this occurred 'private land' have any bearing on both the Highway Code and liability for insurance?

The more thought I give it the more I get agitated I get about all the grief because someone opened their door while being complacent and not checkin it was clear for them to do so.

Thank you for the helpful advice

 

[219]

The only part I can comment on is re the status of the petrol forecourt .

Although private property , it is the same as a supermarket or similar car park to which the public have free and unrestricted vehicular and pedestrian access : the Road Traffic Act applies just as it does on the public highway .

Did the other party exchange details with you ? It is an offence in itself to fail to provide details to anyone reasonably requiring them following an incident : any driver MUST supply his name and address if reasonably required to do so , and if not the owner of the vehicle they must supply the name and address of the owner also - that is all that the law requires , although it is helpful , even customary , to exchange details of insurers ( although as long as you get the registration number your own insurer , or the police , can find this out ; although I don't think the police can divulge this ) .

The outcome of this will not be a foregone conclusion and will depend on evidence presented . Besides cctv , were there any witnesses who saw the event ? Even a passenger in your own car , although not an independent witness , is better than no witness at all .

As others have said , don't be browbeaten into renewing with your existing insurer : you were insured with them at the time and nothing can change that - they must still indemnify you against any claim made against you .

You are still entitled to claim against the other party , and he in turn can invoke his insurance to indemnify him against your claim ; if his insurer feels their driver is at fault they may very well contact you directly with an offer of settlement - if they do this you probably have a good case .

At the end of the day , however annoying it was , it appears no one was hurt : property can be repaired or replaced , people are more important .

If the other party shouted and danced around in the heat of the moment , then calmed down , this is understandable , perhaps forgivable . If he used violence , struck you , anyone else , or your car - that might constitute a criminal act and cctv or witness statements might enable a charge to be brought , if applicable .

 

[Giantvanman]

eventually extracted the basic details (reg, insurance... that's all the guy would offer)

Does the fact this occurred 'private land' have any bearing on both the Highway Code and liability for insurance?

Pontoneer covers the location perfectly.

Having re-read your first post (extract above), did you supply your name, address, insurance, vehicle owner's details, index number? I can see that he/she did not and that is another Road Traffic Act offence- failing to supply FULL details (as I have described) at the scene of a collision. IF you have complied, you should also consider reporting the matter, in person, to a police officer/at a police station. If you did not give full details…I leave you to work the rest out.