What would you do?

[MancMike]

My Mrs just told me about an incident while she was out on the school run...

She was parked in a space (sat, engine off, waiting), and a guy got in his car next to her car and swung his door open, it smacked her wing mirror, which is now cracked (the shell of it, it's a Mini Cooper).

The scumbag then looked at her ****** off face, pointed, laughed punch 'n' judy style as if to say "deal with it, wtf are you gonna do about it b*tch" and drove off.

I'm seething, as most blokes would be, wishing I was there to beat my chest, but luckily she got his number plate. I've checked and he is insured.

My Mrs isn't that keen with the hassle of making a claim, but I am. It'll not only repair the damage he caused, but wipe the smirk off the pr*cks face at the same time.

He's also left the scene of an accident in my view, but maybe I'm just seeking revenge there...

What would you do? Do I just need to cool off, or am I totally correct in wanting to claim on his insurance for the cracked wing mirror?

On a more administrative note, how do I go about finding out his insurer?

Thanks.

 

[tec]

Report the other driver to the police, as he has failed to stop after an accident.

Not sure I would bother with insurance unless the Police will give you his details.

He might just deny everything and leave you with increased premiums.

 

[Jeff666]

Bloody annoying but if you walk away all is good. Insurer... Hand that over it's what you pay for.

 

[NDFR]

Report it to your wife's insurance and let them sort it out.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Bare in mind it will still appear on your insurance for 5 years as a non-fault claim - which will increase your premiums

 

[C240Sport97]

send some thugs round to his house and teach him a lesson in manners

 

[b1g1an]

Bloody annoying but if you walk away all is good. Insurer... Hand that over it's what you pay for.

Unless he has a very, very low excess (or none at all obviously) it's not worth claiming as the excess will probably pay for it and you'll end up with a claim against your policy but receive no recompense. Even if it did cover most or all of the cost it's just not worth it.

Reporting him to the Police is a no brainer, costs you nothing but a bit of time and if they decide to act on it the least he'll get is a very uncomfortable knock on the door. I did that once for some pillock who scraped a previous car in a car park, and by scrape I mean tiny mark that I didn't even bother to fix as you had to know where to look to find it. In the end I got a day in court and the driver got a sizeable fine and a load of points. Only cost me a day off work and the satisfaction was immense.

Only problem you may have is he wasn't driving and therefore it might not count as a motoring offence...I don't know this but worth checking before you take it any further.

What does surprise me is that the mirror cover cracked just from a door hitting it, however hard it was flung. Not calling your missus a liar but they can take some serious grief before actually breaking so is it possible she has had a previous coming together that may have caused it to crack and this incident just finished it off?

 

[martyz]

Go to the police station with all the details of the incident,explaining that your wife didn't want to confront him because he was obviously high on drugs or drunk.That should earn him a pull at least.

 

[brucemillar]

Hope that he hasn't got one up on your wife by reporting her for leaving the scene of an accident. Sad but possibly true. I suspect the police will have no interest in this. I was hit by an uninsured, unlicensed, untaxed guy who produced fraudulent insurance details. All of this outside the home that be owned. I ended up after six months going to the police commissioner to get any action taken. Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

 

[MancMike]

Hi, Guys.

Thanks for all the ideas.

I've gotten home and had a look now.

What does surprise me is that the mirror cover cracked just from a door hitting it, however hard it was flung. Not calling your missus a liar but they can take some serious grief before actually breaking so is it possible she has had a previous coming together that may have caused it to crack and this incident just finished it off?

You're kind of right, on inspection, it's not the "shell" body of the mirror that's cracked, it's the lacquer. It looks like a crack, so that's why she described it like that (women...), but it seems to be only lacquer deep. A bit is chipped about an inch long. The surface of the lacquer is now broken, and so that'll start spreading as water gets under there, but it'll obviously be confined to the wing mirror.

To be honest, with how much our insurance is anyway (because we live in the highest cost postcode there is for insurance risk), we're not likely to risk any comebacks to our insurance cost, so I'll likely just re-lacquer the wing mirror myself. A pressure washer will take the existing lacquer off neatly and I can remove the mirror to do the clear coat in a warmed room in the house. I've already got acrylic clear coat so won't cost a thing.

I'm more annoyed at his attitude than the damage, as not only does it indicate he's the kind of guy who takes no care whatsoever of damaging others' cars but the nasty arrogance of miming a laugh at her... (does anyone else put their hand on the outer most point of their door when getting out in a tight spot, just incase your door touches the car next to you? Clearly not everyone is that careful, or gives a damn).

We'll take it no further, although if I do see his car around, I may draw a smiley face on his windscreen or something.

Anyway I can name and shame at least, the arrogant nasty see oh see kay drives a 07 Silver 1.9 CDTi Vectra - distinctive reg: KNZ 8496

(writing that now, I'm sure I've seen it before...)

Thanks again.

 

[Giantvanman]

Only problem you may have is he wasn't driving and therefore it might not count as a motoring offence...I don't know this but worth checking before you take it any further.

It doesn't matter that they weren't driving..relevant parts highlighted and the salient phrase is "owing to the presence".

Copied from here http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/170
…...

170: Duty of driver to stop, report accident and give information or documents.

(1)This section applies in a case where, owing to the presence of a [F1mechanically propelled vehicle] on a road [F2or other public place], an accident occurs by which—

(a)personal injury is caused to a person other than the driver of that [F1mechanically propelled vehicle], or

(b)damage is caused—

(i)to a vehicle other than that [F1mechanically propelled vehicle] or a trailer drawn by that [F1mechanically propelled vehicle], or

(ii)to an animal other than an animal in or on that [F1mechanically propelled vehicle] or a trailer drawn by that [F1mechanically propelled vehicle], or

(iii)to any other property constructed on, fixed to, growing in or otherwise forming part of the land on which the road [F3or place] in question is situated or land adjacent to such land.

(2)The driver of the [F1mechanically propelled vehicle] must stop and, if required to do so by any person having reasonable grounds for so requiring, give his name and address and also the name and address of the owner and the identification marks of the vehicle.

 

[219]

My Mrs just told me about an incident while she was out on the school run...

She was parked in a space (sat, engine off, waiting), and a guy got in his car next to her car and swung his door open, it smacked her wing mirror, which is now cracked (the shell of it, it's a Mini Cooper).

The scumbag then looked at her ****** off face, pointed, laughed punch 'n' judy style as if to say "deal with it, wtf are you gonna do about it b*tch" and drove off.

I'm seething, as most blokes would be, wishing I was there to beat my chest, but luckily she got his number plate. I've checked and he is insured.

My Mrs isn't that keen with the hassle of making a claim, but I am. It'll not only repair the damage he caused, but wipe the smirk off the pr*cks face at the same time.

He's also left the scene of an accident in my view, but maybe I'm just seeking revenge there...

What would you do? Do I just need to cool off, or am I totally correct in wanting to claim on his insurance for the cracked wing mirror?

On a more administrative note, how do I go about finding out his insurer?

Thanks.

By leaving the scene of an accident without giving his particulars to anyone reasonably requiring them ( your wife ) he has committed an offence . The police ought to take an interest in this .

The cynic in me might think that he left because he has something to hide .

Notwithstanding the above - if he was there once , he might be there again - if seen , he could be blocked in by a works van , and had a chat with , or while the authorities were summoned .

 

[Power_n_Glory]

I would certainly report the incident to the police for the PITA value - for him. It's obviously wound you up and to be seen to be doing something about it is value enough.

And you have made a stand...

 

[219]

Unless he has a very, very low excess (or none at all obviously) it's not worth claiming as the excess will probably pay for it and you'll end up with a claim against your policy but receive no recompense. Even if it did cover most or all of the cost it's just not worth it.

Yes , it will be recorded as a claim on your wife's record , but the bit about the excess is not correct .

An excess on your policy is only an agreement to pay the first £x of a claim of your own damage where the claim is met by your own insurer . In the case of a non fault claim being met by the other party's insurer , it is paid in its entirety by them ; if the other party has failed to stop and to report it to his own insurer he will be in hot water with them too - you must make it clear that he was fully aware of the incident and the manner of his driving off before he claims it was accidental and he didn't realise he had done it .

 

[LTD]

Just get it sorted out yourself.

Your wife doesn't need the fear of any police/insurance issues with the other party preying on her in future. After all, she is there with, I assume, your progeny.

Life is too short to worry about unless you are able to confront the guy and kick the utter ****e out of him. Then your Neanderthal antics get you into more trouble .....

A tank of fuel's cash and a caring reason. Your wife is surely worth that .....

 

[219]

Just get it sorted out yourself.

Your wife doesn't need the fear of any police/insurance issues with the other party preying on her in future. After all, she is there with, I assume, your progeny.

Life is too short to worry about unless you are able to confront the guy and kick the utter ****e out of him. Then your Neanderthal antics get you into more trouble .....

A tank of fuel's cash and a caring reason. Your wife is surely worth that .....

While I can't disagree with the above , if he was dealt with by the police for leaving the scene , then by his insurer for failing to report , he'd have to be pretty stupid to try anything further .

 

[LTD]

Derek

Even if he faced no inquiry from either the police or insurers then the fear is still instilled in the wife's mind about the 'what if' scenario.

I am sure you agree that it is simply not worth it.

 

[MancMike]

You're right guys. If we pursued this in any way, we'd just be seeking revenge.

We've cooled off now and the fact is, I've got all that's necessary to re-lacquer the mirror. For us, the path of least stress hassle and stress is to just sort it myself for no cost and forget about it, taking comfort in the adage that what goes around, comes around. Hopefully next time he does that, he won't have seen the woman's big husband and his two brothers in the passenger seats...

 

[219]

Derek

Even if he faced no inquiry from either the police or insurers then the fear is still instilled in the wife's mind about the 'what if' scenario.

I am sure you agree that it is simply not worth it.

As stated , not disagreeing at all .

At the end of the day , what is right for one person might be different for someone else , and it is the OP's and his wife's call in this case .

 

[gl boy]

I had a similar thing happen a while ago when a young lad opened the car door onto my passages door on my SL , went with an almighty bang , he's mom was flapping as was I , she was totally apologetic and offered to pay for the damage , thankfully it was just a little paint chip and no dent , unbelievable !!! The noise was intense !!!!! And as she was genuinely sorry I was happy just to touch up the chip , you can't see it now ,,, so thankfully mine was a different case , but accepting that you've damage someone's car in a minor way instead of been a totally a** about it can result in no problems and walk away without any bitter or I'll feeling ,,.. I'm so surprised how many people believe that damaging someone else's car is acceptable !!!!