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AIBU?

To not pay this person?

35 replies

OfficiallyUnofficial · 19/05/2016 11:07

Terribly outing but here goes.

About a month ago I was pulled up by the owner at nursery and told another client had had their car reversed into in the private car-park a month earlier (I hadn't been in a while). They had said the make, colour and a number plate that was similar but NOT identical to mine. They hadn't witnessed it a relative had and when they looked there was a small amount of damage to the bumper. I'm assuming they don't regularly look in detail at their bumper so I'm assuming can't even be sure it was done then.

I checked the date and while I could have been there on that date it equally could have been my parents (different car) as I travel a lot.

I have reversing sensors on my car, have ZERO memory of EVER getting close to a car in that carpark and would have had to have ignored the sensors, not felt the car bumping into something hard enough to damage it AND not damaged my own car at all, there's not a scratch on it.

So I told them it must have been one of the many many other cars fitting the description that drop off and forgot about it (it's a really "standard" car I've seen 2 or more here since same colour, over 100 children in the nursery!).

Another month goes by and I have never seen the car I am meant to have hit, clearly not on the same drop off/pick up schedule. Yesterday I dropped off early for once and when I got back to my car just about to close my door and a woman stood in the way accusing me of hitting her car and expecting me to "pay the damage as a point of principle", I stated nothing to do with me and she went on basically making me out as a liar. I genuinely didn't to the very best of my knowledge do anything, how to hell am I just going to hand over cash to a random stranger?

Anyway I just repeated I was a good person who wouldn't hit and run, it had nothing to do with me, they hadn't even got my number plate right and I needed to leave. She left saying she was "going through the insurance".

Am I wrong not to pay? Can she now try to get to my insurance, she doesn't know me from Adam, I would bloody hope nursery won't give out my details but she COULD have written my number plate off my car now and accuse me?

I'm going through an über shitty time at the moment and really don't need the additional stress

OP posts:

Report

Nanny0gg · 19/05/2016 11:12

Is it worth speaking to your insurers to get their advice? Doesn't sound like she has a leg to stand on but they might reassure you.

TestingTestingWonTooFree · 19/05/2016 11:15

I wouldn't pay her. I might phone your insurer to ask in principle how they would treat an allegation made by her. You'd want to make sure they don't just settle it.

OfficiallyUnofficial · 19/05/2016 11:23

That's my fear they will just settle, it's so wrong I could just pick any number plate off the street to claim against

I will call them.

Left me feeling really uneasy and guilty for something I didn't do!

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cosmicglittergirl · 19/05/2016 11:26

No advice on the insurance front as I don't have a car, but I'd be having a 'polite' word with the nursery. Did they give out your information to this woman even though it's not definitely you?!

Nocabbageinmyeye · 19/05/2016 11:29

No way would I pay, it clearly wasn't you but I would act on it, call your insurers, speak to creche and see if they have your details, I assume they don't have security cameras

AppleSetsSail · 19/05/2016 11:30

What kind of car do you have? If it's Polo or something near-ubiquitous I'd be skeptical.

She's reliant upon your goodwill here. I can't imagine you could actually damage a car without realising it.

Any chance someone else might have been driving your car, e.g. husband?

Queenbean · 19/05/2016 11:32

Second calling your insurance company for advice

KinkyAfro · 19/05/2016 11:36

Your statement to the best of my knowledge is a little strange. Surely you'd know if you hit something?

millyv · 19/05/2016 11:39

It sounds to me like she is clutching at sraws.

I would make sure that I spoke to the manager of the nursery and tell them that you have not hit a car in their car park and that you want assurances they have not passed on any of your personal details to this woman. I may even through in breach of data protection if they have spoke to anyone?!

Secondly do not contact your insurance! If you do they will mark it as an incident and it will affect your premiums when you come to renew. This woman may well not use her insurance to speak to yours - I would wait in case she is bluffing.

Do the nursery have cctv?

Good luck!

SquinkiesRule · 19/05/2016 11:42

Check your travel dates against the date they said it happened. Get your Ducks in a row for the insurance company.

halighhalighaliehaligh · 19/05/2016 11:47

You know what the number plate is yet you are saying it may have been your parents car. Was it or wasn't it? Is the number plate very similar to yours ie they have made mistake noting it down or completely different? If it's nothing like yours or your parents plate then clearly it was a different car.

OfficiallyUnofficial · 19/05/2016 11:48

No one else drives my car, parents have their own and DH never does pick up plus has his own car.

Car is a black bog standard brand, common as flies in our area.

No CCTV at nursery I asked at the time, I REALLY hope the manager didn't give out my details, she did however look out for a similar car and pull me in to talk to originally (woman hadn't described me/kids, didn't know who it was) which to me shouldn't have even happened.

Kinky sorry turn of phrase, I have absolutely not hit any car in memory, the car park is quite big so no real reason you would either, plus no damage on my car and I would have felt my car hit something even if I ignored the beep beep beep BEEEEEEEP of my sensors.

OP posts:

OfficiallyUnofficial · 19/05/2016 11:51

Hail no I am saying they gave the nursery manager 3 digits of a plate, not even a full plate 2 of which matched mine.

Mentioning my parents car was to say they could have easily been picking up in their car that day as they do 2 out of every 3 days. My car may not have been there at all.

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fascicle · 19/05/2016 11:51

Just wondering how close the number plate was to yours and why the nursery didn't speak to you as soon as possible. Presumably it would have been much easier to clear up if they had contacted you at/near the time. Bit difficult trying to sort this out historically.

fascicle · 19/05/2016 11:53

crossposted

RustyBear · 19/05/2016 11:57

When we bought our previous car, from a local dealer, it was one of a lot of ex-company cars, which all had very similar number plates, obviously all registered new at the same time. At least three of the cars of the same model and colour and with just one letter different in the number were bought by people living near us; we spotted them several times, one of them was often in Tesco's car park at the same time as us. If any of them had had an accident they could easily have been mistaken for ours.

ParanoidGynodroid · 19/05/2016 12:00

Jeez, no way should you pay. I agree, phone your insurers pronto to discuss this.
Could you threaten some sort of counter-claim about defamation/fraud to send her packing?

MrsGuyOfGisbo · 19/05/2016 12:05

Very worrying, but can't believe any insurance company would pay up with no corroborating evidence. goodness knows they try to wriggle out of even genuine claims. They get attempted scamming so often and anyone who pranged their car into eg a parked car, could then claim the car hit them and with no witnesses they would paying up endlessly on dubious claims.

sneepy · 19/05/2016 12:10

She left saying she was "going through the insurance"

The fact that's it's been 2 months and she hasn't gone through the insurance already suggests that she knows she's ridiculous. I think that was just a threat and she's actively trying it on.

OfficiallyUnofficial · 19/05/2016 12:15

I hope you are right Sneepy.

Good point Paranoid, if she quotes my actual plate rather than the 3 (1 not even featuring on my plate!) she originally had surely that is fraud? And the nursery manager would need to be honest as she was given them at the time?

OP posts:

expatinscotland · 19/05/2016 12:22

I'd call your insurance. Wouldn't pay her a bean.

Maursh · 19/05/2016 12:23

DO NOT CONTACT YOUR INSURANCE
Doing so is essentially reporting an incident when there has not been one. She cannot make a claim though her insurance 2 months after the event - there are restrictions on this for obvious reasons, my insurance is 30 days. If she tries to claim that it happened on another date then this is fraud, pure and simple.
Do nothing and see if your insurance contacts you. Then you deny all knowledge and use nursery as a witness if they only had a partial plate.
If this women continues to be confrontational with you, I would point out to her that failure to stop and report an accident is a criminal offence and she should make a report to the police. :)

rememberthetime · 19/05/2016 12:23

Do your parents write down on their calendar the days they do pick up. As we get older it is sometimes easy to forget things and tend to write things down more often then younger people do. No offense to your parents. Not suggesting they are forgetful!

Specky4eyes · 19/05/2016 12:27

So have you checked your diary for who collected on that day? That would be the first thing I would have done

Canklesofglitter · 19/05/2016 12:29

Second what Maursh posted. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PHONE YOUR INSURER.

They will just mark it down as an accident and hike your premium. They may even reduce your no claims bonus. The onus is on her to prove the accident. Two digits of a numberplate and a fairly common colour are nowhere near enough proof.

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