To think I should just keep my mouth shut next time?

[Ishouldntbeallowedtopark]

I scraped a car when reversing in a retail car park. I felt awful and had a call put out for the driver. They've just got back to me and it's an insurance job. DH is well and truly annoyed with me - the car park was virtually empty and now we've lost the no claims and premium will stay high. I'm annoyed too, but if I'd got us the insurance there is no way I'd have agreed to £250 voluntary excess... It's just one of those things. I'm starting to wish I'd kept quiet - they wouldn't have noticed the scratch for weeks... Please confirm I'm not the only idiot who does things like this...

[Christmascheerful]

What!! You knocked into someone's car and you think you should have kept your mouth shut YABU for that
You did the right thing by notifying the driver. If you'd drove off and left it that would be so so VU

[Magzmarsh]

Er no you did the right thing owning up. It's horrible when someone damages your property and then sods off, what a horrible attitude.

[Christmascheerful]

Wait rereading have I misunderstood do you mean your an idiot for informing the driver or for bumping them in the first place?

[MilkTwoSugarsThanks]

Your H is an idiot for not realising they'd trace you using CCTV and then you'd get done for not reporting it.

[Salmotrutta]

You did the honest thing.

Someone damaged my dads car really badly in a hospital car park (at a very worrying time health wise when my mum was having tests) and just pissed off leaving a big dent that cost about £400 to repair.

Bastard.

[Ishouldntbeallowedtopark]

Woah! Calm down! Title was meant light heartedly, had it in there but thought it'd be obvious! Poorly written OP, I'll clarify the situation. I was being super honest by informing the other driver, as it was only a tiny scratch and there is a fair chance they wouldn't have noticed at all. Don't think it'd have occurred to them to check CCTV when they did eventually find out. I think many people would've driven off - other driver certainly thinks so. The idiot bit was in relation to bumping someone in the first place. DH is annoyed with my lack of driving skills, not my honesty! You can retreat into your nests vipers, I'm not morally corrupt

[bloodymaria]

What the what now? Are you really questioning whether you should just drive off next time you hit someone else's car?

[hungryhippo90]

You did the right thing. Why is this even a question?
Just a bit you'd even think that the right thing might have been to not say anything.
Insurance is there for this kind of reason.

[SparkleShinyGlitter]

Of course you did the right thing only a Twat scratches somebodies car and says nothing.

Don't know why your DH is annoyed, you scratched another car by accident. Has he never ever had even a tiny accident

[redexpat]

Ugh thats anmoying. But just one of those unfortunate things i suppose. Can you shop around for a better insurance deal?

[Ishouldntbeallowedtopark]

I'll clarify again: I would never, ever drive off after scraping someone! It was more a "FFS, hadn't realised this would cost so much, I bet loads of people wouldn't even have said anything." But if I'd come on here saying I was such a goody two shoes you'd have all told me I was showing off and being sanctimonious

Just to reiterate: this was meant to be a light-hearted, please tell me I'm not the only crap parker thread!

[Tardigrade001]

It wasn't a hit, it was a scratch.
A lot of the time people won't bother about a small scratch. Our car has plenty of them and no one has ever owned up.

[stopfuckingshoutingatme]

Wow people are Soo sanctimonious

Yanbu I reversed into my
Neighbour , into a pillar , on an elderly lady car , reversing is my Achilles heel

[Ishouldntbeallowedtopark]

sparkle I don't think so, he definitely wouldn't cause damage in a virtually empty car park though he does get a lot more parking fines than I would

[Christmascheerful]

Ok well your op didn't come across like that AT ALL
But everyone has done something. I once bumped into a car parallel parked into a car parked behind my own when leaving the spot. Very silly I was 18 at the time and managed to sort it out with the driver but I was sick over it

[Ishouldntbeallowedtopark]

I know my OP was poorly written. But I think the fact that I had a call put out for the driver and insisted they take all my details does show I'm honest it's just bloody annoying and very stupid!

[CocktailQueen]

RE the £250 excess, insurance goes down if you choose a larger excess. So insurance with an excess of £100, say, might be much more expensive. But that's one of those things you hope not to have to find out!

[applepearorangebear]

I feel your pain OP - I've owned up before to a tiny bump in a car park leaving an even smaller scrape, which I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't have done (as the owner himself said afterwards). Cost us £250 to sort out... And I really had no excuse: my parking sensors were screaming at me but I thought they might be mistaken Worth it for the clear conscience though. Added bonus was that the owner had a mildly amusing name and a little spiel that he went through to make sure I'd spelt it right!

[GrandDesespoir]

If it was only a tiny scratch can you not come to an arrangement with the other driver? Or is there a reason why it has to go through your insurance?

[SciFiFan2015]

I once left a note on a car that I thought I'd bumped into. Only to realise later that the damage at that height could not possibly have been me. Sadly the owner of the other car was not so honest and I ended up having to pay for the repair of the considerable bump that actually wasn't me.

[Ishouldntbeallowedtopark]

apple thanks for the reassurance no parking sensors here but it was still a pretty stupid mistake... Parking sensors saved me when I chose the wrong car to stand behind in a car park to let someone out - the one that was actually moving fortunately she did listen to her sensors - I'd have definitely come out worse...

[Ishouldntbeallowedtopark]

sci-fi this person seemed very genuine and we both took pics so should be OK.
Grand will see what the damage comes to and might offer that. Other driver has a vv nice car so they might want it done properly, in a good garage etc

[BravoPanda]

Why are you going through the insurance when the scratch repair would cost less than your excess? Why didn't you just offer to pay for a bodyshop? Also why would your excess matter? You only pay that if you make a claim on your own vehicle not someone elses... What a weird way to resolve a simple problem

[Ishouldntbeallowedtopark]

Stupid question: if they go through their insurance, do we automatically have to go through ours, or can we just pay it ourselves, to the other company?

[Ishouldntbeallowedtopark]

Bravo this is my first car, have 0 experience of these matters. Other party is contacting their insurance policy. Surely we're still liable to pay excess if our insurance needs to pay out because we caused damage? By your reasoning I could write someone's car off and not pay a penny as long as my car was fine.