Car hit by child on his bike

[Jaymyster]

Last Monday i was driving down the road (not over the speed limit may i note) when out of a side street a boy of about 10 came riding straight into the side of my car. I got out and checked the boy was ok (luckily he was) then drove him to his fathers house to inform him of the collision. His response shocked me as he sent his son off playing again and took one look at my car and commented "thats going to be expensive to repair but kids will be kids. I dont have any money to pay" . No appology or nothing. Surely as a parent it is his responsibilty to pay for the damages? I decided to go to the police to report the incident as i had nothing to worry about then contacted my insurance company who advised my excess was £500 but would contact the boys parents to cover the cost. If they refuse to pay i as a mother of two young children have to find the £500 myself, does anyone think it would be an idea to go back to his father and ask for some money?

[GrimmaTheNome]

I don't know... what an appalling attitude. Does your car or household insurance include any legal cover, that might be worth checking if the insurers can't make him cough up. Or the man's own household insurance might have a personal liability element - I don't know if your car insurers could persue that?

What did the police say?

[LadyStealthPolarBear]

there was a thread like this the other week, just off to see if i can find it

[ChopsTheDuck]

other thread

[LadyStealthPolarBear]

Thanks CDT

[Jaymyster]

The police said i was right to report it to them and took a statement from me. Once logged onto their system they will allocate it to an officer who will then visit the childs parent and take a statement from them. If they deny all knowledge then they will approach the witness for their statement and take it from there. Its really getting to me as i feel im the guilty one, ive also been advised that they could claim off me if this goes in their favour. Wouldnt mind id only popped out to get the car washed and was on my way back!

[EyeballsintheSky]

How much damage does a 10 year old on a bike do to a car? A cyclist rode into me at full pelt a while back and didn't so much as scratch my car (he was fine too).

[morocco]

dunno about the damage being minor - dh took the car door off someone's car when they opened it while he was cycling past. at least she didn't have the cheek to say it was his fault.
in your case i'm sure police just have to tell you that he could claim off you - if you've got a witness - all the better and no chance of that happening. if you've got legal insurance, they;ll take on the cost of recovering the money for you

[Jaymyster]

Theres four deep scratches down the full drivers side of my Audi. Ive taken photographs just incase and the insurance will send an accessor before it gets taken for repair. If this was the fault of another driver he would be made to pay. Same should apply for children on bikes! If one of my children did this i would feel awful and would offer to pay straight away.

[Jaymyster]

Yes ive got legal cover yey! They can take it to a small claims court if they refuse to pay.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

You could take it to Small Claims yourself (the Small Claims Court is set up that way) but there's bugger-all point if the child has no money and no bike-riding insurance. And IIRC from the other thread, it's the child who would be liable, not his parents.

However, they may have household insurance to cover such claims, so it's worth a friendly discussion. If you can.

[hatesponge]

Your insurers will be unlikely to actively pursue a claim against the parents let alone take it to court for the reasons mentioned above and on the other thread. At best, I would expect them to send a letter to the parents asking for details of their insurers etc - but if they're not covered for this risk (many people aren't) I doubt your own insurers will take it further.

[morocco]

isn't that the point of the optional legal expenses cover on your car insurance though hatesponge? to chase up these kind of incidents. maybe you might never get your money back but they'll chase it as far as necessary and you don't have to pay anything