Neighbour reversed out of drive into me. Claiming it was my fault

[Borkins]

He reversed at speed, with windows frosted into the side of my car as I drove past.
He is claiming I drove into him.
Insurance is taking ages to sort it, we have paid excess in meantime.
Him and wife are horrible people too

How can that possibly be your fault! Get back onto the insurance and tell them you need it sorted quickly.

leave it with the insurance.
I assume you gave them the drawing of the incident and your car shows damage at the side.
sorry it takes time, but there is not a lot you can do

You drove into him sideways? That's some skill. I know someone else this happened to . Is your damage to the actual side of your car ? If so how is he claiming you drove into him ?

Yes they have photos and drawings etc
Just got to wait it out

If you drove into him, surely the damage would be at the front of your car? It would be quite hard to drive the side of your vehicle into the back of his, wouldn't it?

Hopefully the insurance company will step up.

Going forward, it's worth investing in a dashcam, perhaps?

He is bonkers! Abusive too

My basic understanding is that, if you’re the one reversing, it’s always classed as your fault. Explain to the insurance company what happened and send them photos of the damage, They will sort it; that’s what they’re there for. Bloke is just trying it on.

Insurance being hopelessly slow about it
Surely we will win in the end though?!

If the insurance company tries to say its joint fault make sure you tell them you wont accept it, it's unlikely given the situation you described but they sometimes try so they can keep your excess

This exact thing happened to me a few months back. It’s definitely not legally your fault. Doesn’t matter what he says or how rude he and his wife are. Ignore him completely, don’t engage in person and leave the insurance company to sort it out. If he is being abusive I suggest you report it to the police just so that you have it on record. Once the insurance decide in your favour he may only get more angry and aggressive.

Good luck!

Has he actually admitted that he was reversing out if his drive? If so, then he will be deemed at fault. This is from a ‘ask the police’ website.

it is not illegal to reverse into a main road but it is not advisable - this is for safety reasons. ... If an accident occurred due to you reversing onto a main road from a minor road then there may be the possibility of you being prosecuted for driving without due care and attention.

Did it go in your favour @soupforbrains

He is definitely at fault and the damage should show this. I would be on at the insurance company daily.

He can't deny he reversed
Damage to his bumper

He was reversing from a drive into the road. He wasn’t taking due care. Idiot could have hit a pedestrian.

We had something similar happen a few years back. Driver insisted it was our fault (they took left turn into main road ...) and refused to cooperate with their insurance. We just contacted our own, after a few days, explained the situation and they sorted everything out within 2 days of contacting them. Yes, if you can still drive the car, you might have to wait a bit for repairs ...

My child was injured in a crash where the other party admitted fault. It took the insurance company 3 years to resolve the claim.

Where is the damage on your car?

@Borkins yes it did.

It took a little time for things to get sorted just because they always do with insurance companies but there was no question about the fault at all in the end. The time will be being taken because his insurance company will be deciding on whether to accept liability or dispute it. Once they have any photos of the damage etc. From your company they won’t dispute it.

Have your insurance or their insurance written/spoken to you at all about it? Or are the only negative things you are hearing coming from the man and his wife?

Can I clarify where on your car the damage is? I understand from your previous posts the damage on his car is on the rear bumper, whereabouts on the side of your car was the contact?

If he's hit the side of your car it's a no brainier isn't it?

This happened to me. Insurance sorted it, it’s their fault as you ar not supposed to re else into a road. Just keep chasing the insurance. I got my excess back

Even if you did drive into him, he would still be at fault for not checking for oncoming traffic before reversing into the road.

This is the best thing about smart phones, camera and video on hand to record exactly where everyone is in the case of an incident with cars. Plus you can show their windows were obscured by frost.

It clearly isn't your fault, so don't worry about it and let the insurance deal with it all.

How long ago did it happen?

This exact scenario happened to my mum (she was in your position). It took AGES for the insurance company to finally cough up but it went completely in her favour as all the damage was to the side of her car. Try not to worry, definitely don’t engage with your aggressive neighbour.