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Original poster

Just been hit by a car in Co-op

108 replies

KeyboardCat · 16/08/2022 19:40

I've just been hit by a car reversing into me in a co-op car park while I wasn't moving, waiting to go into a space that someone was leaving. It's only a small car park (one line of cars) so as I was waiting to reverse into this space a bloke reversed out of his and hit me.

He admitted fault, messaged me his details and said that we shouldn't go through insurance and he'll take care of any costs. He gave me his name and sent me his email address and it looks like he's a partner in a fairly high key professional company. Because of this (and the fact he has a 22 plate car) I'm thinking he's not short of a bob or two and would rather avoid the headache of going through insurance.

The damage isn't huge, a fairly sizeable dent to my back bumper, his car was fine. My DP is knowledgeable about cars and says it shouldn't take much to fix it just cosmetic.

I have never been in any kind of accident before, is it sensible to just send him the quotes and have him pay for it? I have high anxiety and could do without going through all of it too!!

Thank you for any advice.

OP posts:
RedWingBoots · 17/08/2022 17:52

PoxyAndIKnowIt · 16/08/2022 20:35

Protected NC discount is a bit of a con. Sure, you’ll still get the agreed % discount from your premium, but they’ll hike your premium up to make up for it.

Not necessarily.

My insurance stayed the same then went down the year after someone hit me. Then carried on going down. Funny thing was once I had a child the insurer hiked the policy so I had to go elsewhere.

Bordesleyhills · 17/08/2022 17:55

You must inform your insurance

L0bstersLass · 17/08/2022 18:10

KeyboardCat · 16/08/2022 20:37

Thank you everyone, I'll sleep on it tonight as I'm still a bit shaky and feeling quite sick! Some great advice here, hugely appreciated :)

Hope you're feeling better. You really should take this through insurance. The only person benefitting from not doing that is him.
You don't know him and he could mess you around.
Let your insurers deal with his insurers to get it sorted.

lindyloo57 · 17/08/2022 18:21

I would go with the insurance, once when siting in a traffic jam , a scaffold tube fell from a house roof it hit our car, no one was injured just a bit shocked, we stupidly believed the chap, when he said he would fix it without going through with the insurance company, of course he didn't, he lied saying it wasn't him, in the end we did get paid out with the insurance company, it took a long time, I would never do that again.

Tuskanini · 17/08/2022 18:24

Get a quote for the repair. Body shops are used to doing these quickly. Establish that it IS just superficial damage. If he delays or argues, go to the insurance.

Or don't. There's 'accidents' and there's 'scrapes'. Sometimes it's better to just leave your insurers in blissful ignorance.

mattressspring · 17/08/2022 18:31

The other thing to be cautious of is there may be a clause in your insurance that states you have to notify them within X amount of time or your excess will rise. It's not likely your excess is relevant to this claim but if it was you could be in a sticky situation.

I would ask myself why a guy with a brand new car wants to stay away from insurance. If he 'had a Bob or 2' like you say OP why would he be at all bothered about keeping his insurer in the dark? Surely it would make sense to him to tell them.

TheHumanExperience · 17/08/2022 18:38

If you suffer from anxiety, repair your minor damage the easy way, let him pay for it.

Get this in writing, that he will pay for the damage in full, in advance of the work being done. Get all detail: the garage, the date, time, that you will have a rental or courtesy car if it will take days etc. This way it's legally binding. I'm sure the cost of his insurance, will go up more than the cost of repairing your car. No one would want that, especially with a new car.

He sounds reasonable, but you must get this in writing ASAP, for it to be legally binding. Also, make sure the garage is close enough to your home, and that you check with the garage, that the work is paid for, before you leave the car with them.

An insurance claim will definitely cause anxiety, may increase your renewal and will drag out.

DownNative · 17/08/2022 18:51

Always, Always go through your insurance company. A bus hit my car and I'm going through insurance even though the damage is about £200 to mine.

Zestro · 17/08/2022 19:04

@pumpkinpie01 im pretty sure my insurance says I need to tell them in a timely way? Wouldn’t it be risky to try to sort it out privately and only then go to the insurance?
@KeyboardCat my car was hit in a works car park. The driver wanted to pay and refused to give me her details. I told my insurance and they said it was fine, she could pay them direct. That was years ago. I have no clue if it is still the same nor whether there was actually much benefit to her premium. Maybe you can try to do this so you are protected but the bloke still pays from his own pocket?

Sarahcoggles · 17/08/2022 19:10

vipersnest1 · 16/08/2022 20:28

DO NOT allow him to do this privately. Before you know it, the cost will be hiked up for his damage whilst yours is downplayed.
This is a no-fault incident and as long as your insurance has a decent NC discount and / or legal protection you'll be fine.
(Just be aware though, that a year or so down the line your insurers might ask you to sign small claims documents as the other party hasn't paid up yet. It seems to be a game that many insurance companies are playing now. My car was hit while it was parked in a car park. I saw the whole thing. The other party's insurance eventually paid up after the threat of small claims court and that was the end of it.)
Good luck.

It's not "no fault". OP was stationary. The other driver reversed out without looking properly.

Original poster
KeyboardCat · 17/08/2022 19:13

Gosh, it seems pretty much 50/50 what I should do - I feel much better today thank you to those who asked! Oh, I forgot to say I also have a dashcam so the footage is saved on that which shows I wasn't moving when I was bumped.

My excess is £250, I've had some quotes around the £300-£400 mark. I'm guessing the reason he doesn't want to go through insurance is maybe because his car is brand new? (I checked his reg, manufactured in April this year) and it would likely push his premium right up too.

I'm going to go down the no-insurance route I think, simply because it seems like the better option all round. I can probably say this here as it's not hugely outing, but looking at his email and address he's a partner in a fairly high profile estate agency so I'm not hugely worried he's going to be a dick.

I do have a booster cushion in the back of my car, not a full car seat so I'm assuming that won't have affected it.

We shall see what happens!!

OP posts:
pumpkinpie01 · 17/08/2022 19:14

@Zestro no it's not risky at all . I work in a brokers so deal with clients and lots of different insurers . If he refuses to pay for the damage or ignores you ,you can ring your insurer and just say ' he said he would sort it privately but is now being awkward ' it honestly is no big deal to them .

pumpkinpie01 · 17/08/2022 19:16

Just seen your update op after I had posted , as it's only £400 I think he will just give you the money . Does he know you have dashcam ?

Original poster
KeyboardCat · 17/08/2022 19:18

pumpkinpie01 · 17/08/2022 19:16

Just seen your update op after I had posted , as it's only £400 I think he will just give you the money . Does he know you have dashcam ?

No he wasn't aware (I was in shock and a bit stammery!) but at least it means I have plenty of evidence to call upon if it does go south, and as a PP said if it's not resolved by the weekend with him then I'll just go through the insurance :)

OP posts:
Feelinghothothottoohot · 17/08/2022 19:23

Just be wary of the damage op. It may seem like an insignificant shunt but it may have damaged the main chassis of the car, possibly weakened the rear axle.

I would get the car properly looked at by a garage before you finally decide

I had a accident 2 years ago not my fault on a fairly new car which involved payout for me and the passenger and my premiums have stayed the same.

FamilyAreEverything · 17/08/2022 19:32

KeyboardCat · 17/08/2022 19:13

Gosh, it seems pretty much 50/50 what I should do - I feel much better today thank you to those who asked! Oh, I forgot to say I also have a dashcam so the footage is saved on that which shows I wasn't moving when I was bumped.

My excess is £250, I've had some quotes around the £300-£400 mark. I'm guessing the reason he doesn't want to go through insurance is maybe because his car is brand new? (I checked his reg, manufactured in April this year) and it would likely push his premium right up too.

I'm going to go down the no-insurance route I think, simply because it seems like the better option all round. I can probably say this here as it's not hugely outing, but looking at his email and address he's a partner in a fairly high profile estate agency so I'm not hugely worried he's going to be a dick.

I do have a booster cushion in the back of my car, not a full car seat so I'm assuming that won't have affected it.

We shall see what happens!!

You should probably contact the manufacturers of the booster seat as they may recommend that you get a replacement seat depending on the impact.

Strangeways19 · 17/08/2022 19:35

This happened to me when I was parked up, this nice jag hit me knocking light off etc, he is said he'd pay at the garage he used & the nice mechanics gave my car a service and charges him for this too.

Housemove2020 · 17/08/2022 19:38

Foldingchair · 16/08/2022 22:49

Or he might do what one bloke did to me: admit it was his fault, apologise and say he'd pay, then when asked to pay up, ignore, ignore, ignore. Then get his insurance company to send you a letter saying you refused to give your details and that it was your fault.

Many diagrams later, and cctv from the shop,it was down to be his fault(reversed out of car park space into me) and he had to cough up. Utter twat. But it taught me a lesson. I'd only been driving a few months too.

This is something similar to what happened to me a couple of weeks ago. The women left a note with her name and number on my car. I called her again and again and she kept fobbing me off saying she’s busy and will call me back. Never did so I just declared the incident to the insurance company. Unfortunately I don’t have her car reg so insurance can’t pursue her. Don’t trust anyone! Sad but true.

BlueYazoo · 17/08/2022 19:41

I’ve worked in insurance for years. Depends if it’s just cosmetic or if any structural damage underneath. If you go through your insurance and the cost of repair is more than the value of your vehicle it will be considered a write off and you’ll get paid out for the vehicle (happened to a family member very recently).

it’s not true that protecting your NCB is a con - without NCB protection, not only is your premium loaded for the claim but your NCB is also stepped back. By taking out NCB protection (which is generally not a ridiculous premium in itself), you will still get a claims loading applied but you will retain the discount from retaining your NCB

Original poster
KeyboardCat · 17/08/2022 19:48

Thank you again everyone so much for your advice and experiences. I will absolutely take the car to a garage or three for a proper check to make sure there's no underlying damage. I will also check up regarding the seat. I just thank god I didn't have the kids with me at the time, they would have been terrified!!

OP posts:
NewHopeNow · 17/08/2022 19:52

Always go through insurance. Always.

SimonaRazowska · 17/08/2022 19:58

Always go through insurance

I once had a very nice man hit my car, he was very nice and polite. Was going to pay. Did not. Then went through his insurance to sue me for whiplash and needing a years salary or so (20 or 30k), even though he hit me (not me him) and my insurance paid up! As you cannot prove someone does NOT have whiplash

Nightmare

Don't trust people

Always go through insurance

Mine did not go up massively, maybe £50 per year.

Chocolatiestchocolate · 17/08/2022 20:01

A guy hit my car and offered to pay. I gave the quotes and he paid upfront.
Tbh if i wasnt selling the car i wouldn't have bothered as it was minor to me (im not fussy)

Equally dh once rolled into someone and we paid out of the insurance. Direct to the person, happened to be a neighbour so wasnt too fussed

ivykaty44 · 17/08/2022 20:08

Will your insurance still be valid if you don’t declare the numb? Will the insurance company find out about this number?

it’s maybe deceatful at least but at worst you could become uninsured - check it out first before covering up his mustake

Northernsoullover · 17/08/2022 20:15

Hi Mr Driver, I've been quoted 400 for the repairs. Mr Driver then says 400 quid? It was only a scratch to the bumper, I'm not paying that!! I'll give you 200 quid... or your car was already knackered.. loads of scratches on it.
I'd go through insurance.