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Original poster

Car accident involving colleague

201 replies

WrendaleCountryDogs · 28/01/2023 19:12

On Thursday, a colleague was driving into our work place car park and swerved to avoid a car coming out, and went straight into my car. Cctv shows she was going too fast and the other driver had right of way as it's a narrow entrance/exit and road signs show priority is to the one exiting the car park.
Anyway my car is damaged. I was parked in a bay and not in the car. I took car to garage yesterday and they said its going be around £800 to sort the damage. I've got my MOT in February and the car won't Pass based on the damage.
Spoke to colleague,.who I've known for years and we get on really well. I said we can go through her insurance or she can pay for it. She was very evasive and has now said she's not actually insured. She is also adamant she can't pay £800. This is probably true as she's got twin 2 year old and a 15 month old.

What the he'll do I do? I cannot afford this. Car is a 2010 and done over 150k miles. If the mot failed and it was to cost me £800 I'd scrap it and get another car. But it's not me that has caused this damage.

What do I do???

OP posts:
MyriadOfTravels · 15/02/2023 12:07

Oh bugger, didn't realise there was a page 2 and this thread was old.

maddy68 · 15/02/2023 12:09

It's such an awkward situation.

I would say. You'll let your insurance deal with it.

They will sort it. You can keep out of it x

Original poster
WrendaleCountryDogs · 15/02/2023 12:29

Went through insurance. Still waiting to hear anything. Colleague had quit job. Very sad it came to this.

OP posts:
TidyDancer · 15/02/2023 12:34

Oh it's a shame there hasn't been a better resolution OP. Do you think she quit because of this? I hope you're not blaming yourself.

TicTac80 · 15/02/2023 12:37

Really hope that insurance gets this sorted for you quickly. Did you manage to get hold of the CCTV (or ask your work to save it for the insurance company)? It is sad but she shouldn't have been driving without insurance. Sorry, but no excuse for that, and you have nothing to blame yourself for!

CloudPop · 15/02/2023 12:38

Very difficult situation, and yes it's a shame that it came to this. Not sure what else you could have done though.

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 15/02/2023 12:53

It’s a horrible situation but you didn’t cause this.

Cats23 · 15/02/2023 13:12

Did you report her to the police?
I'd have zero sympathy for her tbh, Hope she is fined and made to pay.
To think she has young children and driving around with them ,with no insurance - terrible

gettingolderandgrumpier · 15/02/2023 13:23

That is a shame but driving without insurance is very reckless and she only has herself to blame as now she has risked her job . If it wasn’t you it may have been some random person who would not give 2 hoots that’s she’s not insured it’s just awkward that it’s a colleague.

SpringDaffy · 15/02/2023 13:24

Very awkward.
I would sit down with her. Explain she has caused the damage to your car, and whilst you know it was a complete accident you are also not in a position to pay for the damage.
Offer her 2 choices.
1.You go through your insurance.

  1. She pays the bill herself.
We all pay insurance for this very reason. If she's chosen not to, then as an adult she has to face to consequences of her decision to drive without insurance like everyone else. I would politely Explain these are the only 2 options you can provide her with and she must choose one.
HScully · 15/02/2023 13:27

Its not your fault, if she really wanted to avoid going through the insurance she could have got a loan and paid it back over time. It would be better than losing her licence. She will likely still get a fine/points

IMustDoMoreExercise · 15/02/2023 13:35

gettingolderandgrumpier · 15/02/2023 13:23

That is a shame but driving without insurance is very reckless and she only has herself to blame as now she has risked her job . If it wasn’t you it may have been some random person who would not give 2 hoots that’s she’s not insured it’s just awkward that it’s a colleague.

Yes, it is but it is the whole system that is at fault. I am lucky in that I can afford insurance without any issues, but there are so many people who just want to earn a living but cannot.

The car manuacturers don't care if their cars are stolen as they will just sell a replacement. In the meantime, insurance premiums go up so people like the colleague cannot afford insurance. The whole system needs to change.

outdooryone · 15/02/2023 13:49

WrendaleCountryDogs · 15/02/2023 12:29

Went through insurance. Still waiting to hear anything. Colleague had quit job. Very sad it came to this.

While I too would have some regret over this, your colleague is the one who completely created and could have avoided this situation. She drove uninsured. She drove badly, at speed.
Most of society understands the norms and expectations we have. If you have a car, and job rurally which relies on that car, then you need to meet the basics of insured and careful driving. She knew the risks, and chose not to insure herself through a policy AND through cautious driving (which doesn't mitigate the first issue anyway).
All of this is on her, not you.

Grumpybutfunny · 15/02/2023 13:52

@IMustDoMoreExercise agree it should be you ensure your car and that's the end of it. It used to pain me paying thousands a year on a car I would have repaired myself when a teenager

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 15/02/2023 14:00

Out of interest (and apologies if it's been addressed and I overlooked it), did she tell you that she'd done it and then you checked the CCTV just for confirmation/clarification; or did she say nothing until you asked to see the CCTV after seeing the damage? Did she know that there was CCTV there?

She may have seemed to be friendly up until now, but this just reminds me of all the threads on MN where women have husbands who abuse, disrespect, undermine, hit, gaslight them etc., but they still insist that 'he's a really lovely, kind man'.

She's made her own bed, though. She can't seriously tell you that she can't afford it and then just expect you to suck it up. Not insuring a car and then expecting the right to drive it anyway - thus 'incurring' the very real possibility of causing damage to another car or road-user, especially deciding to drive recklessly - is the same as going to a restaurant and enjoying a big expensive meal with champagne, knowing that you have no money to pay for it when they bring the bill: that is, it's deliberate theft.

None of us like to have to pay a huge bill each year/month for our car insurance that we hopefully will never need to claim on, but we do it anyway, because we need insurance and the law requires us to, in return for the privilege. Having car insurance is absolutely not mandatory: you can completely legally avoid having to pay for it by not driving a car; but this is a classic case of wanting to have your cake AND eat it.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 15/02/2023 14:06

Wow, I took a while typing and missed the developments.

At least you won't have to see her at work every day now. Please don't feel bad about it yourself, OP, all you did was park normally in a proper bay at work and then she did all the rest.

Not that it justifies driving without insurance in the least, but to think that she didn't even drive carefully, whilst knowing all along that she didn't have insurance - that really is a special kind of entitlement.

illtakeit · 15/02/2023 14:07

So what does SHE wants you to do? Just pay for it?
You have to go through your insurer, there's no other way unless you want to pay for it.

illtakeit · 15/02/2023 14:08

WrendaleCountryDogs · 15/02/2023 12:29

Went through insurance. Still waiting to hear anything. Colleague had quit job. Very sad it came to this.

Just seen this update.

xogossipgirlxo · 15/02/2023 14:13

WrendaleCountryDogs · 15/02/2023 12:29

Went through insurance. Still waiting to hear anything. Colleague had quit job. Very sad it came to this.

Not your fault. Avoiding 60-70 quid of monthly payment for insurance isn't worth the embarrassment and leaving the job asap.

marcopront · 15/02/2023 14:15

@illtakeit

Just seen this update

I'm intrigued how you were able to see the update a minute after you posted but not before you posted.

illtakeit · 15/02/2023 14:16

marcopront · 15/02/2023 14:15

@illtakeit

Just seen this update

I'm intrigued how you were able to see the update a minute after you posted but not before you posted.

I'm intrigued of how much of an ass hole you are 😃

theemmadilemma · 15/02/2023 14:26

Well it was never going to reflect on her well at work was it? That's not your fault, its entirely of her own doing.

When a car hit a parked car in a previous works carpark, facilities had to pull the CCTV and HR were immediately involved because it happened on work property and the person had walked away and then not owned up when given the opportunity.

It did not reflect well on them at ALL.

LightDrizzle · 15/02/2023 14:26

You did the right thing OP.

The thing about insurance is that it isn’t just about shelling out for repairs, it’s also about people who suffer life-changing injuries receiving damages that will help to mitigate the impact on them. Driving without insurance is a serious and seriously selfish offence.

Crumpleton · 15/02/2023 14:32

LightDrizzle · 15/02/2023 14:26

You did the right thing OP.

The thing about insurance is that it isn’t just about shelling out for repairs, it’s also about people who suffer life-changing injuries receiving damages that will help to mitigate the impact on them. Driving without insurance is a serious and seriously selfish offence.

This...100%

Newnamefor2021 · 15/02/2023 14:43

It's absolutely not your fault or anything to do with you. It's her own consequences of her actions catching up with her. She even had an option to quietly just pay you and somehow find that money to put right her mistakes and she didn't.