Van reversed into my parked car and driver is blaming me!

[NoEffingWay]

Just want to fact check because google is being unhelpful.

Yesterday I left my car behind a works van, there was a good amount of clearance and it was the middle of the day with good visibility.

Went out to the car and it had a big dent and a scrape down the middle of the bonnet. There was a note, but not from the driver but from a neighbour telling me the name of the company, the time and that the driver had reversed into my car and drove off.

Contacted the company who were apologetic and said that the driver had told them he had driven into my car and they had assumed he would have left his details. They said the driver would pay for the damage.

Got a quote from the body shop and it's a £400 bill to fix and re-spray the bonnet.

The driver calls me, says that he thinks that's 'too dear' and said it was my fault because he thinks I was too close . I stayed calm but stated the facts-he says 'I took photos'. After he hit my car I assume!

Any advice mumsnetters? My car is old and I worry it would be written off for this, when really what I want is for it to be fixed so it doesn't look crap or get a big rusty patch in the middle of the bonnet!

Only if somwone is hurt

call the company again and tell them what he has said. They have a responsibility too as he was driving their vehicle and explain that he has 72 hours or you’re calling the Police to report him for leaving the scene of an accident.
they should have insurance for this so tell them regardless of how it gets done your car needs to be fixed. It’s not for him to dictate what it should cost.
and even if he was right and you were too close he can’t just smash into your car so it doesn’t matter what he says.

I'd go back to him and the company, lay out in writing what he's told you and say that unless he or they paid for me to get the damage fixed in the next 48 hours I would put my insurance company onto them and also inform the police that he had damaged my car and driven off without leaving his details.

If you go through your insurance company in my experience your costs will go up even if it is not your fault. Call his company. It’s their vehicle, their problem.

My car was written off, I could have bought it back if I wanted to.

@NoEffingWay Unfortunately the police won’t be interested. Been there, made that very same phone call and they basically shrugged their shoulders and said unless I have CCTV footage of them driving off DESPITE THEM ADMITTING THEY DID! And WITNESSES! that there's nothing they can do.

Not if she doesn't have the registration number of the vehicle who did it

£400 is quite reasonable for a fair bit of damage. Bodywork stuff is expensive- I've paid the same - or my neighbour did- when they made a big scratch and dent in my car door on the drive and that was ten years ago.

When I did go through insurance for something that was my fault a few years ago it was about £800 for a dented bumper and replacing a cracked number plate. I actually went into a van in a queue of traffic - was dreading the reaction but driver was really nice about it - particularly as there was no damage to the van!

I filmed a lorry shredding my neighbour's fence on my phone (filming as I happened to be looking out of my bedroom window and wondered WTF an HGV was doing down our cul de sac). The company paid out for that after initially denying liability.

I was going to say that. £400 is really cheap for anything that involves bodywork. It was lucky he only got the bonnet, usually if there's damage to the front then it's also the bumper, lights, often the front panels ... to have got the bonnet alone he should count himself lucky!

Not necessarily. My car was worth 7k. The bill was 4.5k and insurance wrote it off. This was August this year

Company should provide details. Contact the police if they fail to provide within 72 hours.

I bet the driver would not say what was said to you were it a large man he was speaking to.

When a van packed so close to me I couldn't get out I had to sit in my car for almost 1 1/2 hours until the driver returned before I could get out. I was fuming.

This is where section 154 of road traffic act is your friend . If the driver fails to give you such details like reg no and other details of insurance in order that you need to make a claim , he commits a criminal offence . Which you might also like to remind his company of .

Can someone else's insurance company write your car off though? I know yours could if you were claiming through them, but you're claiming on his and I would've thought you would be able to demand they put your car back to how it was before their client smashed into it, no matter the cost. But I don't actually know, sorry.

We had a similar thing with a neighbour 🙄 just go through insurance, no more contact.

Update-the company are paying. Case closed!

My dash cam turns off when I turn off the ignition.

Agreed, definitely this 😑

Surely it's a data breach for the company to share your phone number with the driver, enabling him to call and threaten you?

How cheeky of him.

Of course he has to pay.

Im just adding that my HOUSE (a 300 year old, solid stone grade 2 listed building) was hit by as Asda driver. (he did serious damage to his van, and minor damaged my building)

I do NOT, and never have had his registration number, however I got through to asda and they didnt deny it (and i have pieces of their van on my drive) but still, without the involvement of my house insurace OR having the registration number, asda's insurance are covering the significant cost of the damage.

ah i see, must admit i did not realise that.

If it was an unidentified vehicle, that would depend on whether she has comprehensive insurance or not. If she's TPFT any claim for damages to her vehicle will have to come from the other drivers insurance company. If she's Comprehensive the claim will initially be on her own insurance and any damages/car's value paid for by them, they will then claim from the other drivers insurance if possible. This was not an unidentified vehicle, she has the company name even if she doesn't have the registration number.

Can someone else's insurance company write your car off though?

Yes, they can.

If you go through your insurance company in my experience your costs will go up even if it is not your fault. Call his company. It’s their vehicle, their problem.

She'll have an accident marked against her anyway regardless of who's insurance company ends up paying for the damage or who's fault it was. If you're planning to commit insurance fraud by falsely claiming not to have had an accident in the past 5yrs, you need to ensure the repairs don't involve anyone's insurance company so aren't on any database anywhere.

Surely it's a data breach for the company to share your phone number with the driver, enabling him to call and threaten you?

I expect so.

Glad you got them to see sense OP! When you say "company's paying" you don't make it clear whether you're going through the insurance or not. If not using insurance then as mentioned upthread get the car properly checked out for damage, including hidden damage. Don't just take it somewhere and ask for the bonnet to be fixed, that could leave you with other damage that's not been repaired and the car could be unsafe.

Good to see your update. I was going to say aome bigger companies do what is called self jnsure in that they have an annual excess and sort out claims themselves. I was going to say deal with the company and not the driver. Glad they are sorting this out

A stationary car can’t be at fault in a collision. Even if you’d parked where you shouldn’t, he needs to be in control of his vehicle at all times and that incudes being able to stop and avoid hazards on the road.