Who pays for car damage?

[Wasntmeanttobelikethis]

I really am stuck with this situation
Gave a lift to a friend to shop in my car
Parked up, she opened passenger door ( quite roughly) and put small dent in adjacent car
Owner of car took my details
Excess is £145
Friend has said she’ll pay me £50 if claim is pursued; she said it as if she will be doing me a massive favour
For info: I left good gap for her open door; she was just very forceful
Any opinions would be great; I have never put in a claim

She should pay, it’s her damage. What a horrible person. Sounds like Grandmas horrible boyfriend in Friday Night Dinner!

Your friend pays.

After that, make sure you cut the bitch out of your life.

She should absolutely pay. She is being a complete dick

Morally, she should. Legally, it's down to you as it's your car and your insurance.

She’s not your friend. I’d get as much cash towards it as you can and then ditch her.

Not a friend at all. Pay the bill and get rid of her. What a total cow.

Yes this. And if she only gives you £50 for being careless and damaging property she doesn't own then I won't be driving her anywhere in the future.

Thanks for all the swift replies
Am pleased with your answers; just feel like a soft touch and hate the thought of being walked over

Also, she was really rude to the driver; made me feel uncomfortable
Guess you never really know someone until something like this happens

She should pay

Is she normally a cheeky fucker?

She should pay the whole amount. I’d push her for that or don’t even bother accepting the £50 but don’t be friends anymore.

Thanks, your replies are really helping me calm down
Yes, thinking about it, lots of ‘I’ll pay you later’, and nothing given

You wouldn't normally pay an excess when a 3rd party claims against your insurance BUT your friends shouldn't even be letting them claim against you, she should be paying the cost of the repair herself.

Morally, she caused the damage, so she should pay. Legally, it's on your insurance, so your insurance pays out.

So you'll lose NCB and your premium will go up.

It sucks, but that's how it is.

I wouldn’t have even given the other driver my details - it was totally your friends fault!

if it’s not too late give her details and tell them to pursue her.

if it was a small dent the cost should be lower or inline with the excess.

I thought car owner, me, was liable for all damages caused by passengers to other vehicles
Happy to be corrected; all new to me
Do I pay excess?

Send her the bill and if she refuses to pay send her the court paperwork making it clear you WILL claim it from her! She should be paying for ALL of the damage so your insurance doesn’t go up!!!

That's illegal plus the other driver's insurance company can trace you as no doubt they'll have your registration number

You only pay excess if you are claiming. If it's being put through your insurance then you won't pay anything other than increasing premiums. You would be better asking the other driving how much it's going to be and then see if it worth paying out of pocket instead of increasing premiums

No, you only pay your excess if you're claiming for damage to your own vehicle.

The problem with that is you still have to inform your insurer as a condition of your policy, and if you don't tell them (but the other driver does) they can do you for misrepresentation/fraud and cancel your policy, which follows you for life.

Of course that's entirely OP's decision but you are then relying on the goodwill of a total stranger not to tell their insurers, which is always a risk.

Oh I know you still have to inform your insurance company but premiums will usually only go up if money is paid out
But what I meant is,it may work out cheaper just paying for damage. Whether that be op or her friend is up to her

Sadly in my experience it makes no difference, they put your premiums up either way 😏

I’d sort it privately with the other car driver as most people would, although never on Mumsnet.

I’d ask for a few quotes and a receipt, and expect her to pay the full amount. If she didn’t I’d have nothing further to do with her

I agree with others that of course your friend should pay, although of course it’s legally your responsibility. But don’t forget that if you go through your insurance it will affect your renewal premium significantly. I made a claim a few months ago when I got back to my car in the supermarket car park and found that someone had seriously damaged my passenger door. I had full no claims discount, which was protected, and had an excess of £125. Becasue the person who caused the damage drove off and there was no way of knowing who did it, it was recorded as me being at fault and when I received my policy renewal, the premium had doubled.