To think this was a waste of police time?

[FlowersBlown]

At 10pm last night I answered the door to a police officer. He asked about my car, and whether I and it had been at a particular gym earlier in the week. We had. While there I committed an offence.

I made a mistake parking and scraped the plastic bumper of the car next to me. I did not report this. The policeman was off duty in the carpark and witnessed the offence. He took our number plates and went to visit the owner of the other car. She was unaware of the damage, but upon inspection there is indeed scuffing to the bumper.

This in now in the hands of our insurance companies. Was it really worth the police persuing this? No charges are being brought. I did something wrong, but we live in a congested city. My own car is covered in scuffs that have not (all) been caused by me. Should a scuffed bumper be seen more as part of the give and take of city living rather than a potentially criminal matter?

"I didn't know that I would be distracted by replaying a sad conversation in my head while parking when I set off on the journey. These things come into the conciousness uninvited"

However sad you are this cannot be used as an excuse for driving away.

I was very nearly squashed by a lady reversing out of a car parking space - she stopped when I banged on the window. She apologised - she was rushing to the vet as her dog had been rushed there. Sick dog or not I would have been bloody cross if she had hit me.

But that's your CHOICE . Not one you gave to the other driver , is it ?

Are you the inconsiderate driver that scraped my ca and didn't bother to leave details? YABU, inconsiderate, rude and selfish. Learn to park without damaging other people's property.

It's not an excuse, it's an explanation as to why I did not consider myself unfit to drive that day.

It is also an offence to drive off and not leave details. You could have been charged with that alone.

Only if you had the police round to your house at 9pm last night. Otherwise, no, sorry it was another morally degenerate, inconsiderate, no note leaver.

Yes, the policeman said it was an offence but he has made the decision not to charge me. I am obviously bloody happy about that. Charged with criminal damage over a bit of scraped grey plastic.

YABU

If you damage someones car you should leave a note with your details.

And Im not sure why you have decided that the scuffed grey plastic doesn't matter? It would matter to me if someone scuffed mine.

Yet another question for you not to answer OP!

Will you leave a note next time or continue to scrape other peoples cars and just drive away?

I will leave a note if it happens again. I do not want a criminal record.

I left a note on a car with the registration number of the car that scraped them.
The police called on me to pass on the thanks of the motorist who's car was damaged, and to let me know the other driver had been traced as a result.
Were we all just wasting our time?

Some basket gouged the back of our car recently, crowbarring their huge heap of ancient junk into a space that had about a foot clearance (the car parked on the other side was very distinctive and I had stopped to look at it after we parked). There were plenty of other spaces too! No note either.

The car was still there (the huge streak of our paintwork on their bumper was a bit of a clue) too - so they either didn't notice, or didn't care.

DH wouldn't let me stay there to confront them, leave a stinking note or anything!

In the OPs case, a police officer saw an offence so had to do something about it.

You would not be charged with criminal damage. It would be leaving the scene of an accident and fail to report an accident.

I don't know why we are bothering. The op clearly feels she is nbu. And I doubt would leave a note next time.

Some people car a lot more bothered about their cars than I do. I know that anyway, but I am surprised how many people are saying that they get very upset about small marks on their vehicle. I'm bothered about not having a wing mirror, but the rest, not so much.

Is it an urban myth that someone came back to their damaged car to find a note that said 'all the onlookers think that I am writing my details on this piece of paper. I am not'?

But OP, it is someone else's property. They worked and saved for the money. How much damage would be 'enough' to hold your hands up?

Nice you don't need to bother about your own property. Just get a new one when something gets a bit scruffy?

Some people have spent a lot of their hard earned money on cars, some have taken out a loan to get a car and are still paying it back. Some cars are hire cars and if you take them back damaged they charge you.

One small mark, then twenty other small marks if everyone felt they didn't matter Flowers.

Iwipearses, I wish! Would just be permanently pissed off and angry if I was the type to be bothered about it that's all. Some things we just have to let go, no?

Well the insurance will let you know how much it cost to repair in due course no doubt. Do you have no claims protection?

I've spent a lot of my hard earned money on my car. I don't see the relevance of that point sparkling. I'm certainly not wealthy. I'm not even a member of the bloody gym!

Yes just waiting for the insurance to deal with it. I think we do have no claims protection. I'm not sure what our excess is though.

Yes yabvu!!
Someone has scratched my car yesterday in tesco car park and didn't leave a note. It's going to cost me almost £200 to get it repaired.
Just because you don't care about a few scratches, don't assume others don't.

I think you were unfair in driving off.

We used to lease a car and lived in a tight cul-de-sac. it cost us £500 to get a couple of minor scratches and dents (that had been done by others) sorted before the company would accept the car back.

It impacted massively on our holiday money that year through no fault of our own.