To think she's the along the piss (car insurance claim)

[Badweekjustgotworse]

Short version... backed into a scooter that was parked behind me reversing out of parking space (parked right up my arse didn't see it in mirrors)

Made contact but immediately stopped so it wasn't pushed over. There is a tiny amount of paint rubbed off, literally the size of a raisin.

Exchanged numbers, (the rider came out of shop I'd just left) they said they'd take it straight to the shop for quote and I said fine let me know...

Anyway, they called I spoke to the mechanic who told me price, I said fine let me get another quote for peace of mind etc.

Other guy said her quote was reasonable so I agreed to call round to her mechanic and pay him.

Called round, manager out, other guy said call back later so texted to say I'd tried to pay as promised but couldn't and would call round later.....

Then the fun starts

Scooter owner calls straight back to say they've changed their mind, don't want the paint touched up, want the entire panel replacing and it'll cost twice as much and they want cash delivered to them not the shop.

I said no, original quote to shop as I want a receipt, loads of nonsense in between and eventually they back down and go with original. I say I'll drop it up to shop but no they want it delivered to their house in cash I say no and want receipt. They then say they've spoken to the shop and if I leave the money there they'll take some of it off the fulll amount if she goes to collect it so clearly she just wants the money and not do the repair

I call the shop to verify, they say she's not called and they're happy to hold an envelope of cash for them and give me a receipt and won't take any of it!

I don't want to hand cash over to some randomer at their door as then I'm worried I get a call tomorrow saying that they want more, especially after they've already tried to change the goal posts more than once already, and I'd not have a leg to stand on as their way there's no witnesses or reciepts to prove money has exchanged hands?

Now they're being an arse though and saying they've told the shop not to accept anything from me and if I don't deliver cash to their house thy want to go through insurance

Once again, the patch of paint rubbed off is smaller than my little finger nail.....

Would I be totally unreasonable to just drop the cash round to the shop and text to say collect it or bog off? Or just suck up the excess and increase in premium next year to get them off my back?

I'm pretty sure you pay excess either way.

Only if you claim for your own car do you pay the excess.

Definitely go through the insurance. That's what it's for.

Let your insurer sort it - it's what you pay them for. If it's a minor claim it shouldn't affect your premium too dramatically - and you have the option to shop around at renewal if the price has gone up.

Honestly, in your shoes I'd pass it to the insurer without a second thought. If someone said to me that my insurance was going to go up £100 a year because of this, but that in return they'd deal with it all from start to finish, so that I could have a good night's sleep - instead of getting midnight text messages, contradictory demands and spending my time worrying and ringing spray painting shops - then to me it would be a no-brainer.

You won't have any excess to pay, because your excess only applies to your own damage not a third party's. When you report the claim, tell them that she has changed her mind and version of events on several occasions - and that you have evidence of this - as well as details of the first mechanic that looked at the damage. It will help the insurer to assess what's gone on and if she is trying it on, then they'll be on alert for her trying to inflate the claim.

Really try not to worry about it - the whole point of insurance is that it's to provide peace of mind! Ring the claims line when it opens, then text her and tell her it's been reported and give her your insurer's name and your policy number. Finish the text by saying that she should contact your insurer from now on and that you will not be responding to any further messages.

BTW - meant to say. The reason why she's trying to get cash out of you without signing anything, is because it leaves no record and she can then pursue a claim through your insurance anyway and benefit twice. It's incredibly common and the main reason why it's a good idea to go through your insurer at the first sign of any trouble even if it is only very minor damage.

MrDacres speaks sense. However I would be telling my insurer a very carefully edited version about any private negotiations that I may have taken part in (if at all). It's actually irrelevant now, anyway. I feel they might document such things (suspicious me).
This is what you pay insurance for. Less mither and paperwork, and no need to deal with random people who may be unreasonable.

This'll give you all a laugh. I woke up this morning and turned my phone back on. It's old and crap and it loads al the texts messages with just the phone number no contact names and then after about five minutes it fills in names in place of numbers. First text that loads up is

'And I haven't been to the doctors yet'

So obviously I'm wyerollimg like mad and thinking she's going to try to claim whiplash for a scooter she wasn't even sat on... an then my phone refreshes and it's from my MIL about her chest infection

Insurance this morning, my heads twisted!!

Sorry, no extra advice from the OP, but just a question. Do you not have any insurance companies in the UK that allow you to keep your no claims bonus? I'm in Australia and have Rating 1 for life with my insurance company as I had no claims for years, and now I keep that status, even if I ever make a claim in the future.

I'm another one saying go through insurance.

I caused an accident a few years ago & the woman I hit was keen for me to pay cash & not involve insurers.

I rang dh, (it was near my home) she rang her work colleague. We swapped names & numbers then she sprinted across the road, got into her work colleagues car & went to work (carers)

I actually was stunned. My car was badly damaged, I had hit the side of her car so it was very badly damaged too.

Her dh rang me that night & swore down the phone at me. Said his wife had been I'm A&E all afternoon (my aunt was very ill & this woman cared for her - she had been with my aunt that afternoon!) I think in my case it annoyed me more as I half knew the woman & knew she was lying.

Anyway I'm so glad I put it through my insurance, I got call after call & voicemail after voicemail from both her & her dh calling me for all the names of the day. In the end I had to call the police.

She got thousands paid out in personal injury as well as a new car. My premium rocketed. She said she had lost thousands in earnings & had had no car for her home visits (again as I said, we live rurally, I know her, she continued working)

I would never ever try to deal with something like this again. Straight onto insurer. I'm not blaming the woman I hit - the accident was my fault, I admitted it at the scene. But it has left such a bad taste in my mouth.

You can give her cash and ask her to sign a form that she won't take it further with insurance (templates are available online).
It's up to her what she does with the money, YABU.

I'd say her text re not even going to the drs is to stop you going through insurance.

I'd text back. Of course go to your drs - my insurance company is already informed of the accident that occurred and has the pictures. They know you weren't on the bike.

If you contact me again I'll be contacting the police re harassment.

Check your insurance policy. Mine has protected no claims and I can claim once every 3 years before its affected even if I claim twice in that time the no claims only reduces by a percentage I don't loose it all.

The text about the doctor wasn't from her.

if it's only a small amount of damage people always think they should pay for it out of their own pocket, but why? If you're going to give someone £50/£100/£200 etc, why not just use your insurance anyway because even if the premiums did go up the following year the £100/£200 etc would most likely cover it. And is more than worth all the hassle and worry of trying to sort it yourself.

Really, people should pay the teeny bit extra to protect their no claims discount, a sense of security gives confidence in these matters.

Topup that's so frustrating. Unfortunately it's not uncommon - people see an insurance claim as easy game and don't stop to think about the person on the end of it having to pay a premium.

I would have called them and told them she was still working without impediment - they can start surveillance and catch people claiming to be severely injured who are lying through their teeth. I worked on a case where the man claiming said he couldn't walk 100 feet without collapsing. Guess who was caught on film playing football and digging a new patio for his garden?

Go through the insurance, that's what it's for & you protect your privacy as they deal with the other party.
I'm always amazed with people who pay for insurance but then don't use it - why?

I'm always amazed with people who pay for insurance but then don't use it - why?

Because if you do use it, it costs shitloads more in future, and it's not something you can just decide not to purchase in future if you want to drive.

That's the thinking.

I read through this yesterday. The impression I
I get is that she is after the cash and has no intention of using it to get the scooter repaired. Hence not wanting you to drop the cash to the mechanic and doubling amounts, not wanting to give a receipt etc. No doubt she is trying to scam you. The only way forward is through insurance.

Really, people should pay the teeny bit extra to protect their no claims discount, a sense of security gives confidence in these matters

It's not really the NCB that is the issue, its the fact that the premium will go up. Protected NCB is a marketing swizz when all's said and done (and, sorry to say it, relies on the fact that most people don't understand how insurance works)

So pre claim, your premium might be made up like this:

Premium of £100 + NCB of 75% = monthly cost of £25

but after the claim, even with fully protected NCB it would look like this:

Premium of £150 + NCB of 75% = monthly cost of £37.50.

Do you see? even though the percentage NCB is the same, your monthly (or annual) costs have increased because your premium is entirely at the discretion of your insurer.

I'm always amazed with people who pay for insurance but then don't use it - why?

I keep my comprehensive insurance for very serious situations, like if I write my car off for example.

A claim of a couple of grand will cost me less over the long term to pay it upfront from savings than to pay it over many years in the form of higher premiums.

You have zero say in what your insurance premium will be, it only takes a small change in the financial climate, or in government policy to really cause the cost of insurance to shoot up and you will have no choice but to pay it.

It's very naive to use your insurance for every little claim - people really need to be more strategic and think long term.

Ok went into the local branch of insurance this morning. It's round the corner and a local firm so they're really handy and friendly.

She said I've protected no claims and my premium won't go up next year on the basis of such a small claim and there's no excess to pay. She did however say not to give her my policy number and to wait till Monday morning when their claims team will be in and to raise the claim myself so they get my story first as otherwise she could say anything and I'd have to then retrospectively have to try to put the story straight. She agreed that it sounds like she was just fishing for cash and to steer well clear. So I texted scooter woman from the office saying I'd been advised by my insurance company not to issue my policy number but that they would be in touch with her on Monday morning. She wasn't happy and demanded details but I'm not engaging anymore and since then have had further texts from her detailing her health isssues and family situation not sure why she feels any of that is remotely relevant but as off Monday some poor sod in the claims department can deal with her!

I would let the insurance deal with it. She sounds a pain. You have tried to sort it out.

Is she insured herself?

I bet you feel better about it all now, don't you?

Yes, pleased you have found a solution

Yup, it's all gone radio silent her end too so reckon she's twigged I CBA and is busy dreaming up some sob story for the claims department on Monday. I have photos and text exchange and will happily provide them to claims beforehand though.
Much relief indeed

Thanks for all the advice btw, definitely helped get my thinking straight over the whole thing. If she's been remotely reasonable it would've been sorted same day, but hey ho, lesson learnt should I ever have the misfortune of a similar misadventure

Coming to this a bit late but hopefully this might be helpful.

A few years ago, I was turning right into a side road when a car already in the road started reversing out onto the main road. I beeped, but she reversed into my front bumper and damaged it. We both pulled in and she was immediately aggressive and confrontational. I asked for their details and got a load of flannel in response, so I persisted. I was shouted at annd accused of being racist (the other driver and passenger were Asian, I am white).

They drove off but I had got the reg and reported it. DH wanted to try and do it outside of insurance to protect his premiums.

The named driver was not the person driving. We tracked him down and of course he claimed I'd driven into them so I did some detective work and found a cctv camera on the access road which had filmed the whole thing. We contacted the other driver to inform him/her that we had cctv footage and he initially tried to front it out and demand to come to our house and watch footage (as if). After many phone calls and general avoidance, DH and this twat agreed a cash payment. DH turns up and the guy hands him half the money and says that's all he's paying as he still doesn't believe I didn't drive into them, despite the cctv footage.

All this took about six months and cost DH about £1000 in repairs, of which he got £300 from the person responsible. All this strife and expense and fucking hassle was because DH refused to go through insurance because a no-fault accident would have increased his premium.

And this is why you need to let your insurance company do the thing you are paying them for, rather than trying to do it yourself.