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AIBU?

Bump in the car. AIBU to query a cash request.

33 replies

Pulluptothebumper · 07/12/2017 14:18

Posting for advice please.

My husband had a small bump in his car in a car park and caused a slight graze to the bumper of another vehicle (a colour-coded BMW bumper though!).

He left a note and the owner contacted him. The owner said he didn’t want to go through the insurance. He said he is selling the car and the garage that is taking the car in part-exchange said they would fix the damage for £250 (they estimated that an insurance loss adjuster would cost the job at £1000).

He’s had the job done and now wants my husband to pay him the £250 in cash. We don’t really have that spare cash. It would have been better for us to go through the insurance as it wouldn’t have affected our policy premium too adversely.

Has anyone got any advice as to where we stand with this situation. My husband accepts it was his fault but the owner’s course of action is going to leave us very much out of pocket. Isn’t this why we pay insurance?
Thank you

OP posts:

Report

Roussette · 07/12/2017 15:41

Exactly. So if I reverse into the post holding the gates on our drive, I have to tell my insurance? Sod that for a game of soldiers! I know a brilliant car bodyworker who would sort it cheaply.

Yes of course the insurance companies want us to tell them about any minor scratch! They then have free licence to put up your premium even if you don't claim. My gate post ain't tellin' !!

19lottie82 · 07/12/2017 15:37

In small incidents like this it’s always easier and cheaper to sort it out between yourselves IMO.

If you go through your insurance you will have to pay your excess and your premiums will be increased for the next 5 years.

OK you may technically be breaking the terms of your insurance, but it’s a scuff! How are they even going to find out?

safariboot · 07/12/2017 15:36

Like Killerfiller said, I wouldn't give cash because of the common scam where the other driver takes the cash and claims on insurance anyway.

The terms and conditions of your insurance almost surely state you must inform them of any incidents whether or not you want to claim. Not doing so could be regarded as insurance fraud. If the insurers find out they can use it as an excuse to deny you a payout for a future incident, and then put you on a "fraudster blacklist" that means your premiums will be doubled at best for the rest of your life.

RestingGrinchFace · 07/12/2017 15:34

He most likely doesn't want to loose his no clains discount/experience a hike in insurance as a result of involvement in an accident. Quite frankly it's a bit unfair of you considering that he wasn't at all at fault but you are within your rights to go through insurance although he may prefer to not to get any money from you at all thanbto go through his insurance.

unreasonablesmells · 07/12/2017 15:32

CeciliaBartolli I actually went on comparison websites when I saw my premium was going up but it was same everywhere. When I asked my insurance they said if you’ve been in one accident your statisically more likely to be in another.

Tinselistacky · 07/12/2017 15:30

I went bumper to bumper with a range rover at the school gates. Literally I could have rubbed the scuff off with a magic sponge (have done in the past and worked a treat) ott dw of the dh who's car it was sent me a quote for £90 for the repairs. I posted them a cheque which was cashed. Scuff is still there.
Wouldn't be parting with any money op.

Karatema · 07/12/2017 15:22

I haven't read all the posts but I work in the insurance industry.

Report the incident to your insurer and let them deal with it. Some areas of the country are renowned for this type of fraud.

Remember if you decide to pay up personally then obtain a receipt detailing this is as a final and full payment which both parties should sign. This is no guarantee they won't then report to your insurer but it will be evidence.

Any correspondence should be passed to your insurer unanswered. Let them deal with it.

If the third party is genuine then he may back down once he knows you are going through insurers as he will have difficulty selling his car with an insurance claim hanging over it!

LunasSpectreSpecs · 07/12/2017 15:12

We were on the other end of this recently - someone went into the back of DH at a roundabout, causing minimal damage. Rather than involve insurance companies, the other driver said to get quotes for repair and he would pay. We got Chips Away out to fix the damage and I think the total was about £160 - less than the other driver's excess. We paid for the car to be fixed and emailed him a copy of hte invoice, he paid it right away.

Not everyone's out to scam you. But I would in your DH's position be asking for some sort of paper trail.

Killerfiller · 07/12/2017 15:05

So many people I know have had this happen to them
Paid cash directly then letter from insurance regarding claim

Don't do it if you don't want to
Pay twice.

Aridane · 07/12/2017 15:02

£250 sounds very reasonable - sounds like you are all being adults about this

Guardsman18 · 07/12/2017 15:01

I 'pranged' a neighbour's van last year and he came to tell me that he could get the work done for £380. his friend was going to do it! It could have been a million pounds - I just said I didn't have it and would go through my insurance.

He didn't want that (said out premiums would go up) but I felt that I have been paying it for 30 years and have never claimed and that's what it's for isn't it? He also said he'd contact the Police. Apparently, they would only be involved if someone was hurt I was told later.

I contacted my insurance company which told me it was being dealt with. Nothing has ever happened to my insurance premiums due to this.

I hope I'm right in saying this, but I would either ignore him and let insurance deal with it or say you'll get your own quote.

Neighbour had the work done for £80. (I have since given this to him!)

Sorry if this has been posted earlier, I have to go and get my son!

Somerford · 07/12/2017 15:01

You are completely within your rights to go through insurance but keep in mind that you will probably have to pay excess

The policy excess is usually only payable if you are making a claim for your own damage, it is not typically applied if the claim is for third party damage only.

OP - the third party doesn't get to dictate the manner in which you settle their damages. Assuming that you don't dispute that your husband is at fault for the accident, it is entirely up to you whether you pay the costs yourself or involve your insurer. Your insurer would likely prefer that the repair had waited until they had assessed and approved the third party repairs but it's not the end of the world, one of their engineers will look over the estimate and invoice to make sure that the repair costs tally with the level of damage.

Be wary of the impact on your renewal premium however. If you have protected no claims discount it shouldn't be a problem but if you haven't you might be in for a surprise there.

Jaxhog · 07/12/2017 15:00

At the very least get a receipt for the work done. And a written agreement that he won't make a further claim.

Or insist on going through insurance. You'll have to report it anyway.

Roussette · 07/12/2017 14:59

Thanks nreasonable that's exactly what I mean.

My sister rang and asked her insurance company how much she thought her premium would go up as she'd reversed into a post. They couldn't say so she decided just to have it done herself. Her premium went up similar. When she rang to query it, they said it was because she had had an accident even though she hadn't claimed. Don't tell them anything unless you really have to.

Pulluptothebumper · 07/12/2017 14:58

Thanks people, I think we will pay on this occasion. The other driver has been very pleasant about the whole thing and therefore I think it’s only fair to resolve the situation with a direct payout.

OP posts:

CeciliaBartolli · 07/12/2017 14:58

If your premium goes up, change insurer. You are meant to use your car insurance for claims, that's why you pay for it.

Roussette · 07/12/2017 14:57

Don't tell the insurance company! Even if you ask them their advice but decide to pay the £250 yourself, it is logged and your premium will go up. Those who'e said their premiums don't go up are very lucky. I have 9 years no claims and I know mine would.

OP, how do you know your premium won't be adversely affected? It will! And it just won't be next year's premium, it will affect a few years. So £250 is a bargain. Just say to the bloke you want to pay via online banking so you have a paper trail.

unreasonablesmells · 07/12/2017 14:54

Word of warning, I had a small bump. Not my fault but hers. Reported it in case she did (which she did and tried to blame me then dropped it so it was registered with no fault assigned) my premium went up next year by £200.

specialsubject · 07/12/2017 14:52

go through insurers.

the setup on this and the bad design of modern cars means official fixes cost a lot more but it will stop the guy coming after you for more. And if by any chance he is uninsured, it will flag him up.

BadTasteFlump · 07/12/2017 14:49

Don't know where that random 'this' came from!

BadTasteFlump · 07/12/2017 14:49

this

You are breaking the terms of your insurance contract by not informing them of an accident and sorting it out privately. Not worth the hassle - or the money. And actually when we've had v minor bumps in the past it hasn't cost us anything, or affected our premiums. I think it depends on your claims history, etc..

MonumentalAlabaster · 07/12/2017 14:46

Perhaps he wants to come to a cash arrangement because he is uninsured?

Sadik · 07/12/2017 14:45

I'd definitely go through the insurance. I had a small accident last year which involved a similar value of damage and it certainly didn't increase my insurance by that amount.
I don't know about the circumstances in this case, but mine ended up being recorded as 'shared blame' or something like that (didn't know this was possible, and hadn't expected it).

TollgateDebs · 07/12/2017 14:37

My advice is to let your insurance company deal with it, as this could come back and bite you on the bum! It is a condition of insurance that you inform your insurer when involved in an accident / incident / no matter how small. They then take over. You don't have to claim, but you do have to tell your insurer.

Flywheel · 07/12/2017 14:36

You are completely within your rights to go through insurance but keep in mind that you will probably have to pay excess (could be same sort of amount - check your policy) and your payments will go up next year. Sounds like it could be a win win for everyone if you just pay out.

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