AIBU for a car scrape?

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Managed to lightly scrape someones car in a car park today, purely paint damage a hairline scratch and not down to the bare metal.

Had someone scrape my car before bigger than this, down to the metal and getting it repaired at bodyshop was not too expensive

Left my number but had my phone turned off rest of day as I have a night shift tonight - the man whos car i scraped left two messages saying he has gone to his insurance who have given him until lunchtime tomorrow to get the rest of my details. Is it possible he can trace my phone number?

AIBU if I am happy to give him cash but don't want to go through insurance?

First time driver, only passed a few months ago and cannot afford to lose my current ncb and no accident rating.

Curious to find out what others think.

What do you mean by the rest of your details? If he’s got your vehicle reg then they can go direct to your insurance company for the repair costs.

If he wants to go through insurance then you have to go through insurance. The man has no reason to believe that you will give him cash.

You damaged his car, he wants to claim through the appropriate channels. Tbh you are possibly in dodgy ground if he reported you to the police, if you only left a phone number that he couldnt contact you on for a period of timw after the event.

If you cant afford to lose your ncb you should have maybe been more careful

Your insurance company is now involved. You don't sound very sorry to me.

If he wants to go through insurance then that’s his choice , you don’t get a choice so YABU .

It’s not up to you about insurance. I would go through if if I was him. Not to mention you didn’t leave your details, your phone number is not enough.

2nd post in a week where people don’t know what to do after an accident.

I think by leaving your contact details you have already admitted liability.

If you do nothing, he can call police and report you for not providing your details.

If his car needs to be taken away and painted he may be without a car which his will sort a replacement and your insurer will be likely made to pay for.

If he's already reported it he still may accept you paying privately - but it could cost you more with car hire etc

It's scary when thus happens so I'm really sorry for you, but do contact him so you don't get any more issues. All the best

Bringmewineandcake, all he has is my mobile number. his tone was quite sharp talking about this 'deadline' his insurance have given him? just wondering if there is any truth to this?

i was happy to give him cash but it is not major damage hence why i dont see his need to get insurance involved.

You did leave your registration to?

If you've only just passed surely you have no ncd etc, just means you won't get it for this year.

I'm not surprised his tone was sharp, mine probably would be too.

Did you not leave your registration details?

Respect for actually leaving a note - the last half a dozen scrapes left on mine were anonymous. I don't think he can obtain your address from the phone number (at least not legally) if that's what you mean.

In theory you should tell your insurer even if you're paying yourself, but in practice some people don't. You probably get advice to to it either way in the end you'll need to decide.

I would be careful about what you agree to though - if my car was off the road for a day whilst they sorted out a scratch I'd need a car to get to work - it could get expensive very easily. If he's prepared to be reasonable about it it could well work out much cheaper than having your insurer pay though.

I agree with the others, you must contact him. Unfortunately these are the consequences, even though it was a complete accident on your part, that’s what insurance is for. Put it down to experience and you’ll know to be extra extra observant from now on. Don’t beat yourself up about it just learn from it.

Your NCB is gone I'm afraid - it's been reported to the insurance so you don't have a choice.

Not your choice and I wouldn't take cash for damage done to my last car by someone. It is in your opinion that there is little damage, my car had what the scrapie (is that a word) thought was a couple of ££ it cost over 1k because of the make/colour etc on my car.

So you didnt leave your reg number? If he reports you to the police you are in the shit. Its not up to you how major or minor this is.

A repaint job can get very expensive if more than one panel needs resprayed, the colour of the paint etc.

I'm not surprised his tone was sharp, mine probably would be too.

I'd just be glad and amazed that someone was actually taking responsibility - very rare in my experience.

Ring him and speak to him, he might be nice me during the conversation and explain why you want to pay cash. He probably just panicked and thought you’d give. Him a dud number.

And really don’t worry about the police, believe me, this would not interest them at all! You’ve left a number and admitted liability by doing so. The police barely chase worse scenarios!

The deadline is nonsense, and idle threat from him I imagine. If he hasn’t got your details then the claim will go against him, he’ll lose his ncd, etc etc. Do you think that’s fair?
When you took on your insurance you agreed to let your insurer know about any accident that could lead to a claim. By not reporting this, you could end up in a lot of trouble later on.
It’s minor damage, not going to be a big claim. These things happen but you can’t just ignore it.

I did this in a car park at Xmas (a few months after I’d passed my test). I phoned my insurance and they said to get a quote to see if it would cost more than my excess to fix both cars and if not, to just sort it between the two of us. In the end the lovely woman I’d hit didn’t want anything for it as she said she’d done worse to her car herself.

Why are you worried he could trace your number? Surely you weren’t hoping to just scarper now that he wants to get his insurance company involved?

NICER during the conversation*

i dont see his need to get insurance involved.

Because it’s the law?

Even if you don’t claim, you still need to inform them of an accident.

pigshavecurlytails , how is that possible if i just left a phone number though?

Surely you haven't got a no claims bonus if you only passed your test a few months ago?