Absolutely panicking - please help (car accident and police)

[Unsure72]

I hired a car yesterday and while reversing into a space in a car park, I accidentally hit a metal post/bollard. I couldn’t see any damage to the post, but the car door has a dent in it. I told the car hire company that I put a dent in the car (I’ve given them no further details of how this happened at this stage) and they’ve asked me to fill out an incident form describing what happened for insurance purposes.

However, having had a bit of a google, I’m now absolutely panicking that I should have reported the incident to the police, because I hit a piece of street furniture. It didn’t cross my mind at the time because the post appeared to have no damage, but obviously it was hit.

I’ve had a sleepless night worrying about it and am so scared I’ve screwed up.

Does this also mean I could get points on my licence or have to pay more for my insurance in future? I’ve been driving for about 15 years and have never had an accident before - I feel so incredibly stupid

Don't panic, there is no need to report it to the police if no damage was caused to the post. You have done everything you needed to do.

Report the incident now, was it a council run carpark?

From googling it looks like it’s a council-run car park

This really isn’t an issue if no damage was caused. The police don’t have the resources to be bothered about something like that.

Our local police take that kind of report via their web portal, so you can always look into doing that if you are worried.

But if there was no damage to the post, I wouldn’t bother.

I doubt there will be any comeback about the post... if I were you I'd be far more concerned about how much the hire company are going to rinse you for the damage to the door.

I doubt the police would be remotely interested. No need to report it to anyone, try not to worry

I'd be. Ore worried about the cost that the car hire company is going to try to shaft me for! Did you have full cover, ie collision damage waiver?
The police will have zero interest in you hitting a bollard. If they were called me out to every incident like this the country would be in chaos!

Well I’m fully insured (I took out one of those expensive zero-excess policies) so I’m not too worried about that. Will this go on my records and affect my insurance costs in future though?

If there was no damage done to the post then I wouldn't worry.
You could, if you wanted to, go back and take a photo of the post with the date stamp on your phone. This would just give you some evidence in the unlikely event that you'll ever be questioned about it.

After that I wouldn't give it another thought.

There was no damage to the post. Nothing to report.

You don't need to report it if there's no damage.

I do know someone who crashed into a lamppost and damaged it; she was sent an invoice for £1500 from the council.

You only hit it with your door and it wasn't damaged, no need to report and police certainly won't care.

I did something very similar in my own car a few years back (reversed into a post in a car park, cost about £250 in repairs) It didn't occur to me to worry about damage to the post and the carpark was full of CCTV, they could have tracked me down if there were any issues. Do report online but sure it will be fine.

Do report online but sure it will be fine.

To whom should I report it online?

"Will this go on my records and affect my insurance costs in future though?"

Yes you should declare it as an accident when you renew your own insurance.

"To whom should I report it online? "

Nobody. You're worrying about the wrong things.

Thanks Hello. How much more expensive is it likely to make my insurance in the future?

And will I still be able to use car hire companies if this is on my record?

No one can say how much it will affect your insurance in the future but obviously it will. You will see how much next time you have to renew it.

I feel so foolish - one silly mistake of my own making and I’ve gotten myself into this huge mess

Has anyone else done similar and got any examples of how much their insurance went up? How long do incidents like this stay on your record?

Surely nobody actually tells their insurer about things like this...

@Spam88 the car doesn’t belong to me so I don’t have a choice!

On what planet is this a huge mess?

You had an accident.. you did what you were supposed to be, and now you have to sit back and wait to see what the results will be.

Ah sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I've just checked on our local police website to see how you could/should possibly report this and it says that if damage has been done to property including street signs/bollards you need to leave details or report at local station. But you didn't cause damage so it really doesn't seem that you need to bother.
If it helps for your own peace of mind you could google the local police force and see what the local advice is.