To feel terrible I did this?

[Harlowwolrah]

Today a car hit me as they went through a red light and I went through on green.

It was a genuine accident and the wife of the man who hit me was very upset and they were both concerned if I was hurt - I wasn’t. They didn’t speak great English and said they’d only been in the UK a short time.

Their friends showed up and this friend actually tried to say it was both our fault. They later rang me and asked to pay me and avoid insurance. I said no and that I had to go through insurance as who knows what the damage could cost and I wouldn’t have a courtesy car etc

I just feel terrible. They seemed like a nice couple and now I feel I’ve made life hard for them when they’ve just moved countries because their insurance will go up etc

Am I stupid to feel this way?

[Magn]

The excess is paid to start the repairs, if the costs are recoverable from the at fault insurer you get it back. I'm not an expert on fault/non fault but that does look pretty clear cut to me that driving through a red light isn't allowed!

I think you've done the right thing reporting. It doesn't feel nice but if the damage is severe enough you're worried it's worth getting it fully checked over for your own safety. There's also a massive parts supply chain issue at the moment so you may well need that courtesy car while your car waits for parts.

Hope you're feeling better now, it's a bit of a shock being in a crash so take it easy. Sweet tea and biscuits help 😊

[Obki]

Yeah, they were so upset they tried to get you to take half the blame.

OP, toughen up and don’t be a wet lettuce.

[LadyIckenham]

You should always advise your insurance. It changes your risk profile and could invalidate future claims if you don't.

[CosyDarkNights]

They went through a red light nd hit you, they are at fault and if their insurance goes up well that's on them. Did they even have insurance would be my main concern if they are foreigner just arrived. I hope you took the reg and details and they checked out.

[TastefulRainbowUnicorn]

Google fake crash / whiplash and all will be revealed ...

Thank you!

[Cantthinkofanewnameatm]

Insurance.
Their friend was trying to intimidate you, 3 against one.
Driving through a red light is a fault anywhere in the world, being in a different country is no excuse.
You have dash can evidence, present it to your insurance company and hand it over to them. They’re lucky the police weren’t involved.

[MrsGhandi]

@MrsLargeEmbodied

an old man went into the back of me, i stopped at a junction he just went into me, he smelled of booze, he gave me his address, and offered to pay cash so not to go through the insurance,
so many people are worried about claiming it seems, i got a quote and he sent me a cheque.

and you let off a drunk driver that might kill someone one day?

[JustFeckIt]

Did their friend turn up in a car? Could have been friends car which they were borrowing if they haven’t been in country long which they weren’t insured for especially as friend popped up and tried to say you were equally to blame to try to stop you reporting. Or car had no insurance at all.

If the driver wasn’t aware light had turned red then they are a very dangerous driver (not a ‘accident’.IMO). Thank god it was a car he hit with no injuries rather than a pedestrian on a crossing.

[EchoPark]

I'm surprised at the voting percentages.

To me it's clear YANBU.

[CosyDarkNights]

@MrsLargeEmbodied

an old man went into the back of me, i stopped at a junction he just went into me, he smelled of booze, he gave me his address, and offered to pay cash so not to go through the insurance,
so many people are worried about claiming it seems, i got a quote and he sent me a cheque.

And you didn't ring the police to report a drink driver because? Sorry I fail to see why you accepted cash and didn't report? Did you have no insurance or something fishy going on?

[Stoptheworld1000]

@Harlowwolrah

Thank you. I just hate the thought that because they offered me money that means going through insurance will make then struggle.

I’ve made the claim now and it’s even going to cost me £600 - cheers Direct Line.

Or it means they don't have insurance

[Fizzorgin]

You've done the right thing OP - and in the long term your insurers will reclaim against theirs given your dashcam footage should given sufficient weight and leverage so you should get your excess back as well.

If your NCD is protected then it shouldn't have too much impact on your premiums either.

As a point of note for other posters on here, the question at renewal is generally not now 'have you had any claims in the last X years' but 'have you had any incidents' - if you fail to declare anything even if settled by cash between parties and insurers find out (for example the other party notify their insurers even if they don't proceed with a claim) then it all gets recorded on the CUE database and may result in a voided policy which is far more problematic than a claim.

[daisychain01]

@TastefulRainbowUnicorn

Google fake crash / whiplash and all will be revealed ...

Thank you!

This was my first thought reading the OP:

• staged accident
• tends to be a "married couple" to increase authenticity and tug at the heart-strings
• the "friends" turn up magically on the scene (if they haven't been in UK for long, how come they have friends who are miraculously there at the drop of a hat), to reinforce the victim is at fault
• very often the staged incident involves traffic lights, jumping a red light, creating the accident then blaming the victim

Definitely don't give them cash, that's not traceable. As pp have stated take it through insurance, they are increasingly aware of these scams. Did they give you an address or just their mobile

[MrsLargeEmbodied]

i have had someone go into me at a roiundabout, offered bank transfer, it is very hard to argue with.

[worriedatthistime]

I would of considered this years ago and dh was recently involved in an accident. And looked like just a small dent it bumper but then when it went in it was a couple thousands of work as more damage behind the bumper that you couldn't see due to apparentlyi how the car us designed
Tbh the dent was something we even considered ignoring and if we had hit a post or something where no other party wS involved we may nit of even fixed it , so lesson learned that damage can also be unseen so not worth the risk

[Endlesssummer2022]

Which country did they come from where it’s not customary to stop at a red light? They are trying to play you. They could have hit and killed a pedestrian. Fuck them.

[IsaidWhot]

@TheOnlyBeeInYourBonnet

You're kinder than me, I wouldn't have an ounce of sympathy for someone who ran a red light and wrecked my car (and nearly wrecked me). Even if I did, it would have evaporated when their friend turned up to gaslight me about whose fault it was.

💯
Also, minus points for choosing to drive when unsure of the rules (red light?) and turning into victims when they cause an accident.
And minus points for using the I'm not from around here card, so what? Sorry, you need to learn how things work generally and certainly before endangering others. I say that as an immigrant btw.

[SarahR2022]

YANBU....Ive previously settled without insurance but it was a small dent in a car park so a hundrew quid or so to get it repaired which was less tuan the the insurance excess anyway....definitely wouldnt do it for a proper crash....also did you report to the police??? Its an offence not to report an accident....youre being too nice....which is refreshing but a bit daft....good luck...

[DearieMeWhatsUp]

www.abi.org.uk/products-and-issues/topics-and-issues/fraud/crash-for-cash/#:~:text=The%20induced%20accident%3A%20the%20fraudsters,which%20never%20actually%20took%20place.

Look up crash for cash scams!

[Jaxhog]

You shouldn't have to pay anything if it wasn't your fault. Either their insurance will pay, or your insurance will cover you for an uninsured driver. In full.

[WireSkills]

If they didn't want to suffer financially they should drive more carefully.

Given their ability to drive through a red light and having friends that then tried to blame it on you, I think you're fortunate that they had insurance at all.

You've done the right thing OP. Even if you'd agreed to go private on it, there's no guarantee they'd have ever come up with the cash and then you'd have been out of pocket.

Glad you had a dashcam though - there's no arguing with that! Without it, the others could have said their light was green and yours was red and the insurance would have said it was 50:50.

[Tessabelle74]

ALWAYS go through the insurance. You have zero guarantee they will pay any private repair bill

[Ofcourseshecan]

I voted Yanbu, but I meant what you did was reasonable. Letting them give you some money instead of claiming on insurance would be unreasonable. Wherever they come from, I bet a red light means stop, same as here!

[LovelyLisa2]

Be careful. I had similar and they tried to sue me to 10k. There was a tyre mark on their car and no dents. Stick to the insurance root…

[jetadore]

If you don’t go through your insurers you’ll be setting yourself up for a world of trouble. Well done for having empathy for the couple but ffs don’t screw yourself over in the name of “being nice”.