Page 2 | Car crash - they're asking for more money as she's saying her car a write off

Original poster

tangerinedays · 22/02/2023 10:00

We did exchange contact details, but not insurance details (I couldn't actually remember who I was insured with off the top of my head!) And no phone reception to check where we were. But I've told her which company I'm with now.

OP posts:

sparepantsandtoothbrush · 22/02/2023 10:03

What actually happened if you think it was her fault? Why have you accepted responsibility?

It sounds like this is a first for you and you're not quite sure of the process? Don't let her screw you over and if they come to your door again I'd contact 101 and log it

HollyFern1110 · 22/02/2023 10:03

Were the police called to the scene of the accident? If at least one car is seriously enough damaged to be a write off then they should have been. Very useful for working out liability too.

Absolutely do not give her a penny directly and do record anyone coming to your home about it. Someone locally eventually went to prison for a similar thing - he kept coming back again and again to the victim demanding more cash & intimidating him. From memory, I think he got about £20,000 in the end.

MeMyCatsAndMyBooks · 22/02/2023 10:04

She sounds like a scammer.

Do not answer the door to these people, do not engage by text/phone.

I had the same thing I bumped my neighbours car and made a tiny scratch, she said she'd get a quote then someone else bumped into her and did a lot more damage the quote came back for £900 for a tiny scratch as big as my little finger.
I phoned my insurance company and they told me £100 damage at best and sounded like she wanted me to pay for the other damage, she was furious and in the end dropped the whole thing and she moved a month later.

Give them a inch, they'll take a mile.

Skiphopbump · 22/02/2023 10:05

Definitely don’t engage with them anymore, they sound intimidating.

Ratatatatatouille · 22/02/2023 10:13

Tell her you don’t have a spare thousand pounds lying around, this is why you have insurance and if she contacts you directly again in any way then you will call the police and report her for harassment

CecilyP · 22/02/2023 10:13

Neither you, nor she, nor the insurance company at this stage, will know if the car is a write off. It would have to go to a garage to be assessed, and even then, initial assessments can change. If it was just a bump at low speed that you were both able to drive away from, it seems unlikely that the car will be written off.

Looks like they are trying to fleece you, or it was their fault and they don't want to lose their no claims bonus.

Original poster

tangerinedays · 22/02/2023 10:15

Her car was completely drivable afterwards. It def wasn't a write off in that sense. Just - I assume - it will cost more to fix it than the car is worth. They drove it to a garage no problems. Def no need to call police for that sort of thing.

OP posts:

Courtorder · 22/02/2023 10:17

Why would anyone think you should pay £1000 to fix something worth £500? How on earth does that make any sense to anyone? She’s absolutely trying to fleece you.

BertHandsome · 22/02/2023 10:22

Were the police called to the scene of the accident? If at least one car is seriously enough damaged to be a write off then they should have been.
Not necessarily. OP said they were both crap runarounds. A “write off” in this sense would be damage more than the car is worth, easy doable in a banger. A write off doesn’t mean un-drivable

longtompot · 22/02/2023 10:34

Were the police called to the scene of the accident? If at least one car is seriously enough damaged to be a write off then they should have been

My sisters car was bumped from behind on a roundabout and was classed as a write off, but she could still drive it. I think the term is used for when it would cost the insurance company more money than the cars worth to fix it. I could be wrong though as it was a few years ago.

CrotchetyQuaver · 22/02/2023 10:36

@HollyFern1110 cars do get written off for minor type bumps, fancy schmancy insurers repairs are very expensive. Think main dealer /small independent price differences. So it's easy have a £2-3k value car written off due to uneconomic repair.

If they're turning up on your doorstep en masse asking for m

CrotchetyQuaver · 22/02/2023 10:37

If they're turning up en masse at your house asking for money then definitely go through insurers and tell them to stop harassing you.

Greentree1 · 22/02/2023 10:44

If they come back say you have put it in the hands of your insurance, so can't comment on it. It sounds like the damage is superficial bodywork if they go to the right repair places they can sometimes source second hand parts that make repairs much cheaper.

HurryShadow · 22/02/2023 10:49

Courtorder · 22/02/2023 10:17

Why would anyone think you should pay £1000 to fix something worth £500? How on earth does that make any sense to anyone? She’s absolutely trying to fleece you.

This ^

She also knows that if it went through insurers they'd likely deem it 50:50.

I bet you anything she's only insured third party fire and theft and consequently isn't covered for repairs to her own vehicle.

You're going to have to stand firm on this one. You've not done anything wrong and if you get aggro from her or her friends/family report them to the police also.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 22/02/2023 10:51

She's already cross that I told insurers (I think you legally have to) because she just wanted me to pay the £1000

I'll bet

If she's the sort to involve her family in intimidating you, I wonder if she was insured herself?

AdobeWanKenobi · 22/02/2023 10:54

MeMyCatsAndMyBooks · 22/02/2023 10:04

She sounds like a scammer.

Do not answer the door to these people, do not engage by text/phone.

I had the same thing I bumped my neighbours car and made a tiny scratch, she said she'd get a quote then someone else bumped into her and did a lot more damage the quote came back for £900 for a tiny scratch as big as my little finger.
I phoned my insurance company and they told me £100 damage at best and sounded like she wanted me to pay for the other damage, she was furious and in the end dropped the whole thing and she moved a month later.

Give them a inch, they'll take a mile.

I'm astounded your insurance made an assessment over the phone without inspecting the other parties vehicle, and honestly a little worried about that.

DS was hit from behind a few years ago. Very low impact, leaving a scratch around the size you describe. An inspection of the car revealed some bending behind the bumper and around £1200 to repair. The woman who hit him thought she could hand over £200 for a respray and was incensed when DS went through his insurance and claimed for a proper, safe repair.

Frankly, diagnosing any damage via a phone call is dangerous.
Always go through insurance.

Leirvassbu · 22/02/2023 11:00

DS was hit from behind a few years ago. Very low impact, leaving a scratch around the size you describe. An inspection of the car revealed some bending behind the bumper and around £1200 to repair. The woman who hit him thought she could hand over £200 for a respray and was incensed when DS went through his insurance and claimed for a proper, safe repair

Same here. An elderly man didn't see that I was stopped at a red light as he was trying to read a traffic sign (his words!). It was a small scratch but there was unseen damage behind the bumper. I had to call the police because he was uncooperative about the insurance and shouting at me for being a foreigner (I'm an ex-Brit living in another country). Turned out there were illegalities regarding his driving licence and where is car was registered (complicated, won't bore anyone with it).
His wife then started phoning me screaming abuse at me and begging me not to go through insurance and they'd pay because otherwise he'd lose his licence.
I had already contacted the insurance at that point. I just blocked her.

People often have nefarious reasons for not wanting to go through the insurance. And you shouldn't trust anyone.
And no, I didn't feel sorry for the man who might lose his licence (not sure why the bump would mean that but whatever) because he didn't see a car stopped at a red light and the car could have been a small child crossing.

So yeah, OP, it goes through the insurance.
If they turn up threatening tell them to go away or you will contact the police.

LIZS · 22/02/2023 11:08

Any chance she is not insured? It is up to her to negotiate the value with her insurer.

xILikeJamx · 22/02/2023 11:10

Just because a car is written off, doesn't mean it heads to the scrap heap. They might well write her car off, but they'll give her the option of keeping it and repairing it herself for a reduced payout.

I bought a small soft top car last year for £5k and ended up needing to replace the roof. I initially went through the insurer as I thought it was a glass issue but it ended up growing arms and legs and they got a quote of £5.5k to replace the roof - so wrote off the car. They offered me £5.8k and they take the car away or £4.8k and I could keep the car. I had done work in the background and was able to source a new roof for £1.5k fitted, so I kept the car. Now marked as a Cat N write off but it's in better condition now than when I bought it

PolicyOfTruth · 22/02/2023 11:15

Just do what you've done which is to leave it with the insurance. You should also tell them that the other person is demanding money from you. You certainly shouldn't give any money to this...person.

Jusmakingit · 22/02/2023 11:40

I had the same happen to me. We were both at fault , I was reversing into a space and she was pulling out but decided to pull across the space I was reversing into. We both worked for the same company, big company so never had met before but worked in same building. She said she would get quotes etc for the repair for her car and I said that’s fine just let me know . She insisted on not going through insurance and after she sent me a £3,000 quote I said well it needs to go through insurance cause I can’t afford that. Funny she wanted me to pay her directly, once I mentioned insurance company she stopped sending threatening emails and turns out it wasn’t even her car she had borrowed it without her friend knowing ?! Madness . Nothing ever came of it but always go through your insurance company cause they could always come back asking for more money and no proof it was ever fixed

londonrach · 22/02/2023 11:42

Go through insurance! Report to police if she turns up at your house

taxguru · 22/02/2023 11:54

@AdobeWanKenobi

I'm astounded your insurance made an assessment over the phone without inspecting the other parties vehicle

For low value cars, they won't waste the time to do a proper in-person assessment, as they're usually an "automatic" write off. A neighbour of ours "wrote off" my old banger worth £2,500 because she left her hand brake off and it came off her drive into the side of it. It was perfectly drivable, but her insurers wrote it off based on my verbal description of the damage over the phone, which was dents to three panels. I ended up "buying" it from them for scrap value of £300, so they sent me a BACS payment for £2,200 and I got it repaired myself at a local bodyshop for £1,500.

It's not just the cost of the repairs, it's the cost of the car hire whilst it's off the road and other costs, so it's usually cheaper for the insurer to write it off and pay up it's value rather than pay for the repairs, car hire, etc.

LuluBlakey1 · 22/02/2023 11:56

Do not engage with her at all. Just say you have informed the insurance company who will be dealing with everything through her insurance.

I wonder if she actually has insurance.