A (potential) car incident

[hahavzv]

Hi mumsnetters,

I'm in a situation and I just don't know what to think about it (not trying to be defensive) and don't know how to handle this situation.

A person has rang up my kids school saying someone has hit their car and if this is not sorted then they will escalate this further.

I was contacted today by the school to say is this your car reg and it was. My car has been caught on cctv (apparently) hitting a car and 'running off'.

Now, I am not aware of hitting a car, well not that I know of. I was given the persons contact details which I was happy to take so I could discuss this further with them. I rang them and they were extremely defensive saying that I am a bad person and who would do such a thing etc. I asked have you personally seen this cctv footage and also if you could send me pictures of the damage done to your car. They also mentioned that there was an eyewitness who left a note with tier number saying that it was a hit and run.

I am not a hit and run type of person so this person has gotten the wrong end of the stick.

I have asked the person to also send me the cctv footage so I can review it too. They have refused to do so. I don't know why. They have said you can contact the school and obtain this your self.
I will be looking to get this done and check out the whole footage.

But what do you think I should do? A part of me is like maybe I did hit a car but unaware. The photos of the damage are scratched as if bumper to bumper scrape kind of thing.

Any advice please.

By the way, I am the only driver of the car and it was at the time that I would've been around at the school.

That would be ridiculous given that OP doesn't think she did do it.

BTW a Google Lens Search suggests that its a Mercedes C320 if that's any help

Once you admit liability they could come back in three years and say someone was in the car so many negatives. Go through your insurance!!!! Don’t take the risk. Insurance will investigate it fully.

I hit a bumper when pulling up to lights. The guy got out the car and started to be really pissed off then when he could see I genuinely had had no idea and was so apologetic we sorted it calmly. I realised that my music was too loud. I know you should feel it but we were going so slowly as it was traffic leading up to the lights, and the music being too loud meant my senses were kind of off. That's my theory anyway. I'm just saying this today it's possible to not notice if a very light bump

I might also check and photograph round your car at about the impact height so you have a contemporaneous record

Girl you need to ring your insurers. Tell them everything that has happened.

The fact that the accusers said they don't want insurers involved 'in case you don't have any' means it's almost 100% a scam and your insurers will recognise this. Don't try to deal with this on your own, and definitely don't agree to give them any money for repairs.

Ask the school for the footage; insist that the claim go via insurance. Think no more of it.

If there is footage of you colliding with their car you ring your insurers and put it in their hands.
It is compulsory to have insurance to protect other people on the road.
You give then all the info and then pass your insurance on to them
You get on with your life

Yes that’s such a weird thing to say! Even if you weren’t insured that’s what the MIB is for (and also we were hit by an uninsured driver, even though the car was insured, and the insurer paid us). It’s such a strange and illogical statement.

How much to repair something like this anyway?

I will upload a picture of my car from the front tomorrow when it's lighter!

Car registrations are legally counted as PII and if the school showed them footage disclosing your reg to this individual is actually a breach of GDPR. It could well be this was a genuine accident (although then not wanting to go via insurance makes me think it's not fully legit) but I would contact the school and recommend they brush up on their information security training as the only people they should be showing uncensored footage to are the police, especially as something is very fishy about this individual. I suspect the 'quote ' they get fit the work is much in excess of the cost, or it could be a preexisting scuff they are trying to get you to pay for.

Dear School,

I have been advised by Mr/Ms Blogs that my car hit theirs in the school car park and that I drove off without leaving my details at about date/time

They state that they have seen this on the school CCTV.

Please can you confirm that they were allowed to view the CCTV.

If they were allowed to view the CCTV I would like to arrange a time to come in and see the recording they watched. If it shows anything relevant I may wish to have a recording for my own use. Please advise me of the arrangements for making this.

If they have not viewed the CCTV please can you confirm this in writing

YS

Yeah show us the photo tomorrow.

Phone the school and view the alleged evidence- if it exists.

Then consider your options again.

Do not under any circumstances admit liability for anything. Do not say I hit a car. Because it could be a scam. You ALLEGEDLY hit a car however that's still to be proved.

Does the bit that's damaged on your car align with the bit that's damaged on theirs? ie same height etc. If, say, you're car has a high scratched bumper and his car has a low dent in the bumper then it's not been you it's been someone else possibly before you.

Please bare in mind that a person has stated they have SEEN me hit the car and run off

Go through your insurance. It’s literally what you pay them for.

Saying you run off doesn't make sense - is that the words they used?

Step 1 - ask to see the CCTV footage
Step 2a - if your car is shown hitting/scraping the other vehicle notify your insurers and let them deal with it
Step 2b - if they refuse to show you the CCTV footage call your insurer anyway and tell them you believe someone is trying to scam you so that they have a note on file.

You need to do everything by the book. If you are at fault and choose not to go through insurance then you open yourself up to being massively overcharged and the possibility of the other party trying to make further claims against you for other damage that magically surfaces.

@hahavzv Please DO NOT handle this yourself. Apart from anything else, you need to let your Insurance Company know what has happened. If you don't tell them, and they find out later your Insurance could be invalidated. Your Insurance company will also have a number of days in which you MUST report it to them under your policy. Sometimes within as little as one day. Even if you aren't planning on making a claim. Just tell them you don't think you hit the car and it may be a scam

BUT also it sounds like a scam, given your update, and as others have said, you need to see the CCTV etc? Not sure the scammer have seen the CCTV form the school. More likely they noted your Car Reg no in the carpark and decided to scam you from that? What did the headmistress say to you exactly?

Please turn it all over to your Car Insurer. It really is the only way to deal with this. Try not to panic. Insurers are used to dealing with these things, including scams ALL the time

Yes they described the whole incident as a hit and run!!!

They've said they won't go through insurance because I may not have insurance or a drivers license and the can't afford that???
They have also said specifically that they will go to a professional garage and not a recommended one. I just was thinking are they trying the rip me off???

That sounds incredibly dodgy. If the CCTV shows you did hit them, pass the whole thing over to your insurers. You have to notify them anyway, so you might as well get them to deal with the aggravation.

I would want to see footage … it could appear that only your car did the damage … but could have been car before or after you.

Thinking school staff I know … not CSI material.

You are 100% entitled to see that video. Confirm it’s your number plate and contact between vehicles can be seen. SEEN clearly … not assumed.

And I do seem to have some marks on my car on the front. But nowhere as bad as what they've shown me.

Yeah you did it 🤣

I literally watched a colleague go through this whole thing. Was absolutely adamant he hadn’t hit anything and had been scammed.

We finally check his car when we are walking back and the damage was there.

CCTV turned up a few months later through insurance. A whole wall taken out!

I do believe he genuinely didn’t know he had done it. How I have no idea 🤷‍♀️

Could they have hit you whilst you were parked and trying to blame you instead? I would request to see the CCTV

Why not? That's the whole point of insurance!

Anyone who tries to insist you don't go through your insurance is pulling a fast one.

If the school had shown them video then you would be entitled to see it also. This sounds like a vexatious complaint. You didn’t re-park your car did you? I’m guessing one of their friends has decided to be your “witness”. Also, if they had video evidence, they wouldn’t have a problem showing it. (And they don’t get to decided to avoid insurance, btw….)