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's not insignificant, you'd feel yourself doing that. The school releasing the CCTV seems strange too, as I'd assume that there is GDPR issues around that, but may be completely incorrect. Most if that looks like you could wipe is, but you'd be looking at a re spray of the whole panel and that won't be cheap. Get the CCTV, tell them you won't engage any further until you do, and that it will h going through insurance if required. If you can't be proved to have done the damage, then don't take responsibility. If they continue to call, let them know you'll go to the police

The problem is... you know you did hit the car. Maybe you just heard a bang or a strange sound or a slight jolt but deep down you know. You just pretended you didn't see or hear anything. Now you have to stick to this line (perhaps you want to believe it so much you want to type it out?). Are there literally no scuff marks on your car , even the bumper? If not ask the school for the footage and you can send to your insurance company if no issue. You know you did it though! Naughty.

If someone had showed me that photo I would have thought that the damage was caused by dodgy reversing. The person who reported this "hit and run" will be part of the scam, and waiting for their cut.

Goodness me. No way you don't notice this when driving. Impossible. Can you book a further driving test after this is cleared up?

Ermmmm if I knew I definitely did it then I would continue to deny it? I'm genuinely not sure hence why I'm thinking worst case scenario, it is my fault then I know how to go about it.

I had a similar incident a few years back.

I was followed home by a man who claimed I had hit his car whilst I was turning right out of a car park and he was oncoming traffic at 30mph. When he got out of the car, he had someone on the phone who was claiming to be the police.

I felt and saw nothing that would have led me to think I had crashed into another car, and saw no damage on my car, or where he alleged I had hit him and there was ‘a lot’ of damage.

He was very intimidating and so insistent that I started to wonder whether I could have really have hit him without knowing about it at all. I didn’t know what to do and had my baby in the car, so I got my neighbour to come out, who clocked that there was a lot of damage on the other side of his car, completely impossible to be plausible from how he claimed I had hit him, and not where he was insisting the damage was.

In hindsight, of course it was a scam. You don’t hit a car travelling at 30mph without noticing it, and cause damage from this which is imperceptible to the eye. Highly unlikely that he would have been hit at that speed, and then be able to turn around and know which exit the offending vehicle had taken at the nearby roundabout.

But even with such an implausible story, in the heat of the moment, I was really doubting myself and wondering whether I could have done that without noticing.

I realise that your situation is about a parked car, so speed is not involved, but I still think it is highly unlikely that you could have hit another vehicle without noticing.

Definitely get the CCTV footage yourself. Damage on their car doesn’t mean that it was caused by you.

If the CCTV shows that you did indeed hit the other vehicle, fair enough, you need to get it sorted. Personally, I’d still go through insurance to make sure it is all done properly - you don’t then need to worry about suddenly having a massively inflated bill or any aggro dealing with them.

I suspect they are trying it on. The whole attack on your character when you first got in contact with them seems designed to intimidate you. Then the story about not going through insurance in case you are uninsured/don’t have a driving licence.

Just call insurers and ask for this fabled CCTV footage. Nothing delt with privately, all insurers. Cut communication with other party. Be prepared to have an interview with the insurers where you talk through the driving that day by the school. No fibbing though. They will know !

Why are you so determined OP did it? It looks like a reversing scrape to me.

We have had a car back up into ours because it's hard to prove its not your fault if its the back of their car that is damaged.

It's a well known scam thing to do. Thankfully we could show on CCTV what they had done.

Definitely notify your insurers. Ours was so helpful. Insurers also have access to fraud databases which can ping off details known to be used fraudulently and can sometimes help compile criminal cases to prosecute but they need to know what is going on to do so.

The fact these people are so pushy about no insurers is a huge red flag that you need your insurers by your side on this before you engage further.

Same. All though insurance, no contact with 3rd party. Give insurers footage and tell them you didn't notice scraping along the car. Your premium will go up a bit but that's it.

Well if you did the damage tough luck on you and your insurance will pay. End of.

Where is the damage on your car? Do you recognise the car in the picture? Were you parked next to it?

If you know you definitely did it, then at the point when you become aware of that fact, you notify your insurer. The rest of it is exactly the same - insurer deals with everything.

Are you sure it was someone from the school who rang you? Sounds very fishy. No way does a Headteacher have time to be ‘ringing round’ to track down a car for an incident that has nothing to do with the school! And no way would they give out CCTV footage of a school car park to some random. If there are marks on your car, the scam may have involved the mystery car deliberately hitting YOUR car while you were collecting your DC. I don’t believe you could have hit a vehicle sufficiently hard to leave minor damage on your own car without knowing you had hit something. Everyone here is telling you it’s a scam, yet you keep ignoring that advice for some reason…?

First thing is to check whether that was actually the school that contacted you. It seems rather more likely that some scammer has taken down your registration plate and rung you pretending to be the school.

Even if it is genuine, tell them to go via their insurance (and not to worry as you are insured).

I would be suspicious of them not wanting to go through insurance. I would tell them you are willing to do repairs if you can sort it with a garage yourself, if not I would go through insurance. School would have to provide the insurance with the footage if they would give it you.

@Bogginsthe3rd What the fuck are you on about?

Tell them to contact their insurer. It sounds like they are trying it on.

However if it turns out that you have crashed into another car and cannot remember that's a bit worrying.

Are you 100% sure it was the school that phoned you?

Haven't read the full thread...
Just OP..

Once you've seen the footage and if it proves you did hit the other car pass your insurance details over to the other party.
Swap insurance details.

If they don't want to go via insurance I'd find that a bit strange as they'd have nothing to lose...unless they themselves aren't all above board

Don't be bullied into paying privately, you've paid your insurance fees for incidents such as these.

You also go through insurance as you never know if there's previous damage on the car elsewhere that will also get done under your insurance.

I wouldn't do anything. If their, or your insurers ring you and ask you about it, deny all knowledge. If they have CCTV footage showing your car hitting the third party car, then you'll have to admit liability. But until that happens, keep schtum.

Are you sure it's the school who rang? Why would they get involved or care if it was escalated? Did the school see the cctv or the person? It all sounds very dodgy.

Warning tale: I once hit a car at about 4mph reversing. There was no visible damage to either car but they started making noises about unseen damage of a great extent so I insisted the insurance handle it. A few weeks later we received a letter, only it had been sent to us by mistake. The car owner had made a complaint to the insurance company as they wouldn't fork out for all the damage he claimed had been done and they were basically telling him to jog on. Can you imagine if we hadn't gone through our insurance.

But there is no proof that this person who saw you hit the car was an impartial witness.

Ask school if someone actually viewed the CCTV and can confirm it is your car. Then go via you insurance. It is the insurance people's job to decide who is at fault.

There is no evidence that this person even exists! I can’t understand why OP is so gullible?