Accidentally scratched a car - help?

[Idkw2d]

Hi Mumsnetters and a Merry Christmas to you all,

I am a new driver and have got myself in a situation.

As I was leaving an Asda car park this morning with my child, I managed to reverse too far back and scraped the side of someone’s very big car. I say big because it didn’t look like a scruffy runaround car, it was a big shiny car.

I am usually incredibly careful and slow, especially as I only passed my test in January this year. I am insured as an additional driver on my husband’s car and it’s just a small scruffy car that is easy to drive.

I have managed perfectly fine in this car park for years but due to a number of factors, I was somewhat caught off guard and managed to reverse too far (a driver was zooming up onto my right while another came right up to my backside). The car I scratched was sticking out of its parking slot by a fair margin, which is why I didn’t expect or realise what I’d done until it was too late :(

The bottom of the back of the car had visible marks where some black paint had come off and there was one very very very tiny scratch on the body. A few bystanders said “it doesn’t look too bad at all” and I took photos.

I waited for the owners to show up, told them what happened and gave my name, number, reg and home address. They said they would get a quote and get back to me, but if I didn’t want to pay then we could go through insurance. They said it could be around £200-300 to “paint over the panel”. said as it was my fault I was more than happy to compensate them. They haven’t gotten in touch yet so I’m still waiting.

Anyway, this is my first experience of anything like this and I have been a mess. I’m embarrassed to say I have cried over this multiple times today. I feel stupid for getting into a situation like this but even more stupid for now having to fork up what could be potentially a few hundred pounds.

Long story short, I had some questions:

1. If they ask me to pay, say, £300 and I agree, can they turn around and claim through insurance as well? I am a ‘new’ driver and worried about how this could affect my status.

2. Should insurance be informed regardless? I’ve heard conflicting info and don’t want to get in trouble.

3. Did I deal with this right? Some people have said I shouldn’t have given my home address.

4. Any advice or words of support? I feel so disappointed in myself today and am worried the owners will take advantage of the situation and charge me extra. I’ve heard and seen so many scams where people are forced to fork out exaggerated amounts for minor damage.

5. I’m also annoyed because they were parked in a Child & Parent spot when they clearly didn’t have any with them! Just makes it sting a little more lol.

I was WISHING this happens to me but the owners seemed the type to make SURE I pay up lol. They said their friend had a garage and they would send him photos to find out the cost etc and “if you don’t want to pay we can just go through insurance” in quite a prompt manner although I hadn’t once said I was unwilling to pay. Happy you weren’t troubled though, must have been a relief! ❤️

I've had this happen to me when I was a fairly new driver, I asked the other driver to send me an invoice from the garage and I paid once I received this. If you go through the insurance, you will also lose any no claims bonus you have started to build up, so your next years' premium will be much higher than it could have been.

I'd be wary with this one. It's not super common for people to have minor cosmetic damage to the bumper repaired. People don't tend to repair minor cosmetic damage in general.

I mean, the vehicle has been slightly devalued, so there is financial loss but it doesn't sound like it needs a whole new bumper or anything.

I suspect insurance would value this at the cost of a replacement bumper so that's something I'd personally try to avoid. It sounds like there was no damage to your vehicle?

I wouldn't feel comfortable telling you to do deals with strangers to avoid insurance claims, but I'd be very tempted myself in these circumstances, with it being so minor. I had an accident as a new driver and the premiums were ball breaking for years afterwards.

Not really the point, but I don’t get how you’ve ’managed in this car park for years’ but only passed your test in January?!

£200-£309 is ridiculously cheap. I'd pay it and get an invoice and receipt. Definitely worth avoiding going through insurance

Sorry, I don't think I would trust them to get their "friend" to do that. The friend may well exaggerate the cost of repair. Maybe that's just me thinking the worst, but if you do hear from them, I would insist on going through the insurance.

Looking back I'm glad it came to nothing, but at the time it was one of those where it went on so long I was wondering every day whether I'd hear anything about it.

Easier said than done but try not to worry about it. It's done now and whether you decide to pay or leave it to your insurance it will be straightforward to sort out. Don't let it put you off your driving.

Don't be so upset about it, these things happen and if you are this upset, I would go through insurance, you have done everything right so far.

Oh sorry! What I meant to say is I’ve been coming here for years/I know the area as I live here but also I’ve been there as a driver for a year - I’m so shaken up after what’s happened that my words are coming out clunky still! But yes, I think one of the first places I drove to after passing was this bloody car park for my Asda shop lol 😭

I'd find out the quoted cost before you tell your insurance company . Once you've told them, your premium will rise whether you make a claim through them or not,

Look up your excess then you can do a dummy quote on compare the market or wherever to see how much your premium would change if you claimed on your insurance. That way you can work out the cheapest option before you inform your insurance company.

Only in Mumsnet world you do 🙄

Someone hit our car, the police were involved as they drove off and it was on dashcam.
We didn’t go through insurance, they paid cash and we signed a typed up letter saying we accepted X amount in full and final payment to repair the damage caused.

I twice had someone go into the back of my car with a little bit of damage. I took details but I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle to be honest.

I feel for you - it was an accident, nothing serious and these things happen. Try not to worry too much about it.

My advice would be to go through insurance. Don't risk paying them direct and then them going to the police and getting your insurance details to claim against you anyway (I know someone where this happened).

Ring your insurers, tell them exactly what happened, the photos, and the fact you've asked for CCTV etc.

You did the right thing waiting. Believe you me, if u had driven off, as some unscrupulous people would have, you would not be rejoicing. It happens to the best of us. Once I reversed jnto someone in the staff car park. There were only 2 of us in there .

Just report to insurance and forget about it - it will cost your excess and maybe a slight increase in next years policy and that’s it problem solved.
I do wonder how you scraped a car in a parent and child space though? They literally have 2 foot between the spaces.

Firstly don’t beat yourself up about this . It was was of those perfect storm situations. Christmas Eve everyone including you was in a hurry with a lot on your mind. Children are distracting and the other car was outside the bay

The same thing happened to me on a similar day I clipped a long low car that sat outside the bay. I’ve been driving for 30 years .

I would be very surprised if the cost of the paintwork was only a few £100 . I think it will be between £500 and £1000. I would still try and keep insurance out of it as your premiums will rise as a new driver. It’s not in the other person’s interests to make a claim either but completely normal of them to do so if they didn’t trust that you would pay.

I think you have handled it fine but don’t expect them to be in touch until the new year as they will be too busy to prioritise this.

I know everyone will say I'm being over-cautious, but the risk with not telling your insurance company is that the other driver reports the incident and your company finds out and refuses to pay - they can even cancel your policy over it.

Go through insurance

I agree. It's not a huge risk but I posted up-thread that I know someone that had this. She scratched a neighbour's car, got a quote from their garage several days later and bank transferred the money to them. They then went to the police with her reg number and reported it - went to their own insurers with the crime reference, and they traced her and claimed from her insurers. For an amount significantly higher than what she'd paid.

Fortunately she'd got text message evidence of being in contact with them about getting quotes, so she could prove to the police that she'd not failed to stop and exchange details. But because they were neighbours, most of the conversations were in person. Even when she produced the bank transfer evidence it wasn't enough - as there was nothing to prove that the money she'd sent was actually for the repair, and the neighbours didn't confirm in writing they accepted it as full and final settlement for the damage.

So she was out for the cost of the money she'd sent them, plus the hike in her insurance premiums, and all the admin hassle of having to deal with the police and her insurance company. She no longer speaks to those neighbours!

I would go through your insurance. You’ll have to pay your excess, and it’s a claim against you. But ultimately this is exactly why you pay the premium every year.
People are so sneaky these days, and whilst it probably would be fine to pay cash, if you’ll sleep better at night leaving it to the insurers then do that.
Technically you’re supposed to notify insurers anyway, and if you do, it’s an accident on your record whether or not you claim.

I had something similar years ago when I was a newish driver. I got a bit cocky reversing into a parking space and misjudged it and scraped the car next to me slightly. The women's car was brand new and I was just a teen so gave her my insurance details. A few weeks later I had a letter from the insurance company saying the claim had been closed as the damage was so insignificant, i guess it just buffed out.

I would probably inform the insurance but say you won't be using it but if anything happens further at least you have told them

Why does the parked car being out of the bay have any relevance? There are cars moving in and out of bays all the time in a car park. You're still not supposed to hit them!

I had a similar thing happen a very long time ago. I scraped the side of a super shiny black brand new expensive car when reversing back into a parking place at the supermarket.
I was genuinely so upset for the owners.
I couldn't find the owners through an announcement in the supermarket.
I left a note to say I was very sorry and that I couldn't find them and that I am reporting to the police.
I went and reported it to the police station straightaway (in those days, there was a local police station open nearby).
I don't remember contacting my insurance, maybe I did, but they wrote to me a few weeks later to say the damaged car has been repaired under my insurance. It didn't affect my premium and I never told anyone about it in real life because I was so, so embarrassed. My car was fine, not a single scratch on it.