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Original poster

Am literally crapping myself every time the phone rings...

22 replies

deanychip · 23/05/2008 11:35

reversed into a ladies car about 10 days ago.
she wasnt in the car, i was leaving my name and number when she came back. I explained to her and she was ok about it.

not heard any thing at all, but i am in such a mess about it, i am literally jumping out of my skin when the phone rings in case it is her with a huge bill for the repairs. I only marked her bumper a bit as far as i could see.
have never had a crash before.

cant remember what car it was, like a people carrier.
how much is this going to cost me, is it likely to be hundreds of pounds?

i am fully insured but she said she would get a price from a garage and not go through the insurance.

can any one tell me what to expect please?

OP posts:

justjules · 23/05/2008 11:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

avenanap · 23/05/2008 11:38

I crashed my bike into someones car, I dented their side door (only a bit) and left a massive scratch down the side. I paid, it cost £200 to repair. Things like this happen, you were honest about it so try not to worry too much. Make sure you see the estimate from the garage though incase you end up paying for things that were not part of the accident.

justjules · 23/05/2008 11:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheFallenMadonna · 23/05/2008 11:39

I really, really hope you're not...

avenanap · 23/05/2008 11:40

If she was parked on double yellow lines/illegal you don't have to pay.

Original poster

deanychip · 23/05/2008 11:40

I have no idea, think she thought about no claims or something??

kids she had with her were in private school uniform, she was posh.....what if she is a lawyer or some thing, she will take me to the cleaners and spit me out

OP posts:

Hassled · 23/05/2008 11:40

You can agree together to bypass the insurance but she can't insist on it. It might be that the cost of the repairs is less than your excess (worth checking what your excess is), in which case sorting it yourself makes sense, but if you're talking thousands then just use your insurance company - that's the reason you've been paying them all this time.

justjules · 23/05/2008 11:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Hassled · 23/05/2008 11:42

deany - you would be claiming on your insurance, not her, so her no claims won't be affected. Your no claims will be affected, but that's still better than paying thousands. ALl dealings should be between the 2 insurance companies - she's not going to take you to court.

RELAX!!!

eandh · 23/05/2008 11:43

if the quote comes in to high, just go through your insurers and they'll deal diretcly with her insurers and use approved garage for repairs. if they question why it has taken a while to report accident simply say you were waiting for her to contact you with her insurance details (which is true as you dont have them)

She may well have decided not to bother getting a quote and therefore may never come back to you

notjustmom · 23/05/2008 11:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

deanychip · 23/05/2008 11:44

goodbye dear friends, i shall think of you from my prison cell...do they serve just bread, or do you get water as well........

OP posts:

justjules · 23/05/2008 11:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

deanychip · 23/05/2008 11:47

ok, i confess that hers was one of only 3 cars parked minding their own buisiness on a huge car park and YES i backed into her car.
i was distracted by my child.

feel thicko but as i said, been driving for 18 years and never had a bump.

OP posts:

Freckle · 23/05/2008 12:01

You should report the accident to your insurers even if you don't want to claim on your insurance. If you don't, you may invalidate your insurance cover (it is normally a condtion of the insurance that you report all accidents to them) and may not be covered for future claims.

annh · 23/05/2008 13:15

I think you're all being a bit unfair on the other driver without any evidence to support thinking that she is uninsured (which is irrelevant here anyway, it's your insurance company which would be involved)! She probably suggested not going through your insurance company because of the expected cost of the damage e.g. if your excess is £250 and the damage costs £150 to put right, you may wish to just write her a cheque for the amount. However, if you have a protected no-claims bonus you may be happy to go through insurance regardless of the amount.

It may well also be that you will never hear from her again, if you haven't done any visible damage to her car. Someone reversed into dh a few months ago and he took their details at the time but on looking at the car closely laterit was obvious that they hadn't done any damage so he didn't take it any further.

If there is damage, it is your decision whether to take it through your insurance company - you should not have to pay a huge amount and no-one is going to prison!

Original poster

deanychip · 23/05/2008 13:16

ah ok will do, better be safe and tell every one i have to tell.

wish me luck, am worried.

OP posts:

Original poster

deanychip · 23/05/2008 13:22

Annh i genuinely think that she was bieng kind to me about not going through the insurance and affecting my no claims, i was upset that i had done this to her car at the time.
As i recall, there were a few bumps on her bumper and i had made a white mark which probably would polish out.
i didnt ram her car, just literally bumped it.

think that i will ring my insurance and get some reassurance from them.

OP posts:

ib · 23/05/2008 13:31

Sounds like she was being really nice - the worst that can happen is you pay the excess and lose your no claims.

I had this and would have been much happier to settle it without the insurance (there was no visible damage!) but because the other party were arses it's going to cost me loads in lost no claims - and the repair cost is probably less than my excess

HappyMummyOfOne · 23/05/2008 13:36

You dont pay an excess on Third Party damage, so unless you claim your own damage through your insurer (if there is any) you wont have anything to pay.

Her no claims bonus wont be affected however both parties will see an increase if the claim goes through the insurers.

If she wishes to settle privately, you still need to inform your insurers and copy them in on the settlement in case of any comeback.

ib · 23/05/2008 13:47

Really? Good to know that. At least it's only the no claims....not so bad then. (would still probably have been cheaper to pay for any repairs directly)

Sorry for hijack!

Sidge · 23/05/2008 14:09

Sorry to sound like the voice of doom, but make sure you write down EVERYTHING that has happened with times, dates, details etc whilst it is fresh in your mind.

I bumped into a man's car at a junction some years ago. He stalled, I literally just kissed his bumper, we swapped details even though there was NO visible damage at all.

I didn't hear from him but informed my insurance company anyway (they reassured me that it wouldn't affect my policy as I wasn't making a claim at that time).

Then 11 months later I got a letter from his insurance company saying I was responsible for nearly a thousand pounds worth of damage to his car! I strongly disputed it, involved my insurance company and gave them all the information I had written down when it happened.

We reckon he had had a prang or reversed into something after my event, and was trying to claim off me rather than paying up himself. Luckily it was dismissed but caused me so much stress it wasn't funny.

So even though I'm sure nothing will come of it for you, write it all down anyway in case there are future repercussions!

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