Car park ding...what next?

Had a similar ding but the driver was in the other car at the time. Took photos and swapped details. I asked her to get a couple of quotes before contacting insurer. She did, I paid, all correspondence kept on WhatsApp, sorted.

Just wait for contact, i've had it done a couple of times and folk have left numbers, both times due to the age of the car and minimal mark i just phoned them and said i'm happy just to leave it, but thanks for leaving the number.

Insurance can be a real pain, same with getting it fixed, hopefully they're reasonable, my wife also had someone who was a bit of a pain, very small scuff, they went through insurers and so on, then phoned us up to complain that they now didn't have their car for their holiday due to the date of repair, i believe my response was that's karma for you.

Someone ran into the back of us, we got a quote for 400, he said he'd rather go through insurance for that, or 300 for cash. We took the 300. We didn't get the car repaired in the end as it developed other unrelated issues and we sold it a few months later. Correspondence kept on whatsapp.

Or do i just get insurer involved from the off?

I wouldn't. I had a similar situation a while back, l informed my insurance company, the guy didn't want to go through an insurance company as they would write it off for certain and he very much wanted to keep the car.

In the end he got someone to pull the dent out and it looked almost perfect which I paid for, fifty or a hundred quid, can't remember.

Unfortunately because I had told the insurance company they insisted on me losing my no claims, they weren't interested in the fact that they weren't paying out, they said I caused damage and it was my fault.

I told them that I hadn't caused any damage and it was my mistake, I thought I had but the damage was already there, I hadn't even hit it.

They obviously didn't believe me so asked for written confirmation from the other guy. Which I got and they accepted.

Lesson learnt.

 i’ve had it done a couple of times and folk have left numbers, 

I've had many minor and not so minor marks left on my car (2 currently waiting to be fixed) and have never had any notes left, neither has anybody I know when it's happened to them.

No one in it, so left an apology and my phone number.

Hence I don't do this, sorry but that's how it is, not paying for mine and everyone else's. Simpler to just sort these things out yourself. It all evens itself out in the end.

You are obliged to declare all accidents to your insurer; it's material to your risk profile and failure to do so could be considered fraudulent and result in any policy you have being declared void.

https://www.confused.com/car-insurance/guides/car-insurance-traps-to-avoid

As regards others bumping mine and walking off and hence I don't admit it when I've not been seen. I know exactly what you mean but still doesn't sit right with me. I mean, I've been robbed in the past, can i do that too? /devil's advocate

Bad move leaving the details - now it'll go to an "approved repairer" who will asses the damage, add a few grands worth of parts totally unaffected by the "ding" and rip the insurance co off for about half the price of the car, which the insurers will pay up with so much as a chin scratch. This amount you will have to declare on your next insurance quote, which will rocket it up by a good few hundred quid per year.
Speaking from experience, like.
I will be more careful in car parks in future (not rely on the parking sensors) and if I do "ding", I will drive off.

it’s material to your risk profile...

Yeah that's the irony - if you leave a note with your phone number, as I did, you are considered a greater risk than the arsehole who doesn't give a **** and drives off after hitting a parked car.

Honesty is not always the best policy.

Edit: Just to be clear - if it did ever happened again I would still leave a note with my phone number, I would just not tell my insurance until I had spoken to the other party.

Lesson learnt.

Was that lesson "How to commit fraud in easy to follow steps, then confess to it on the internet"?

*slow clap*

Yup, if that's how you want to interpret it.

Better than claiming that I would drive off without leaving a phone number.

Christ, this thread has the best and worst aspects of human nature manifest.

And also insurance companies, which are just legalised and compulsory participation scams.

Based on your version of events, it's exactly what happened and you even involved somebody else in the fraud. That's way better than just buggering off...

That’s way better than just buggering off…

legally, I’m sure you’re right.
Ethically, I’m with Ernie all the way on this. Why should being honest and decent cost him potentially thousands in additional premiums over the next six years or so, when there was no actual cost to the insurance company? They always get their money in the end, anyway.

On the other hand, it's probably really easy to avoid car park dings if you're riding a horse with really long legs.

It’s a 14 plate Hyundai i10 so not new by any stretch.

Wait and see if they bother. I've had a couple of dents on old cars which despite getting the details from the other drivers, and it was clearly their fault, I haven't bothered to pursue it.

One lesson that could be learnt from this, and I know it doesn't help much in terms of the original question of "what next?", is to consider reversing into spaces. I know, I know, it's been done to death previously in past threads, but ultimately there's a lot less swinging of your front wing on the way in or out, therefore a lot less chance of dinging the adjacent cars.
YMMV, obviously

And also insurance companies, which are just legalised and compulsory participation scams.

Then buy shares in them, or don't buy any cover from them. You do have a choice.

It will cost more than a couple of hundred ! i10 or Ferrari

@cougar Thankyou. That made me giggle.🙃

You do have a choice

er, duh.

😁

don’t buy any cover from them. You do have a choice.

How does one drive a car without insurance?

consider reversing into spaces.

I did reverse in...I clipped it on the way out as I turned too sharply...yeah I know.

Oddly, there's zero damage to my van...it just wiped a bit of dirt off.

It will cost more than a couple of hundred

I guess that depends whether they go for a full new bumper, a scrap yard one, or just touch up the existing one...

They may not want to involve their insurance company either. It can also create a black mark on their record sheet. Which really winds me up. If it can be done without telling the insurance company there will be no after effects as long as you stitch this up in writing. You may be breaking your deal with the insurance company though.

They might not be insured...

How does one drive a car without insurance?

Easy. Get yourself promoted to King.

Honesty is not always the best policy.

Lots of car parks have CCTV, if the other party finds your number plate, claims and their insurer contacts your insurer, and you haven't already told them, it could get expensive. Everything carries a risk.

Well it wasn't a car park where I caused a dent in a parked car. It was the back of small local shops and a house with lots of tightly and higgledy-piggledy parked cars.

The parked car didn't even have a legal right to be where it was - it was on private property at the back of a house whose residents were adamant that it had no connection with the property.

There was no one around when it happened and it was only me asking around for the owner that got me that information. I could have easily driven off with little risk of being connected with the incident.

I have no regrets about being honest and paying the owner cash for the damage, I think it was a hundred quid. He was happy with that rather than having his car written off.

My problem is the insurance company - they paid nothing, and I saved them hundreds of pounds, but they still want to financially penalise me for being honest and leaving my phone number?

Yeah right - I was prepared to be honest and pay money to the owner for damage that I did, but I wasn't prepared to pay the insurance company extra for the privilege of saving them hundreds of pounds.

if I do “ding”, I will drive off.

an apology and my phone number.

Hence I don’t do this, sorry but that’s how it is, not paying for mine and everyone else’s.

Sorry to be blunt, but this is utterly prickish behaviour.

Which reminds me why,to the annoyance of Mrs IRC I will go to great lengths to park in end spaces. Or park at far end of the car park.

Some drivers don't care. While waiting for my wife I was parked in a narrow space at a supermarket with an empty space between my car and the next. A large SUV then parks in the space leaving about a 1ft gap. The large driver turned off the engine, then noticed I was in my car. Realising that her previous plan of shoving her door hard against my car while she squeezed out was no longer viable she reversed back out and parked elsewhere.

Of course spaces are too narrow for modern cars anyway.

they still want to financially penalise me for being honest and leaving my phone number?

I know what you mean and sympathise. But what they actually would say is that statistics show that drivers that are involved in accidents tend to be involved in other accidents. So the fact you were, whether you claimed or not, affects your future likelihood of being involved in another accident and hence affects the amount they feel you should pay for insurance.

By denying them this pertinent information, they can't make a proper assessment and for that reason they also can invalidate your insurance should it ever come to light.

Devil's advocate again, but what about adding a few years to your driving experience, or saying it's garaged overnight instead of street parked?

what about adding a few years to your driving experience, or saying it’s garaged overnight instead of street parked?

Well if it isn't true that would be lying.

I once used my mobile phone whilst driving but I didn't get caught, do you think that I should inform the insurance company so that they can compile a realistic risk profile of me?

Just because I'm not an arsehole and don't drive off without leaving my phone number doesn't mean that I'm a complete **** who doesn't mind getting shafted by an insurance company who I have just saved a few hundred pounds.

why so angry, I'm just stating the facts, which you actually know to be true. Not making a judgement, I actually sympathise, despite your antagonistic responses. When there are thousands who do lie, don't insure, etc., then yes, we who do follow the rules are subsidising them.

But to be crystal clear; you're not being shafted based on any desire to 'punish', you are denying them the chance to make a reasonable assessment by withholding information that is relevant.

A few years back a guy ran into the back of me at a junction. Slow speed and just a slight mark on my bumper, he gave me his details but I said I'd likely not worry about it.

Anyway, I got home and thought I'd better call my insurer and let them know about the shunt, "just to be safe" and let them know no claim would be made or anything.

I did so and didn't give it another thought until it came to renewal time with another insurer. Insured with new insurer and then got a snotty letter off them saying I hadn't declared a "no fault claim" even though no claim had been made.

I had to declare that bloody (non) incident for the next four or 5 years at each renewal!

Add in a black box fiasco with my son and the legalised con of courtesy cars hire cars and I bloody detest car insurers.

why so angry, I’m just stating the facts, which you actually know to be true. Not making a judgement, I actually sympathise, despite your antagonistic responses.

Erm, I'm not in the least bit angry, apologies if my response came across as a bit aggressive. I can on occasions write as I speak, which when I am making a point often involves casually throwing a few ****s around and a rather liberal use of expletives.

Not having a physical presence in the environment I sometimes forget that I am in polite company - I'm more adaptive in real life situations! 🙂

As nickc stated, if you agree a cash deal between you and the other driver, but they decide they should declare it at renewal, it goes on record and you may be flagged as failing to declare it when you renew. Even worse, if they decide to cancel your insurance because of it, most (all?) insurance companies have a clause that they won't provide cover if you've had any policy cancelled (perhaps they will after further details are supplied, but up front it's a no)

Call the insurance... FFS a forum with VDubs and megga money MTB's... get over it.

Sorry to be blunt, but this is utterly prickish behaviour

Be as blunt as you want, I really couldn’t give a shit. And could never be as prickish as the insurance scam we’re legally obliged to sign up to.

And a very merry STW Christmas 🙃

Wait until you get back to your car and find someone dinged it and drove off. Consider what you would call that person. Anybody who does this is one of them. Justifying dickish behaviour on the basis that there is other bad stuff going on is utterly ridiculous.

It will cost more than a couple of hundred

I guess that depends whether they go for a full new bumper, a scrap yard one, or just touch up the existing one…

It’s not a bumper, it’s plastic cosmetic trim covering the impact bar underneath. With the right tools it can be unclipped in a matter of minutes, or just left on the car and a quick smart repair done. If it got a pressure dent or crease in, that can be pulled out using a hot-glue gun and pulling the dent out, or else a quick rub down with abrasives, a bit of filler and a spray touch-up.
There’s plenty of blokes can turn up with a van and sort this sort of damage out.

Wait until you get back to your car and find someone dinged it and drove off. Consider what you would call that person. Anybody who does this is one of them. Justifying dickish behaviour on the basis that there is other bad stuff going on is utterly ridiculous.

Depends on the circumstances: there’s a little car park in Widcombe, Bath, that a mate and I used to use, it’s an odd shape sort of triangular with the top cut off, with a high brick wall across. There’s only a few spaces along each side, but late one afternoon we came back to find a car parked between the two rows, nose up against the wall, completely blocking my mate’s car. We spent around half an hour trying to get his car out, going back and forth in tiny increments. In the end, as it was getting dark, the only way we got his car out involved leaving a pressure dent along the driver’s door.
We didn’t leave a note, as we both felt that it was suitable punishment for parking in a clearly obnoxious fashion, where there was no assigned space, and deliberately obstructing someone else’s car.
Absolutely zero f**** given.

For clarity, this is the car park, the position of my mate’s Polo is marked red, the other car blue, and fortunately the space next to him was empty, otherwise we’d have been forced to hang around for God-knows how long for the jackass driver to turn up.

‘Two wrongs don’t make a right!’

…is what my mum would say…

My car was written off by a HGV royal mail lorry, witnessed by the police who were behind me. Come renewal time my insurance shot up even though it wasn't my fault and I argued this and then they lowered it back to pre accident.