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I think a third party who's car I damaged is lying about repair costs. What should I do?
A month ago, I parked my car and stupidly didn't put the handbrake on. It rolled backwards and it scraped across the back bumper of another car. The only damage was a scratch on my car and chipped paint on the other car. The owner said he had only just had it repaired as someone had run into the back of him. I said that I would pay as it had cost him £250 for the other repairs. He emailed me a quote saying he had taken the car for a visual inspection and they had said £315 so I paid that. Now he has sent a receipt saying its cost £600. Apparently, there was internal damage. I really don't know how. I would have thought he should have contacted me first to make sure I didn't want to go through insurance, and if the garage has done a quote based on a visual Inspection then that should be honoured. Should I ask for proof of the damage?
Asked on 11 June 2020 by Jayne L
Answered by
Honest John
You are liable for the damage as you caused it. £600 is not much when it comes to repairing a car. An estimate is just that, it does not need to be honoured. Only an invoice would have been sufficient to make that first price final. I would be asking him to provide a full break down of cost from the repair along with supporting images to justify his claim. You are ultimately liable, but make sure any agreement is in writing and witnessed.
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