Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park

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Tue 25 May 2010 12:03
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - pinkie123

My car was parked in our private car park (in my allocated space outside my flat). The car park is owned by the people who own the flats.

A young driver (who usually races around I might add) pulled into the car park to quickly and lost control of his vehicle. He clipped the front of my car. I've had the damage assessed and I need a new complete front bumber (cost about £600).

He has said he will pay out of his own pocket but that was a while ago now and I'm being fobbed off, so I'd like to take it through insurance. Do you know if his insurance will pay out or does this fall under some private property loop hole?

He doesn't actually live in the flats, so technically shouldn't have been in the car park (its for residents only) so does this give me any extra grounding for my claim?

My partner and I both heard him hitting the car and looked out of the window to see his car driving further into the car park. We also have a neighbour as a witness. He came straight over and admitted it but he's not paying up.

I'm keen to get it repaired as I would like to sell the car and get a new one.

Any advice?

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Tue 25 May 2010 12:17
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - LucyBC

Where the car was parked will make no difference. You have a clear fault claim against the driver who caused the accident and hence if he does not pay up you can bring a case against his insurer.

In many cases when the at-fault driver offers to "self insure" - or pay directly for repairs - the reason is because they are uninsured - and they are uninsured because they don;t have any money.

Even if he is uninsured you can still recover your losses as you can identify him and the vehicle but the claim would be against the Motor Insurers' Bureau which acts as the "insurer of last resort" in these cases. However MIB claims are subject to a £300 excess which is payable by the non-fault driver.

My suggestion is that you give him a warning that you need your claim to be settled in cash within 7 days or you will initiate a claim against his insurance.

You don't need to know the identity of his insurer to make a claim (or check if he is insured) if he won't reveal it to you. A check can be made against the MID (Motor Insurers Database). If you need help in further resolving this matter please contact me via the Ask Honest John section of the website.

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Wed 26 May 2010 12:04
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - pinkie123

Thanks for your reply - that was really helpful.

I asked the driver for the money and he said he could only pay me at the end of next month (which I believe is another fob off). I've just checked with my insurance company and he's not insured. Any advice on where I go to from here? The insurance company are ringing me back in 2 - 3 days to run me through my options.

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Wed 26 May 2010 14:18
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - LucyBC

I guessed that he was uninsured.

The way to deal with it is probably to do an MIB claim and then try and recover the £300 excess direct from him. The Motor Insurers Bureau will probably settle with you and then pursue him to recover their costs. You would have to recover the £300 MIB excess yourself.

The other alternatives are to pay for the repairs yourself and collect the full cost from him (expect to get the runaround), to sue him for the loss or damage or to claim on your own insurance - in which case you will lose your no claims (or a "life" on it if you are on a protected NCB) and incur your own policy excess.

Can you detail the extent of the damage? I will talk to an accident management colleague to check if you have any better options.

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Wed 26 May 2010 14:52
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - pinkie123

Hi Lucy,

Its cracked the front bumper of the car and knocked out one of the towing eyes(irons?). The bodyshop have said that I need a new bumper but its expensive as it is has to be sprayed to the colour of the car.

Interestingly enough, I've spoken to the other driver today and he claims he does have insurance, so I assume he's still giving me the runaround. I'm going to get him to prove it and ask for his insurance details, I'm sure he wont provide them though.

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Wed 26 May 2010 16:30
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - LucyBC

If you can avoid the MIB route or the policy excess it is usually better to do so for obvious reasons. Part-payments are difficult to manage so if he seems honest you might be better taking substantial stages - 50% in a month and 50% the month after that. Do not agree to take £25 here, £50 there or you will never get paid up. And keep the pressure on.

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Thu 3 Jun 2010 15:23
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - pinkie123

Okay after some confusion, it turns out he is insured, there was some database mix up. But now his insurance company have offered me a settlement rather than going through insurance. Is this pretty standard or something a bit dodgy?

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Thu 3 Jun 2010 15:25
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - pinkie123

Okay after some confusion, it turns out he is insured, there was some database mix up. But now his insurance company have offered me a settlement rather than going through insurance. Is this pretty standard or something a bit dodgy?

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Wed 26 May 2010 18:26
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - Uncle Stoatwarbler

I've just checked with my insurance company and he's not insured.

If you're feeling vindictive you could let the local police know about that...

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Wed 26 May 2010 19:39
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - Rover 600

You should report him as next time he may injure someone and leave them without redress. I would also ask the police if you would be warranted in making a complaint of criminal damage through recklessness to your vehicle.

Edited by Rover 600 on 26/05/2010 at 19:41

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Thu 3 Jun 2010 15:26
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - pinkie123

Okay after some confusion, it turns out he is insured, there was some database mix up. But now his insurance company have offered me a settlement rather than going through insurance. Is this pretty standard or something a bit dodgy?

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Thu 3 Jun 2010 16:51
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - LucyBC

It is now a non-fault claim with an admission of liability. You can trust them to deal with it in which case it will go through their approved repairers. The problem with that is their repairers are likely to rely on them for work so they are more beholden to them than they are to you if anything goes wrong.

Alternatively you can get the repair dealt with independently with a claim against his policy. You should be offered a courtesy car for the time the repair is conducted and your is off the road.

In a non-fault case I would suggest you use a repairer of your own who is working for you and independent of the at-fault driver's insurer.

Please contact me with your location so we can suggest quality repairers in your area who will quote.

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Thu 3 Jun 2010 17:12
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - pinkie123

Hi Lucy,

No they've just offered me the money (in a cheque) and I take it where I would like. The money will also cover a hire vehicle. How do I contact you? Do you have any email address?

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Thu 3 Jun 2010 18:29
Citroen C3 - Car hit in residents private car park - LucyBC
asklucy@honestjohn.co.uk

Before you commit to accepting make sure that the amount covers all your loss.

Send me your postcode and a telephone number by email and I will get a colleague to advise further.
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