Learned the hard way.

Well, not as hard as some, I'm sure. :P

I've been driving less than 6 months and the car's gotten dinged up a bit, once by me, at least 4 times I can tell by arseholes in car parks.
Anyway, the other night I was sat in the car with my mate having come out of a supermarket. I switched on the ignition and while stationary someone ran into the side of me scraping along both doors on the driver's side. I admit I lost my temper a bit, slammed the door and was a bit animated. The lady in the car waited before getting out (having reversed out along my car) and opened with "Do you want to call the Gards"?
That was my massive mistake. I stupidly said no because ya know what? I just tried to be decent, save her an hour and the rest. She then tried to say I opened the door as she was driving in. Shows how much attention she was paying. We exchanged details and her husband gave me a shout that night, no problem, get a quote and we'll get it sorted. So today I got a quote that I think is reasonable enough (both doors are chipped so need respraying). I sent him the quote and now he wants photos and his mate to look at the car etc. etc. I told him both doors need spraying, he can get a quote for that and that I'd hope we could move things along.
So he gave me a call straight away, ranting, I couldn't get a word in edgewise and when I tried to he told me I wouldn't shout at him like I shouted at his wife (never happened). So now the story has changed and she's now claiming I was reversing at the time.

So long story short, always call the Gardai and your insurance. It's not about the money, it's peanuts (and if he can get a cheaper quote it's absolute peanuts in the difference). In fact it's less than than most excesses I've come around. She has now changed her story to make it a 50/50 claim (his words), I'll be off the road for 2 days for a respray. Also having my mate in the car is probably less useful now given the passage of time and her changing her story.

TL;DR: Never try to be sound or do a stranger a favour. Call the Gardai and your insurance company and have no contact with the other party.

Atlantic Dawn

Any chance the supermarket has CCTV?

Atlantic Dawn

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Any chance the supermarket has CCTV?

Garda said it's not great away from the doors unfortunately. I'll be calling in tomorrow to ask anyway.
The husband has already started with calling it 50/50 and I actually had to call him from a friend's phone because he wouldn't answer my calls yesterday nor get back to me. He had my number since he called me the night of the tip.
I'm hoping the Gardai getting on to them might make them see sense rather than a load of hassle and more cash in the long run. Knowing insurance companies though they'll probably claim against me, call it 50/50 (despite me having someone with me in the car) and we'll both be out in the long run. Had I called the Gardai immediately and they got her story down to begin with then I'd be sorted.

Ho hum.

beechwood55

I don't think the Gardai would have attended.

You also learned the hard way that a dash cam is worth every penny.

Pity about them being assholes though. Hand it over to the insurance. just make sure you get in the door with the complaint first!

Sono

OP you need to contact your insurance company, get them to assess both cars, they will be able to see the direction of impact on both vehicles or if it is glancing.

Unfortunately without any independent witnesses or video footage you will be looking at a 50/50.

The guards attending wouldn’t have made a difference, they didn’t see the incident and would have just taken statements from both parties, there is nothing to stop you or the third party to give a false statement.

Best of luck with it

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

You also learned the hard way that a dash cam is worth every penny.

Pity about them being assholes though. Hand it over to the insurance. just make sure you get in the door with the complaint first!

True that.

Sono wrote: »

OP you need to contact your insurance company, get them to assess both cars, they will be able to see the direction of impact on both vehicles or if it is glancing.

Unfortunately without any independent witnesses or video footage you will be looking at a 50/50.

The guards attending wouldn’t have made a difference, they didn’t see the incident and would have just taken statements from both parties, there is nothing to stop you or the third party to give a false statement.

Best of luck with it

Too late now. I stupidly got a good bit of it buffed out to see how much damage there actually was. Before that there was plenty of scuffing before where the paint was properly chipped.

Yeah, pity it was just my mate with me. I've seen him twice in the last year but he probably still doesn't count as independent.

The Gardai attending may have made a difference because if she had went with the very first lie she came out with then they would have seen straight through it. Then she would have had to change her story.
I neglected to mention that originally she claimed that I had opened my door as she was driving in. Now she's changed it to claiming I was reversing. I've been dealing with her husband and he's gone with the "You're calling my wife a liar" angle and all the other messing around and trying to delay and run around me.

It's a real pity. For the sake of a few hundred quid and simply admitting fault we're both probably gonna be out well over a grand over the next few years.

So incredibly frustrating. Got the car completely clean and now of the 4 doors and 4 quarter panels there's only one left unscratched or dented, zero of which were down to me. I did crack the back bumper off a pole admittedly. :P

Sue Pa Key Pa

OP, it's terrible when someone damages your car. However, I can't help but think your initial approach ( lost temper, banging doors, a bit animated) might have contributed to the attitude of the 3rd party. Unless it is deliberate, everyone should try and deal with these things calmly.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

OP, it's terrible when someone damages your car. However, I can't help but think your initial approach ( lost temper, banging doors, a bit animated) might have contributed to the attitude of the 3rd party. Unless it is deliberate, everyone should try and deal with these things calmly.

You're right of course, I should have stayed calm and just driven into her and told two different lies putting the blame on her.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Deleted User wrote:

You're right of course, I should have stayed calm and just driven into her and told two different lies putting the blame on her.

Some attitude there. Where did I even suggest the 3rd party was in the right here?

Sue Pa Key Pa

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Some attitude there. Where did I even suggest the 3rd party was in the right here?

Yup, the fact that I'll be out a few grand over the next few years through no fault of my own (oh wait, I had a reaction to someone driving into me while stationary) has given me a little bit of an attitude about the whole thing.
You had one comment to make on the incident and it was to criticise me.

beechwood55

Deleted User wrote: »

I've been driving less than 6 months

Have just seen this from your opening post. Are you on L or N plates?

Sue Pa Key Pa

Deleted User wrote: »

You had one comment to make on the incident and it was to criticise me.

Well, here's another comment. if you had handled the matter calmly, perhaps the 3rd party in turn might have been more reasonable in his approach and you wouldn't be out of pocket now

beechwood55

beechwood55 wrote: »

Have just seen this from your opening post. Are you on L or N plates?

N. Passed the test without having a car to practice in, only lessons. Insured the car before I'd bought it. Did everything by the book until someone crashed into me and I tried to give them a break.

If I report to my insurance company what are my options? If I make a claim, I think given the lying and attempts to give me the run-around they'll have no qualms about making a fraudulent claim back costing me 4 or 5 times the repair cost to my car. If I don't make a claim can I then change it later on if they decide to commit fraud?

Sue Pa Key Pa

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Well, here's another comment. if you had handled the matter calmly, perhaps the 3rd party in turn might have been more reasonable in his approach and you wouldn't be out of pocket now

The 3rd party who wasn't there, who has given me 2 (false) second-hand accounts, dodged my calls and moved the goalposts? That guy?

Sue Pa Key Pa

Deleted User wrote: »

The 3rd party who wasn't there, who has given me 2 (false) second-hand accounts, dodged my calls and moved the goalposts? That guy?

His wife. If my wife came home to me and said she was in an accident with someone and received abuse after she enquired if you wanted to call the Gardaí, my approach towards you would be different to that if you were reasonable towards her. But sure look, you've been a motorist for 6 months now, there's not much I can advise you on that you don't already know.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

His wife. If my wife came home to me and said she was in an accident with someone and received abuse after she enquired if you wanted to call the Gardamy approach towards you would be different to that if you were reasonable towards her. But sure look, you've been a motorist for 6 months now, there's not much I can advise you on that you don't already know.

You might want to re-read my first post.
She received absolutely no abuse whatsoever. I didn't address her nor look at her until I had calmed down. I didn't know if it was a man or woman at first because all I was concerned about was the damage to my car. I didn't raise my voice to her, call her a name or anything else. My "losing my temper" was slamming the door, throwing my neck back (no shouting) and sure we might as well split hairs here, I maybe squatted down a bit more quickly than I usually would to try to inspect the damage. Also when she told the first lie (me opening the door) I didn't raise my voice or anything else.
Nice dig with the "But sure look" btw. Even though what you're talking about is amateur psychology and saying that maybe liars and fibbers would be "more reasonable" if the person they just crashed into smiled at them rather than, I dunno, accidentally let some emotion slip out. I really love though how you not reading my post properly leads us off onto this tangent. Very helpful as always.

Johngoose

[Deleted User] wrote: »

You might want to re-read my first post.
She received absolutely no abuse whatsoever. I didn't address her nor look at her until I had calmed down. I didn't know if it was a man or woman at first because all I was concerned about was the damage to my car. I didn't raise my voice to her, call her a name or anything else. My "losing my temper" was slamming the door, throwing my neck back (no shouting) and sure we might as well split hairs here, I maybe squatted down a bit more quickly than I usually would to try to inspect the damage. Also when she told the first lie (me opening the door) I didn't raise my voice or anything else.
Nice dig with the "But sure look" btw. Even though what you're talking about is amateur psychology and saying that maybe liars and fibbers would be "more reasonable" if the person they just crashed into smiled at them rather than, I dunno, accidentally let some emotion slip out. I really love though how you not reading my post properly leads us off onto this tangent. Very helpful as always.

I feel sorry for you, being in the situation you are in. Many people jump down your throat on this website. Best of luck with the insurance issues you have to deal with.

Johngoose

[Deleted User] wrote: »

You might want to re-read my first post.
She received absolutely no abuse whatsoever. I didn't address her nor look at her until I had calmed down. I didn't know if it was a man or woman at first because all I was concerned about was the damage to my car. I didn't raise my voice to her, call her a name or anything else. My "losing my temper" was slamming the door, throwing my neck back (no shouting) and sure we might as well split hairs here, I maybe squatted down a bit more quickly than I usually would to try to inspect the damage. Also when she told the first lie (me opening the door) I didn't raise my voice or anything else.
Nice dig with the "But sure look" btw. Even though what you're talking about is amateur psychology and saying that maybe liars and fibbers would be "more reasonable" if the person they just crashed into smiled at them rather than, I dunno, accidentally let some emotion slip out. I really love though how you not reading my post properly leads us off onto this tangent. Very helpful as always.

I feel sorry for you, being in the situation you are in. Many people jump down your throat on this website. Best of luck with the insurance issues you have to deal with.

NUTLEY BOY

Getting a bit narky with the other party at the scene of an accident is perfectly understandable. It is not illegal either

OP was stationary and that is his evidence. His passenger's evidence is validly corroborate. The passenger may not be independent in a strict sense but that does not invalidate his evidence.

On OP's account of the accident - as verified by his passenger - there is no evidence to say that he contributed to causation. So, why would he accept an apportionment of liability ? On this evidence I wouldn't take a split of liability.

See this from the other side. If you were the other party's insurers how would you fancy your chances of defending OP's claim in the District Court ? OP has two witnesses namely himself and his passenger. The other driver only has herself AFAIK. Numbers of witnesses do not determine liability but rather the quality and credibility of their evidence. Fortunately, the wind bag husband will have no useful evidence to contribute as all that he can say about the actual accident is post facto !