Car scraped while parked

masterboy123

Hi All,

I went to the local Dunnes for 30 minutes and noticed someone scraped the rear end of my car. There are several deep paint scratches, including on the plastic bumper. I spoke to the security guard who is going to have a look but due to the GDPR law, he can't show me the recordings.

What's the best thing I could do now?

Thanks

_Kaiser_

Report it to your insurer anyway and the Gardai (leaving the scene of an accident). They can also request the CCTV as well if it exists I believe. Whether they will is another matter.

In reality though you're probably going to just have to pay for it yourself I'm afraid

User1998

Worst case scenario, a bottle of polish and a touch up pen would make it look 90% better

masterboy123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966668#Comment_121966668

Ok, thanks so much.

If we find the car who did, what would be the next steps?

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966675#Comment_121966675

I don't have experience of this scenario so someone else may correct me but my take/next steps would be...

If you find out who did it (which only the Gardai will be able to do) you'll have to let them approach the person or log it in the Garda pulse system.

Inform the insurer to follow up with the Garda using that reference

In reality though as I say, I doubt you'll get much support from the Gardai on something like this. Unless the CCTV definitely shows the other person's car damaging yours it'll be your word against theirs.

There's also the effect that having an outstanding claim on your insurance policy will have.

As I said though, you'll probably just have to pay for the repair yourself I think.

Flowergirl201

I was in the same situation last week. Parked in dunnes car park, came back and someone had hit my car. Husband wanted me to go to the guards etc but I said exact same as the last poster. As wrong as the situation is, it would be way more hassle going guards/insurance route. And I wonder about the actual outcome that route would eventually have.

Whocare

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966675#Comment_121966675

Happen to me before ask place look at camera was getting diesel and had receipt so knew exactly time thay look and see car hit my car garda was called looked at cctv maybe I think next day got reg ect garda call to his house got insurance details I phoned up his insurance company and they phoned garda station to check it out and that it . Got quote and got car fix

Garda said if wanted we can do him for leaving The scene of an accident I didn't as man was in 80

Flowergirl201

Great outcome

Madeoface

Ah jaisus, I thought someone had scrapped the car. Not scraped it.

Far less exciting. Let it go man. Happens all the time.

Drifter100

Unlikely you will get any satisfaction here. Let it go, it will eat you up otherwise

masterboy123

Thanks all.

I informed Gardai and my car insurance company.

I am not expecting anything but would like to see the process as part of my continuous learning :)

kirving

Someone hit my car the other week with their door, on dashcam, and I have their details.

It's only lacquer that's damaged, and it's only small, so good polish will sort it.

But you know what, they knew full well they did it and walked off, and out of principle I'm not going to spend my personal time fixing their carelessness. I'm going to open a claim on their insurance, get it professionally polished out, and take a rental car for the day while it's being done. They can pay their insurance company back if they want.

Ezeoul

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966820#Comment_121966820

FWIW, on the process, I hit a parked car in a carpark last year - totally my fault I was late for a medical appointment and rushing,

I had to leave, but I did leave a note on the windscreen, and also gave my details to the security office. (Underground carpark). I called my insurance company the next morning and notified them, as I fully expected to have a claim put in by the other car owner.

The insurance company sent me out a form to fill in and return which I did. Six months passed and I never heard anything from either the owner of the other car, or the insurance company - until the insurance company wrote to me asking if I had settled the damage myself. When I confirmed I hadn't heard from the owner of the other car, they closed the file.

There was no impact on my car insurance premium renewal.

masterboy123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966931#Comment_121966931

Any there any good wireless front and rear cameras that I could install?

Kaisr Sose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966944#Comment_121966944

Thats a great post and outcome for you.

Proof that 'Honesty Pays'

Luna84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966862#Comment_121966862

Where did my car go. It was a pile of sh*te and we thought it was abandoned so off to the scrapper with it.

mfceiling

Happened me last year in BlackRock. Reported it to the Garda as the shopping centre wouldn't/couldn't show me the footage.

Garda never followed up on it.

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966972#Comment_121966972

Generally speaking, you're going to need to wire in the camera so that you don't need to constantly charge it. I have seen a "wireless" rear camera which is actually just a narrow angle camera which connects to the side of the front camera. I wouldn't buy it personally. I have a Viofo A129 Pro Duo which is fantastic, but suffers a bit at night (as all cameras do).

masterboy123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967617#Comment_121967617

What's the battery like on your wireless camera?

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967629#Comment_121967629

The A129 Pro Duo isn't wireless. If you really cannot install a wired version for some reason, you can get a battery pack which sits between the 12V cigarette lighter supply, and the camera, to cover you while the car is off.

masterboy123

Update:

Gardai came over and took a statement. They will follow CCTV tomorrow at the shopping centre and if they find something they will update me. If no clues, then I have to deal with it myself.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966846#Comment_121966846

Just curious, at what age do you draw the line for prosecution?

If it was a young fella who was 20 would you have followed up?

That 80 year old man might not be a competent driver. It could have been a person he hit instead of your car.

CoBo55

I found the Guards very helpful tbh. A fella reversed into me doing a good bit of damage, foolishly I didn't call the Guards as he asked me not to, he'd sort it blah blah blah... I got a quote for €1500 and as soon as I told him how much it was going to be he started dictating to me that he'd get a lad in a shed to fix it. I went to the guards on the advice of my insurance company, they made him bring in his insurance details and I claimed on his insurance. He started getting a bit nasty ringing me on different numbers etc, I said it to the guards in passing as I was presenting my documents and she rang him there and then instructing him not to contact me again. I'm getting the car fixed next Monday and a replacement car until Mine's repaired.

masterboy123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967920#Comment_121967920

I suppose mistakes can happen by anyone of us. Either by a 20 year old man or person in their 80s. Main thing is you should not flee the incident area once you're aware of the accident.

The garda told me sometimes people don't hear that they have scraped others car and they are genuinely unaware of causing any damage.

beachhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967599#Comment_121967599

you should have pushed it with shopping centre management to see/get the cctv or at least get them to look at the footage.guards usually good at follow up if the images are clear.they speak to the driver and explain their error and usually you get repaid for the repair.guards vring you the money after seeing an estimate.you never meet the other driver.no insurance involved.but too much hassle for most if damage is "minor"

beachhead

Good and proper result

masterboy123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121968270#Comment_121968270

Good to hear this.

Whocare

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967920#Comment_121967920

It rural Ireland car was only Means getting out and about for him I guess at 80 though there was no point anyway plus damage was minor enough.

If was young man I probably would said do him as there was possibility old man was too old and didn't realise he hit it unlikely but possibility

blackbox

I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's a great relief to have the thread title corrected.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121968513#Comment_121968513

Again, what age do you draw your line? 30, 40, 50, 60?

This sentimentality for old drivers that are dangerous behind the wheel needs to stop. If the same old man drove over a child would you excuse him on the grounds that he needs to get out and about?

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121968569#Comment_121968569

He didn't do it so just leave it, maybe he just wanted his car sorted and felt sorry for the man. Keep the faux outrage for another thread.

hello2020

what's the rule about car doors hitting/touching other cars in tight car parks we have in Dublin? Its so difficult to come out of car after parking from both sides as parking space is becoming smaller n smaller.

SharkMX

Sat in my car in a car park once and watched a woman belt into a parked car. The bumper came off altogether.

She got out to check her car. Looked around and didnt see anyone and got in the car and drove off.

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969137#Comment_121969137

Did you report her or leave a note for the car owner?

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969202#Comment_121969202

I left a note with my phone number and the reg on the damaged car. He called me and you can guess what the outcome was. I'll put you out of your suspense if you cant. He got nowhere with either shopping center or gardai.

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969212#Comment_121969212

Fair play to you. I wouldn't let it go I'd haunt the cops for her insurance details especially when there was an eye witness. With her reg the other person's insurance company could chase her.

bladespin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121968569#Comment_121968569

Scraped a car vs running over a child - strong Karening there.

bladespin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969065#Comment_121969065

Do you really have to ask? If you hit another car you are responsible.

Whocare

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121968569#Comment_121968569

If someone wasn't Knocking on dead door 🚪 Prosecuted away

pummice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969065#Comment_121969065

Thats a very good point. I personally think that some supermarkets (like dunnes and supervalu) are partly to blame, because their car park spaces are too small and have never been resized and repainted. Over the years the size of cars has increased. The newer ones like aldi and lidl are much better, especially lidl, and I would say there are less of this type of problem in these stores than the others.

masterboy123

Update:

So the CCTV camera has footage that a man in his car hit my car while reversing and you can see my car taken the shock. The security guard told me it's difficult to read the licence plate but he said Gardai maybe able to read it.

Car insurance notified and they will send an investigator.

Looks like I may be able to find the culprit.

If not, atleast we tried 😀

Eggs For Dinner

Your insurer will only assess your damage in case you want to submit a claim under your policy. They are not going to pursue the other driver on your

Stephenc66

My experience of a similar situation I returned to my car in a carpark, a very upset woman approached to say she had scraped against my car leaving the space beside me. To be honest my car was so dirty I never noticed.

This was 3 days before Christmas. A few text messages and we agreed leave it till after Christmas. I provided them with a quote from a body shop. Her husband rang and asked if I would use their man for the repairs another reputable body shop.

I left my car in on the agreed date picked it up the following day more than happy with the job. I have no clue what the repairs cost. Money was never discussed.

These things happen I was just fortunate that they were good honest people.

masterboy123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969712#Comment_121969712

Would that effect my No Claim Bonus?

Clo-Clo

Happened me a few years back, serious damage done to side of car. It was a white car because paint was left on it. It was in Blanchardstown centre

Went to the desk in the centre and they had the CCTV showing what happened, confirmed it was a white car without us telling them, but could give us no information on it because of GDPR. Said to contact the Garda station but don't expect much because they are so short handed

Went to Gardai, reported it, well my partner did because she had car at time. A few days passed and called the Garda who gave out because she forgot to take down it was my car and not my wifes. She said she had asked for CCTv

Anyway back and forth for weeks, Garda kept dodging calls. Got annoyed so reported it to Ombundsman. They came back asking us to contact person again, we did that again but she wouldn't answer or call back. Ended up with another person who said the CCTV was never requested, the original person had left the force and we could do nothing as the CCTV was gone now.

Fixed myself as it would have taken away my no claims and when I contacted the department about people leaving accidents they can do nothing if you don't have the number plate of the car that done the damage

Seemingly it is happening so often now that the Gardai can't handle the requests, especially in the likes of Blanchardstown centre. This was talking to an actual Garda who is friend of friend.

SteM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969784#Comment_121969784

You got very lucky tbh, a person with a conscience. The majority of people just walk away when they do damage in a car park these days. They seem to view it as part of the shopping experience, what goes around comes around. A friends car was badly damaged in a dunnes carpark a few months ago and he said the security guard told him it happens all the time.

We're still being paid in installments from a lady that damaged our car in a lidl car park. She denied doing it even though my wife was walking back towards the car and saw/heard it happen. It was caught very well on the cctv, the security guard showed it to her. First she said she'd pay cash, when we gave her 3 quotes she said she'd go through insurance (although she had no disc displayed), a few days later she said she 'couldn't open the documents her insurance company had sent her because they were password protcted' so she'd pay cash but then pleaded to pay a small lump sum and the rest over 10 weeks. We're on week 4 of the payments and she still hasn't paid week 3. Call me cynical but I'm not expecting to get the full amount tbh.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969267#Comment_121969267

If they're a bad enough driver to hit a parked car, I wouldn't trust them in an area where there are unpredictable children around.

My main curiosity is why someone would accept an elderly person scraping their car, but would prosecute a younger driver. Seems strange to me.

thebiglad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969863#Comment_121969863

Yes, they send an investigator to view the CCTV to view a reg the guard cannot see (I don't know how he thinks they'll manage that) - the investigator has to be paid - therefore your insurance has a claim and, if the other driver remains unidentified that's on you. Similarly if they assess your car an Assessor will have to be paid.

An insurance company is not going to run up a few hundred in invoices (which is probably more than you paid in premium) and not impact your NCB.

Would you pay for an investigator to attend the shopping centre CCTV to view footage the guard has told you they cannot read a registration on from your own pocket? If the insurer cannot recover it's costs then you are making a claim against your policy for them to do this work.

notAMember

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969963#Comment_121969963

Where is my eyeroll 🙄. You know already they didn't "accept" it. They called the gardai, found the person who did the damage, followed through and had it sorted. They just didn't escalate to a criminal prosecution for a bit of everyday paint damage in a garage car park. Carpark scrapes are slow speed, where cars are close together in very tight spaces and this easily happens. There is nothing wrong with showing a bit of kindness and decency to an elderly man, who is mostly likely living on a small fixed income, by deciding not to make a giant fuss about a tiny insignificant incident.

Deliberate misstating of the post and warping it into child endangerment is bizarre and smacks of trying to antagonise and bait.

OP, hope the CCTV does the trick. In my experience, the gardai are really excellent at sorting this if they can identify anything from the image. It shouldn't affect your insurance at all, it's usually filling out one form, including the garda report and the repair is covered. You may already have some cover on your insurance for minor scrapes, maybe check your policy for that too.

masterboy123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969970#Comment_121969970

It was the "security guard" of the shopping centre who could not read the licence plate but he said Gardai may be able to read it using their IT system. I asked if another camera has a better view of the car and the security guard said its upto the Gardai to investigate, fair enough.

I contacted my car insurance and they told me clearly that it's only under "investigation" and there won't be any claim record unless I accept the responsibility.

I had quick look on my car policy cover and I have a full-protected NCB (can make 2 claims in the last 3 years without effecting my NCB).

After hearing stories from others, I just need to wait until I hear from Gardai and car insurance investigator gets back to me.

Worst case, I will use my policy.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969065#Comment_121969065

It's not the parking spaces that are getting smaller.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121969712#Comment_121969712

Is this definitely true? If the insurer has evidence that a third party is at fault, surely it would be fairly easy for them to make a direct claim against the third party's insurer, who isn't going to be in a position to context the claim, given the video evidence?