Posted on: 07-01-09 15:45:45
Here is my view on comments from Chandresh and Fido,
Quote:
Originally posted by chandresh
Sit tight and do not take any action. Any action taken is admission of fault.
So, if I dont do anything, and he actually has witnesses, wont that put me in even worst position. it will go through proper channel, i.e. repair from dealership (running into $$$$), my insurance paying net of deductible, me paying deductible $500, bad insurance record, and may be bad police record.
Now atleast I can convince him to have repair done at a cheaper place. Pay the cost out of my pocket. Have a release signed by him on a notarized paper.
Quote:
Originally posted by chandresh
And remember one thing.......even if you settle by paying, nothing stops the person to file an insurance claim too. And if your insurance company then contacts you and you tell them the case was settled by you.........wow, you are in bigger soup.......they will not protect you for anything..........
Which means that the party claiming damages can claim various other damages like emotional disturbance, backache (he can say he was in the car!) and the list could be endless.
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So after the repair, if I have it in writing from him that I have no further liability, dont you think that should suffice.
Quote:
Originally posted by chandresh
DO NOT go to collision centre - the law (I think) is that you report to collision centre only if YOU think that the damage is worth more than $1,000.
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I am not sure now what to do. whether to go to collision centre or not.
Quote:
Originally posted by chandresh
My son was involved in a minor accident where there was no damage really but the guy started asking me for $500 when I tried to settle it. I did not, and reported all this to my insurance company (off the records) and they said I had done the wise thing - that is when they told me about all problems that can arise when you settle on your own.
I don't know about your repo with your insurance co. I don't think my insurance guy has any such thing as "off the record" book. I am almost 99.9% sure if I call him, and try to enquire by giving some info about the incident, he will immediately put in his record. and then consequence I dont think I need to mention.
In short, at this juncture I am not sure what should I do. My gut feeling tells me that best route is to have this thing sorted out between the two parties, without involving cops and Insurance. But i dont rule out the possibility of endless claim afterwards.
Quote:
Originally posted by Fido
Check with the collision center ... If I were you I would not let them know either that I have collided .... just try and find out the details by informing them that some one is trying to swindle money and wish to find if any collision has been reported .... if not then I don't think the other party has a strong case ... unless you evidently admit its your fault ......
One thing I would certainly want to know is, whether this guy at all went to the cops (or CRC) within 24 hrs. Because if he didnt its a different ball game altogether.
So, can someone confirm if enquiry as suggested by Fido is entertained by cops/CRC.
Or is there any other way I can find out, without lodging complaint or without mentioning anything about the incident.
Quote:
Originally posted by delhigirl
Quote:
Originally posted by Fido
Check with the collision center ... If I were you I would not let them know either that I have collided .... just try and find out the details by informing them that some one is trying to swindle money and wish to find if any collision has been reported .... if not then I don't think the other party has a strong case ... unless you evidently admit its your fault ......
One thing I would certainly want to know is, whether this guy at all went to the cops (or CRC) within 24 hrs. Because if he didnt its a different ball game altogether.
So, can someone confirm if enquiry as suggested by Fido is entertained by cops/CRC.
Or is there any other way I can find out, without lodging complaint or without mentioning anything about the incident.
Did the cops call you? If yes, did the officer gave his identification and the station he is speaking from.
Quote:
Originally posted by Desi # 1
Did the cops call you? If yes, did the officer gave his identification and the station he is speaking from.
No, I haven't got any call yet.
He says police called me but could not get through. It is possible they called and couldnt leave a message as my voicemail was not on last week. Now yesterday only, i switched it on. lets see if I get any message today.
Its equally possible that the other party is bluffing about the Police ... which may or may not be correct ... one thing is that they must be having witness or else how would they have reached you .
I think the steps to be taken are - to ask whether collision centers have any info on this .... if they respond 'no' then you offer the other party $200/- and call it quits .
If they have the info / do not respond to your query , try offering $200 /- or an invitation to get the car repaired by any of previously short listed 'good garages ' which should be fair and acceptable to the other person ... unless he is really trying to swindle the money .
If however he insists and is the worst possible case , tell him to get the car repaired at the Dealer FOR THE BUMPER DAMAGE and that you d pay the bill .... I think that s as reasonable as you can go .... If he refuses this also , tell him to take $100/- or **** off .
Hit and run is out of question .... the police would have contacted you by now ... sadly police are not very helping to either party .. so he may not have reported the incident to police .
In the worst case and be prepared if any official inquiry is made - you did put your no. on the wind shield and did not run ... there s always a possibility of someone else taking it or wind blowing it away .....
Relax and exhale ... don't let your emotions overcome a logical conclusion ....... it once happened to me .... I was a new driver and a car was backing before I passed it and it collided with my car ... Since there was sufficient grounds to see the car backing the guy tried to swindle money out of me .... I went home , relaxed and discussed with friends who told me that since it was backing he is at fault whatsoever ... He ended up paying me even after discussing with the Police .
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Fido.
I firmly believe that the guy didn't go to the collision center because if they reported a hit and run, by now the police would have called you especially considering that the guy has your car details. The normal protocol is to come to your house first, if you are not there then they call you. Here's what happened to us:
We were changing lanes and a car from the other side came into the same lane without signaling and brushed against us. There was damage to both cars and we mutually decided to go our won way and get the repairs done. A week later, a cop shows up at our place saying that the lady filed a complaint of a hit and run. We weren't home so he left a mesage with my parents to call him. WE co-operated and called him and played phone tag a few times and eventually went in to see him. Seeing that we were cooperative (and when he had come to our house he did inspect our vehicle visually) and we also stated the facts as they were, he lodged out complaint and that was that. The idea of reporting to a collision center is to cover bases in case the investigation goes further. This is the reason i'm saying that it's safe to go to the collision center and get your story in the open before this person...You can even have the officer look at your car to confirm that there's no evidence that the collision was so hard that it caused 1000 plus dollars worth of damage to the other car! You can't just call the collision center and find out if a complaint was filed.
Now, Should you not report it, and you are contacted then I strongly recommend you cooperate with the cops and like Fido said, bend the facts. Before you make a statement, ask to see what the other party reported. IF there's any lies, make sure you show genuine disgust and with a baffled approach tell them, yes i lightly bumped into this guy ( i was backing up and not going faster than 10 miles an hour), i got out, saw that there was NO damage (don't say little damage coz there was none) and since my baby was crying in the car, I left my number on the wind shield and left.
I'm sure that these witnesses are 'fake' and please don't be so stressed... this guy is just taking advantage of the situation and he senses your concerns and fears. Be bold, be strong and tell the guy that this is the fair deal. IF he declines then tell him, let's talk to cops and insurance.. I'm pretty confident even he doens't want to get cops/insurance involved. SHould this situation arise, immediately go to a collision reporting center because you HAVE to try to be the first on record.
Do take photos of your car ASAP as evidence please. And remember, even if it goes to cops and his insurance contacts you, YOU HAVE TO RIGHT TO SETTLE IT OUT OF POCKET without involving your insurance. This is what the officer had told us.
I know there's lot of conflicting information here.... just take the consistent message first... RELAX RELAX RELAX and again like FIDO said.. no need to go on with this self-misering. You can't take any action if you believe you are in the wrong. Convince yourself and the other guy that you know your rights and you know you are being more than generous in offering him 200 bucks.
Thank you very much guptamik and Fido, for taking time and suggesting exactly what I need right now.
You are right I am going to stop blaming myself and start thinking differently.
Based on suggestions so far, this is what i think i should do:
- go to collusion center and report the facts (my version, as suggested by fido and guptamik) . In this process, i will also find out if he has lodged any complaint. if he has, my statement is not going to work against me. If he has not, then i think i have got a strong case.
- come back and take his car to my guy.
- if he says he doesnt like that guy or place, i will say this is what i can do.
- if my guy finds out that there are more damages to the car than a minor hit can cause, i will tell this guy that you had these damages prior to the hit. so i am not going to have it fixed. do what you can do.
i hope collusion centers do acknowledge reports after a gap of 1 week.
thank you guys once again.
