Back in June I knocked into a stationary vehicle in a car park. I waited for the guy to come back and apologised straight away. (when its your fault in life own up)

He was initially annoyed (fair enough) but went on to tell me that someone else had knocked into his car recently and caused £600 worth of damage (the other driver had sped off and hed already had a quote for the work). I cant remember the exact wording of the next bit - but it was understood that I would pay whatever it cost on top of that to fix the area (bumper / side corner area)

We exchanged details. I told my insurance company what had happened and the previous damage. There were also photos taken at the time that I forwarded on (not sure if they were actually any help)

Next I hear his insurance company has approached mine with a bill for £700. The total amount for fixing his car. I brought up the matter of the previous damage - couple of conversations between insurance companies - his asking him directly if there was any previous damage and him saying no.

I told my insurance company that there was a friend with me (we were walking our dogs in the park) who had heard the whole conversation - in fact she was the one that took the pictures. She is a responsible, respectable person who was happy to make a statement.

I was told by the insurance company that as it was someone who knew me - they couldnt be seen as an impartial person and they ended up paying the whole amount to his insurance company.

I have just received my new insurance quote. Last year it was £437 and now that I have lost my 3 years no claims bonus (I have been driving for much longer but have only owned a small van for 3 years (practicality for my dogs muddy feet) and insurance starts again for vans) but I also have this £700 fault against my name this year. My insurance quote is now £960.

Is there anything I can do. Does anyone have advice for any further action I can take?

I believe in taking responsibility for your actions - but I am being cheated here out of a lot of money and I dont know what to do. If £100 was down to me then I could have just paid that amount directly and not lost my no claims bonus. But as it stands it will cost me around £500 this year and more again on the consequent years of insurance.

Sorry for this being a long one but I really am lost. My insurance is due on 7th Jan. Is this a Civil law issue?

Sorry IMHO your insurance company have raised your premium because of the accident, I dont think the amount of damage or the cost of the claim has a direct effect on the decision.

Thanks for getting back Andrew.

To my understanding (and the advice I was given at the time) it is a legal duty to report an accident whether or not a claim is made - and thats what I did.

I had a conversation with the insurance company at the start about whether I would lose my NCB if I paid any fix extra costs myself and they said no.

So even if I had been penalised for having an accident I would still have 3 years NCB intact (4 for this new qoute)

?

Hi,

You need to look in detail at what the policy said. Do you have any legal cover that you could consult?

I'm afraid this happens all the time and you are not supposed to admit any liability, just exchange details, however honourable it may seem at the time.

If you aren't happy, make a complaint in writing to your insurance company. Also check the reg. no. against the tax database of the car you hit and try to find out if the vehicle was repaired.

Next time do what everyone else does and just get in your car and drive away.

As has already been pointed out, it was NOT the amount that was paid out that affected your no claims discount (and your subsequent rise in premiums) but the claim itself.

A no claims discount is just that, it's a discount for NOT making a claim, and whilst you are quite correct that you must report all accidents to your insurers you can notify them of the accident and then choose to deal with the damage claim yourself.

In this situation I would have told my insurers of the accident, but marked it 'for record purposes only' and then dealt with the minor repairs to the other car pesonally. That would have meant the other person was dealing with your directly for the repairs and because you knew of the existing damage you could have excluded it from what you paid out.

Mossy