Knocked wing mirror off illegally parked car now owner is being akward

[nutter192]

As the title suggests my sister was driving her car on the main road when she accidently knocked the wing mirror off an illegallly parked car. The owner saw this happen and they exchanged details.

 

My sister is trying to find a replacement wing mirror however the owner is now getting akward saying that he will claim on her insurance and this would be ridicilous as my sister has offered to pay for a replacement wing mirror.

 

Point is can he claim more than the wing mirror costs if he decides to be silly and approach my sisters insurer or tries top extort more money from her than it actually costs??

[honeybee13]

Hello there. Does he know who your sister's insurer is? I could be wrong, but I understood you don't need to provide that, just your name and address.

 

My best, HB

[nutter192]

He dosent know who her insurer is they just provided each other with their names and addresses and obviously registration numbers she is getting a few quote for a wing mirror and is going to offer to replace it but is not going to give him the money himself so that he can try and claim more than is needed.

[unclebulgaria67]

As the title suggests my sister was driving her car on the main road when she accidently knocked the wing mirror off an illegallly parked car. The owner saw this happen and they exchanged details.

 

My sister is trying to find a replacement wing mirror however the owner is now getting akward saying that he will claim on her insurance and this would be ridicilous as my sister has offered to pay for a replacement wing mirror.

 

Point is can he claim more than the wing mirror costs if he decides to be silly and approach my sisters insurer or tries top extort more money from her than it actually costs??

 

Depends on the car, but replacing the whole door mirror including the caseing won't be that cheap.

 

The third party could just find out who the Insurer is, using the reg no. and make a claim to them directly or via their own Insurers. Your sister would then be contacted by her Insurers to find out the details, as to what had happened. There is a condition on her policy that she has to advise them of all such accidents/incidents. Of course if her Insurers get involved, it will cost her in terms of no claims deduction (2 years worth unless protected) and a premium loading.

 

Best thing to do is call the third party if she can get the phone number and to discuss this, hopefully in a calmer way than at the time of the accident. If both can look into the cost of getting the mirror fixed and get agreement that would probably be the best way forward. If they can't, then the Insurers will have to be involved. When you agree to any private settlement, get the third party to sign/date a receipt that they have received £x amount representing full and final settlement for the damage to their cars door mirror.

[nutter192]

my sisters boyfriend has spoken to a solicitor who said that as he was illegally parked he is entitled to nothing as it would invalidate his own insurance as well. so we shall wait and see what happens then!

[havinastella]

my sisters boyfriend has spoken to a solicitor who said that as he was illegally parked he is entitled to nothing as it would invalidate his own insurance as well. so we shall wait and see what happens then!

 

This is VERY dangerous advice!

 

Jogs

[nutter192]

perhaps you could expand on your comment re dangerous advice as this is only one opinion ive got so far I would be grateful to hear your opinion

[havinastella]

Firstly, how says the car was parked illegally? Was it ticketed, did the Police say so?

 

Second, the driver is ALWAYS responsible for his/her actions. The driver hit a parked car.

 

I've asked the experts to look in and advise.

 

Jogs

[nutter192]

Just to elaborate on the circumstances of the accident, my sister was in a stationery position at temporary traffic lights with the third party parked on the left on double yellow lines. There was so little space to manouvre as the third parties vehicle was a mercedes 300 which is rather a large car and therefore she caught the wing mirror as she went past.

 

Also, with reference to name and address we only have his first name and mobile number nothing else.

[nutter192]

The police did not attend and the vehicle was parked on double yellow lines which is illegal. Should she inform the insurers just to cover herself in case he tries to claim. Also should she be taking pictures of the accident scene and writing down a witness statement should anything untoward happen.

 

The guy is claiming he has a quote for the repair and replacement of the mirror at £380.00 which is ridicolous.

[unclebulgaria67]

The police did not attend and the vehicle was parked on double yellow lines which is illegal. Should she inform the insurers just to cover herself in case he tries to claim. Also should she be taking pictures of the accident scene and writing down a witness statement should anything untoward happen.

 

The guy is claiming he has a quote for the repair and replacement of the mirror at £380.00 which is ridicolous.

 

I agree the solicitors advice is not correct in my opinion. Yes the third party should not have been parked illegally, not just on yellow lines, but also in a position to potentially block emergency vehicles from getting past. But this would not avoid negligence of someone crashing into or damaging the car. Who is to say that there was not enough room for your sister to pass their car, without damaging the mirror.

 

I would suggest that your sister lets her Insurers deal with the claim. If they can argue against the claim by the third party, they will do so.

[stugib]

my sister was in a stationery position at temporary traffic lights with the third party parked on the left on double yellow lines. There was so little space to manouvre as the third parties vehicle was a mercedes 300 which is rather a large car and therefore she caught the wing mirror as she went past.

So stationary, saw space was tight, but still managed to go past fast enough to knock a door mirror clean off?

 

The guy is claiming he has a quote for the repair and replacement of the mirror at £380.00 which is ridicolous.

How old was the car? Whilst he may be trying to profit from this, if he got a quote from a Mercedes garage and any electric controls or the casing were damaged or needed replacing, I could imagine with labour it could be more than you think if he's trying to get the whole thing done.

 

Only agree to pay for a provided invoice for work carried out, not hand over cash.

[raydetinu]

obviously he is entitled for the cost of work to replace the mirror; he is entitled to put back in the position prior to the incident.

£380 for the mirror/fitting and VAT is not unreasonable. if you know the make/model just ring round garages and get quote to check.

It would be cheaper in the long run than putting through your insurance. loos of NCB and premium loading next time.

[Mwynci]

Raydetinu's advice is good, ask for the quotes and check yourself, but realise it's not up to you where he takes it, as long as it's a legit garage, the choice is thiers . £380 sounds ok, not cheap, but ok. depends what make model, (merc 300 you say) controls (electric, or toggle) is it coloured?, that will involve possible blending. The garage could be charging £40-£60 per hour labour(depends where you live), this could be 2 hours, again depending on what is being done.

You could potentially lose out big time if you push them away. If they go to an accident management firm, you could be looking at repairs, engineers fees, hire alone can be over £100.00 per day with a like for like(1 or 2 days) , loss of earnings, inconvenience the £380 can turn into £700.00.

Edited June 9, 2011 by Mwynci

[Ganymede]

Firstly, how says the car was parked illegally? Was it ticketed, did the Police say so?

 

Second, the driver is ALWAYS responsible for his/her actions. The driver hit a parked car.

 

I've asked the experts to look in and advise.

 

Jogs

 

 

 

Agreed. Parking on double yellow lines does not make him responsible for the accident.

[Mossycat]

my sisters boyfriend has spoken to a solicitor who said that as he was illegally parked he is entitled to nothing as it would invalidate his own insurance as well. so we shall wait and see what happens then!

 

That is absolute rubbish, no qualified solicitor would ever say or suggest that.

 

It doesn't matter one bit whether the car was illegally parked or not. If your sister hit it and caused damage then she is 100% totally liable for the cost of repairs.

 

As other people have already said, it would be dangerous to listen to that so called solicitor quite simply because if you do ignore it then chances are it will cost you a lot more money in the long run.

 

Mossycat

[raydetinu]

The clue is in his forum name!

[perplexity]

Illegal parking could well be a relevant factor, but would not eliminate the responsibility of another.

 

The recent precedent of Andrew Howe v Wayne Houlton (1) Marshall Barry Ltd (2) Norwich Union Insurance Ltd (3) found that parking on the zig zag lines of a pedestrian crossing made no material difference to an accident.