Where do I stand?

willykatie

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Yesterday morning when my wife opened the blind she started screaming and said to me not to get mad. When I looked outside, a massive freelander literally sitting on my bonnet.

I was still in the shower when that happened and quickly dry myself and got out there was nobody outside apart from the damage on my car.

He came back roughly about 5 min later and apologise and he asked to exchange insurance details and I said that it is sorn and uninsured at the moment and somebody coming in couple of days to buy it.

He was happy enough to give me his details and said he was just going to pay it himself and not involving his insurance as he said he's insurance won't pay it out?

He reported it to the police and they were here at the door around 10pm last night and I got charged as apparently my car was on the road which I thought that wasn't a road as a single lane track and beside a farm and where everybody parked their cars etc.

My question is if his insurance doesn't want to pay out for the damage he's done and he doesn't want to pay either, can I report him back to the police and get a solicitor involve for damaging my personal property?

Thanks
 
You should be able to claim of his insurance company for the damage. Contact them. That should have no relevance for the SORN issue.
 
So your car is not taxed, insured and possibly no mot, you're being done by the police because the guy sussed it out and reported you, good luck trying to claim from him.
 
Can't actually understand what has happened from that first post!!

Someone crashed into your car? But your car is SORN and uninsured?

If you car was in a position that it was able to be hit, surely that's on some kind of road. i.e Not a private road etc.

Pictures would be useful of the road/crash etc - But police wouldn't charge you unless they are in the right to charge you. Sounds like you've sorn'd the vehicle but then failed to actually have it somewhere that its not "offroad"
 
The car still has mot but no tax or insurance and been sitting for about 3 months.

Yeah he went to the cops yesterday maybe he was trying to avoid paying the damage but surely if he doesn't want to pay I can still get legal advise as he's damaging my personal property? Or unless I'm wrong and I really don't have legs to stand on?
 
Basically, his wife left the car running and put an e-brake on but the car rolled down the hill when nobody in the car and hit my car.

I thought and the neighbours thought that's not a highway as there's a gate or poles at the end of that side and nobody driving on that side as looks like an extension maybe but the police did say that is a highway which was new to all of us.

Pic of my car and the road side

IMG_1910.JPEG


IMG_1908.JPG
 
The car still has mot but no tax or insurance and been sitting for about 3 months.

Yeah he went to the cops yesterday maybe he was trying to avoid paying the damage but surely if he doesn't want to pay I can still get legal advise as he's damaging my personal property? Or unless I'm wrong and I really don't have legs to stand on?

Basically, his wife left the car running and put an e-brake on but the car rolled down the hill when nobody in the car and hit my car.

I thought and the neighbours thought that's not a highway as there's a gate or poles at the end of that side and nobody driving on that side as looks like an extension maybe but the police did say that is a highway which was new to all of us.

Pic of my car and the road side

That's on a road whichever way you try and spin it!

You could try the legal route but I suspect you'll end up with a bill that's larger than what the car is worth/repairs etc

At the end of the day, an expensive lesson I suspect, as your car should be in a driveway/parked off the road and none of this would have happened.
 
Yeah that's what the police was saying last night as well which I really didn't know. We have other cars on the drive way and if it was my other car, I think me and the guy would've been crying even more [emoji1].

The police was nice enough and said I should've put my other car there and put that one on the driveway but he said he probably wouldn't either [emoji1].

We'll see what the guy says and probably take it from there.

As I got charged last night, would I have a criminal record that stays on me forever? Will it make everything more difficult for me now? Sorry as I never involved on this kind of thing and have a clean license for years as well.

Thanks
 
First of all, calm down, until you know all the details its no good running through possible scenarios in your mind.

No MOT - Not an endorsable offence, so likely have no points on your licence, but likely £100 fine 9can be up to £1000 in extreme circumstances, but very rare.

No Insurance - Average UK fine was £299 last year, but can be up to £5000 and up to 6 points on your licence, the police can and may impound the car and/or crush it, this is your biggest problem, although you weren't driving this may mitigate your fine/points some what.

(edit:Just checked and this year the minimum fine is set at £300)

SORN - can be uninsured but must be parked off-road away from the carriageway (i.e. not looking as it can/will be driven, take that at face value, as this means off of public access-ways etc)

Criminal record, yes you will have a record, this will be classed as a non-recordable offence, this means DNA, fingerprints etc. are not stored or kept on you, and is 'probably' not going to be recorded on the police national computer unless you commit a recordable offence at the same time.

But, it may mean this may show up on an enhanced CRB check in future, so be open and honest and most employers won't worry too much.

As you have received damage, you can still claim for third party damages from the other party, and you do not need to provide insurance of your own, ask the police to provide you with the registration and policy owner (company) if the third party (they are legally able to) and you can make a claim against their property via normal routes.
 
Yeah, I'm just so angry with him though as still can't believe he asked me to pay half of the damage and he also mentioned how it cost to fix his freelander! If my car wasn't there, his car would have been in the ditch and would cost more damage or if my other car was there, that would cost him a lot more money to fix it either! Or if our 6 years old daughter which usually outside waiting for us before we take her to school was playing outside and that happened.

Anyway that's all what if.... and so grateful that nobody hurt. So basically worst scenario I might get 6 points and £300 insurance fine and £100 fixed dvla fine as well [emoji33]

Still baffle me why he went to the police and reported it after he said yesterday that he was just going to pay the damage himself and then today he seemed hesitant to get I touch with his insurance. I think he's got insurance as he went to the police yesterday.

Also waiting at the house all day today causing me financial loss that I have to close my shop early as well as my kind of work required me to be there all the time :(
 
This would normally be a case of going to him and asking him to pay for the damage, passing it on to his insurance if need be, but as your car was illegally on the road I don't know if that will affect your ability to claim for damages from him.
He went to the police because he looked your reg up and found you had no tax or insurance, this is obviously a plus for him.
 
This would normally be a case of going to him and asking him to pay for the damage, passing it on to his insurance if need be, but as your car was illegally on the road I don't know if that will affect your ability to claim for damages from him.
He went to the police because he looked your reg up and found you had no tax or insurance, this is obviously a plus for him.

It really doesn't matter if insured or not, say the 4x4 rolled back and damaged your pushbike, garage door or anything, then it's caused a loss which you are entitled to claim against in a civil case.

You just need, reg number and insurer, if he fails to provide that then the police can hand that details across, he should then make a claim again the third party.

On the moral ground, yes an uninsured car shouldn't have been there, but that's another matter.
 
Couple of body shops just came around and looked at the damage, so basically need quite a bit of work to get it done properly. To my understanding 1 of the bodyshop would source proper parts and the other would source from scrappy and trying to fix things rather than replace which obviously would do him a favour in cost. Am I entitled to choose which bodyshop to go to or is it up to him as if it's up to him what I'm afraid of is the car not going to be fixed up to standard.

Thanks
 
Since he made it official by going to the Police I'd be inclined to insist on going through his insurance and if he prefers not to then you choose the option you want, is how I would play it.
 
He went to his insurance and he said his insurance will cover my vehicle and will send someone to assess the vehicle. If the damage cost more than its worth, they'll write it off they he said.

Thanks again guys for the advise [emoji4]
 
If they write it off in many circumstances you may be able to buy it off them and get it repaired. But as you were getting rid of anyway, it may be easiest to let them write it off even if you get less than you were hoping to sell it for.
 
Yeah that's my plan anyway. It is easier, less hassle but will get less than I was hoping for.

The other is C63 and if he did hit that car I think would've cost him more and I would be so gutted as that's my baby [emoji1]
 
Sorry only scan read the thread so didnt pick up all the details.

Irrespective of the situation of your car it was a static object that was there to be seen and avoided. There are very few circumstances where a static object can be held in any way liable for an accident, and even then its only partially, but this certainly isnt one of them.

The only issue you do have is if the vehicle is potentially beyond economical repair as if it is without an MOT then this devalues the car and so a total loss is more likely and the settlement lower.

Your easiest route is to claim off of his insurance and it sounds like that is what you are now doing. There is a chance you'll be contacted by accident management companies offering you things like a "free courtesy car" which in reality is a hire car provided on credit. Given the vehicle thats damaged isnt in use then there could be a contest against the hire car charges and potentially they come back to you for them (T&Cs vary significantly on this sort of point) but if you just say no then alls good.

As to any criminal offence for a SORN declaration and leaving the car on a public carriage way, sorry not my area of expertise.... have to say from the photo there I'm surprised you didnt think it was a road
 
The car has MOT but sorn and no insurance. I didn't take the offer of the courtesy car from the insurance as I have another car to use.

Yeah all of us thought that wasn't a road as we live around the farm area and only 6 houses where we are and no other vehicle come in here. Originally the only road was the one beside my car not the side where I parked my car and only got that bit tidied up in the last 4 years I think so all of us thought that wasn't a road :)

Insurance phoned today and wanting me to release the car and when I asked how much I would be getting he couldn't tell so I said no. I won't release the car until I know how much I'm getting. The last time that happened to me as soon as they got my car, they offered me well below the value of the car and when I said no they said either take it or leave it as they already have my car. So I had to take it then.
 
It is somewhat bizarre that your neighbour went to the police since the outcome is still the same for them in that that their insurance is still paying for the damage but they have potentially annoyed you massively. Being on good terms with neighbours is priceless to me and would have to be something big to risk that.
 
Did he go to the police specifically to tell them that your car shouldn't have been on the road, or was it an unintended consequence of reporting the accident?
 
The car has MOT but sorn and no insurance. I didn't take the offer of the courtesy car from the insurance as I have another car to use.
In which case no insurance/sorn is a total irrelevance to the civil matter of the damage

Insurance phoned today and wanting me to release the car and when I asked how much I would be getting he couldn't tell so I said no. I won't release the car until I know how much I'm getting. The last time that happened to me as soon as they got my car, they offered me well below the value of the car and when I said no they said either take it or leave it as they already have my car. So I had to take it then.
Remember that you are not their customer and therefore they have a lower duty to you and you've no right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as they only protect customers.

If you don't like their offer and they refuse to up it your only next option would be the courts.
 
I think he did otherwise he wouldn't have said to me that his premium is quite high, his insurance won't pay out, I need to pay the damage on his car and pay half of the damage of my car as well. The last one was totally shocked me and I said that he was damaging my personal property and I think he should pay for the damage he's done.

I did ask the cop and the cop said he has to pay for damage as well.
 
I think he did otherwise he wouldn't have said to me that his premium is quite high, his insurance won't pay out, I need to pay the damage on his car and pay half of the damage of my car as well. The last one was totally shocked me and I said that he was damaging my personal property and I think he should pay for the damage he's done.

I did ask the cop and the cop said he has to pay for damage as well.

Bit of a cheek trying to get you to pay for damage caused by his wife leaving the car running and unattended. I'd be mortified in that sort of situation and trying to do everything to sort it out rather than trying to wriggle out of it. Even more so if it happened to a neighbour.
 

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