TheSaffer Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 I woke up this morning with my alarm sounding and by the time I got out the front door the culprit was gone. I just woke up, so I didn't think of taking pictures at the time. After I lifted it back up and checked for visual damage I only found damage where the engine, fairing and road met this morning. I had it covered with good cover at least! I think I know who it was. I was parked on the street with my nose to my front door, about 4ft behind a 4x4 Merc and on my left a white Ford. My left mirror was bent flat as the vehicle reversed into my bike. The other thing that makes me more sure that it was the 4x4 is that the car that was parked in front of the Merc was still parked there. I am not too sure what else to check on my bike now: oil, fuel radiator fluids etc??? Anyway, I have no real evidence to who it was, but I am going to check if I can see some damage on the rear of the 4x4 when it returns tonight. I am hoping to find some green (cover) marks... My question is this: what do I do now then? Do I need to contact the police for a report? Do I call my insurance? Do I leave a note on the 4x4 when it returns (I don't know which house they live at) Or do I get even? I am not sure if there might be other damage to my bike so I really want a mechanic to give it an inspection. But I feel that they should cover my cost. What do you think?
kishan Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 do the following 1)call police get a reference number for the incident 2) get reg of vehicle 3)call the insurance company once yu know the regand who it belongs to 4)let the insurance people do the fighting for you main thing to look for is any frame damage as if the frame is bent your gonna have more issues with body parts not fitting properly and etc.
pilninggas Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 You need to see if anyone near-by witnessed it. Other than that you are gonna either have to fix it yourself or claim on your insurance if you have fully-comp. I would say nothing to the potential other party first and then look their vehicle over for corresponding damage etc, photograph with a good quality camera if you find any evidence. Good luck, i had this happen years ago, and got nowhere, fixed it myself with secondhand bits in the end.
TheSaffer Posted April 12, 2011 Author Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks for the replies. I have just been to my mechanic and the verdict is not good. Bend break lever, scratched/dented Akrapovic Exhaust, bent forks, steeringlock pin and frame damage, fairing etc... I am going to ask the vehicle owner for their Insurance details tonight, to see if they give it up... I will also take pictures of their vehicle, if there are any marks. Quite pissed off at the moment. The bikes a 03 R1, with 43 000 miles on the clock, used to be in top nick. The damage is close to £1500 now... the bikes book value is not even £2500 any more... Will keep you informed. PS: thanks for the advice.
fli Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 I had some idiot reverse up a one way the other day while i was waiting in traffic. Saw reverse lights come on, thought he was parking so i didnt think nothing off it, reversed into my front wheel stopped then carried on reversing! i got on horn he stuck his head out of window looked and drove off! Theres some idiots about. Like pilnin said above dont ask for their details yet, check their car for scratches/paint then ask em for their details, ask your neighbours if they have cctv, if you get proof third party doesnt have a leg to stand on.
TheSaffer Posted April 12, 2011 Author Posted April 12, 2011 Right, i just spoke with the lady involved. She claims she hasn't seen my bike behind hers. She is also asking if she can settle the cost privately. Not sure she will be willing to pay this much though... I have to think about this, I told her that I will let her know how much the mechanic estimate is tomorrow. At the moment she is waiting for her boyfriend to come and have a look with her at my damage... Should I get a crow bar ready or what? As far as I'm aware she has just admitted guilt by asking if we can settle it ourself, as she already has a high excess premium. I don't want to be unreasonable, but I don't want to pull on the shorter straw either. What would you have done?
fli Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 Dont settle it privately, she was at fault, go through insurance youll get more to sort your bike out mate, youve got nothing to loose. Did she not mention why she just drove off?
Paulwhite Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 ok ....get the quote from the mechanic. if ur fone has a record setting then turn it on!!! you want to record whats being said! go round and talk to them ,say that uv got the quote from the mechanic that the woman asked for. then see what happens. at least you have proof of whats been said! last thing you need is for them to pull a fast one! take pics of where the 4X4 is in relation to your bike and any damage on their car then pics of your bike in the mess its in! you want as much evidence as possible! then just go for getting ur bike fixed, no doubt they will try and pull a fast one and not pay up! if you can settle it without contacting any insurance then bonus! yeah she was at fault but if thay pay up then brill! if you go straight to the insurance then they will hold a grudge and probably do it again. = not good. but as i said get as much evidence as possible just incase you need to claim against them.
Moderator DirtyDT Posted April 12, 2011 Moderator Posted April 12, 2011 I agree with Paulwhite. At the moment they can just deny they said anything. You need proof. You need to check the rest for legality however, I think; You can't record without their permission (as far as I know). Try and get them to sign something admitting liability. No one was hurt so driving off doesn't really matter as they have still time to report it. You have to report it within 24 hours too. Try and get someone else to be with you as a witness when you talk. Know any police, solicitors, doctors etc? Try and get them to write something down that will confirm their guilt. Not "I drove into your bike" but something more subtle like who their insurers are and maybe a driving license number as you wouldn't have those without a conversation. It makes it harder to deny your story. They will probably balk when the cost comes in so go to the nick soon after you meet with them and report it. Try and remember what they said in terms of liability and make sure it goes down on record on the report. Good luck.
TheSaffer Posted April 12, 2011 Author Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks for all the replies here.. I actually have a good quality recording of the conversation where she asks me if we can settle it privately and that she said she never saw my bike behind her car. As mentioned, I'm not sure if a recording is even allowed to have been made. I am now waiting for her and her boyfriend to come around and "assess" the damage. I'm trying to solve this in a way we can still be neighbours in a sense that she lives across from me and I don't need her kids to vandalise my bike when I'm not home... I'll see what her response is after I give her the estimate.
up.yours Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 something you may want to concider is to give her the option to get her own quote ,for repairs ,so that she can see that your not trying to rip her off, it also shows that your a reasonable person so as not to ruffle any feathers and fall out over an unfortunate accident,that she has held her hands up to.
xv535 Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 There are a lot of shady shops out there that do shitty work and lowball the repair bill by cutting corners. The bike has to be fixed properly otherwise the handling is off and poor handling could result in a bad accident. Therefore, the quote has to come from a reputable bike shop. I would discuss this with her and agree on a couple of reputable bike shops so there is no misunderstanding on the significance of the work required to make the bike safe to ride. Personally I would file an accident report and also notify the insurance company that the bike was hit, but advise them that you are trying to resolve the problem privately. In BC this allowes you to then pursue a claim with the insurance company if you can not resolve the problem with the person responsible for the accident. The law may be different in the UK. Rocky
TheSaffer Posted April 13, 2011 Author Posted April 13, 2011 I think this is what I'll do then (last post), thank you for that good advice. She did promise to come round last night and she never did, so I did give her plenty of chance. If its like that now, I don't think I'll be seeing money for repairs soon... Thank you very much for all your good advice in this post! I'll keep you up to date.
Leatherat Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 If they want to play silly games, a breeze block through the windscreen works well. Everytime you someone puts the screen through costs an excess, 3-4 times and it will really start to piss them off. People in your road don't seem to be too vigilant when it comes to neighbourhood watch so somewhat risk free. Remeber, you've tried to be reasonable, and they started the war.
Paulwhite Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 i find iron ferrite works well for melting through engines
neversaydie Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 Dont shit in your own back garden. If youre going to "respond" then make sure wahtever happens is well away from your street
Leatherat Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 Dont shit in your own back garden. If youre going to "respond" then make sure wahtever happens is well away from your street Sorry man.....I disagree. Make sure they know it was you whilst avoiding any evidence if possible. A show of 'Do not F*%K with me!' always gets results as most people are shit scared of anyone who stands up for themselves (cause most people don't).
TheSaffer Posted April 14, 2011 Author Posted April 14, 2011 Hi again, I have now found a witness! After speaking to my insurance company (Equity Redstar), I have decided to ask her in writing for her Insurance details and her name. I already have her address, as she lives across from me. The reason being that I would like to contact her insurance to sort it out, if i can do it this way. My insurance renewal is due next month and if I ask my insurance company to pursue the claim, I have to pay my £400 excess and then I will loose my no-claims bonus until the case is settled. I am really not looking forward to pay full rate without my no-claims discount. It sucks, but at least my broker said that I can pursue my claim after my renewal, providing I do it in a reasonable time. So now I am just waiting for her reply. If I haven't received it by Monday, I will contact the police to assist me with her details as apparently it is illegal to withhold your insurance details after an accident. The police are also now going to pursue the matter that she failed to stop and exchange details. I just hope this will go smoothly.
Moderator DirtyDT Posted April 14, 2011 Moderator Posted April 14, 2011 ....................... If I haven't received it by Monday, I will contact the police to assist me with her details as apparently it is illegal to withhold your insurance details after an accident. The police are also now going to pursue the matter that she failed to stop and exchange details. ...................... It is illegal to withhold but she will claim that it was not her - the witness helps here. No one was hurt so no need to necessarily stop just report it to the nick. I would be wary of claiming after a renew. The question will arise that says "Have to had an accident/claim in the last 3/5 years whether your fault or not". Depending on the wording you may be committing insurance fraud as the responsibility is yours to disclose anything that may affect the proposal. This could effect you new insurance and could really screw you if it gets recorded affecting any future mortgage, loan, job etc. I hold an enhanced criminal record check and counter terrorism check. Required for my current and previous jobs. This means that ALL criminal acts are supplied, there is no statute of limitations. You may not need anything like this now, but who know about the future. Do you want fraud on your file? Also how enthusiastic are the insurers going to be to pursue the claim as there is nothing in it for them.
Moderator Cynic Posted April 14, 2011 Moderator Posted April 14, 2011 I would offer caution here, standing up to someone is one thing busting windows is pretty lame. Brake fluid on the other hand or if its a diesel an old golf ball in the tank will cost a LOT more, and the golf ball will cause far more inconvenience, just remember to spit the outer skin so it works quicker, you may be happy to wait 6 months?. My parents were involved in a situation years ago when they were hit from behind, owner of said BMW swapped addresses and said they would send the details, with a witness. Sufficient damage to nigh on write off a 2 year old Metro. They ended up with nowt, the response from BMW man was 'Prove it', no damage to the BMW. Just the word of the witness, case busted. My old man is not the shy type (his claim to fame is being barred from every pub in northampton in his youth)to take things lying down so i would have been very surprised if this gent hadn't 'tripped on the stairs' at some point in time later. But he still ended up fixing it himself. I hope it goes well but i for one would not be holding my breath.
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