Procedure to settle damage cost privately

B

Barclay

Registered User
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I was in a minor accident recently, head on side swipe, mirrors collided on a narrow back road. The driver said I veered towards them. Very hard to know as no lines on the road. I did lose concentration momentarily, I was travelling v slowly behind another vehicle, slight incline and didn't notice we entered a slight bend.

Other car travelling v fast meant strong impact and my side window and wing mirror were shattered. Their wing mirror was broken, and a scuff where the mirror connected with door.

I suggested they get a quote and later replied to their text that I would cover it.

They went to main dealer and have a quote to replace mirror, fix the scuff, and strangely, replace their side window.

My question, is there a procedure to follow to ensure I have a valid record of the works, i.e., can I request before and after pics from the main dealer, and settle the bill with them directly?
Informing my insurance company will incur cost regardless of a claim or not.
 
It may incur a cost. but not one you will have to bear if merely informing them of an accident. Which you are obliged to do under your policy conditions.
 
My broker has told me that even incidents not paid out by the insurance company are held on your record for three years, and I will be penalised in future quotes, and prohibited from adding my son when he begins driving shortly.

Lots of claims are settled privately, as evidenced by the posts here. I'm going to make a statement to the police and have kept a record of events and photos of the scene, google maps etc.
I just want to know the best way to record that I have paid for the repair as agreed.
 
Barclay ,

On minor roads without median line , I understand that neither party can be actually held at fault ,since there is not enough room on the road to confirm who did what.
I do not like the extra window claim?.
I worry that maybe an injury claim comes next?
.................................................

If you are paying, get signed note from other driver that on you paying the itemised bill, that you are paying without any admission of liability from you, that you are paying solely out of good faith, and that this concludes matters...
 
I don't like the window part either. We haven't discussed the quote as yet, best case scenario is that they will use that line item as leverage to have the rest paid by me.
I'm personally upset as I've known them for many years and we have always been on very good terms.
Can I draft that letter/agreement myself, and have it witnessed when I make the payment?

Another item I've had conflicting advice on, am I entitled to have a second quote that isn't from main dealer?
 
Good advice from Gerry there. OP, did the car in front of you provide a witness statement on the incident? You say the other car was travelling very fast so are you sure you should be paying for damages at all here? If there are no independent witnesses and you are not sure who was to blame here, why are you accepting the cost of repair? If you are satisfied that you were indeed at fault here then the advice from Gerry would be best followed.
 
Tread carefully, though you have already said you'd cover it, which is tantamount to admitting liability. So I'm not sure there's much you can do at this point.

They are under no obligation to get a second quote, or go to a garage that you suggest. Unfortunately repairs like this in a main dealer are always very expensive. Many will contract out the repairs to specialists and charge a percentage on top of their rate.

It's not clear how long ago this incident was, but you likely have already breached the terms of your insurance by not informing them. If this person isn't happy with your response, and makes a claim from your insurance, they will not be obliged to pay.

Not sure the speed of the other car is material here, they passed the car in front no problem.

Follow Gerry's advice.
 
It happened very quickly and nobody stopped while the other car was at the scene.
They were very fast to blame me and even accuse me of being on my phone, which I wasn't.
I'm not sure who was at fault, I took their word as I've known them for so long.
I was also in shock as my window shattered all over me.
It may be my fault if I didn't steer into the bend. It may be theirs if they over-corrected (at speed) on the bend after passing the bus.

It happened last week; I contacted my broker immediately, they are happy we can escalate with the insurance company if necessary, based on the damage being more than I initially believed - I thought it was the mirror only, and would come in ~200 or 300. I've already had my window replaced on my glass cover.
I have no claims cover but if I do claim I will effectively be tied to this company and not able to insure my son next year.

I'll see what their thoughts are on the quote and if they want it all paid I'll use Gerry's advice.
 
I met the other party this evening; they are adamant that I was at fault. But they don't remember any minibus / large van in front of me!!
Which means they have no idea what happened.
I'll pay for the mirror purely out of goodwill and they seem satisfied with that.
V unpleasant but over now.
 
Both parties should sign a notice saying that this is full and final settlement otherwise you are leaving yourself open to further claims. Give them one copy and keep the other.
 
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