Hi all,

looking for a bit of advise on what to do, callin to at Sainsbury’s in prenton this morning to check my tyre pressures after finished, was waiting for the traffic entering to clear from entering the forecourt I then pulled out behind a white astra van, was not square on behind him was at an angel to the left side of him could not of missed me, he then decides to reveres back with out looking and slaps the left corner of my bumper hard enough to pierce it with the what ever is behind the bumper.

he didn't want to go through the insurance as he claims he would lose his job and he has a mate in Wallasey that would sort it for me, so I took his name, number, address & reg of the van, went and visited the garage at lunch time and he claim he could just repair it, I said I didn't want it repairing I was a new one on there, he claims he would replace it as his mate was paying for it so no bother to him, so I left it with him to source one and paint it then I would take the car to have it fitted.

since then I have noticed me horn is also damaged and sounds a load of poo lol, my main question is should I let this guy fix it for me or should I go get me own quote from someone else or should I just put it to my insurance to sort ?

Go through the insurance, that's what it is there for. The car should be assessed by an insurance claim assessor so you know the true extent of the damage and the work that needs doing to rectify it. Contact your insurance and see how they say to proceed, they may be able to confirm that the guy was insured to be driving the vehicle or not.

So what if the guy loses his job, it will teach him to be more carefu next time - typical white van drivers, don't give a shit about anyone or anything. Had you not been in the car/been in a location with CCTV, he would have almost certainly driven off.

If you are honestly happy and comfortable to get it done outside the insurance, get your own quotes and choose one of them - id charge the guy cash. But honestly, id recommend going through the insurance - but you need to make up your mind quick and contact your insurance company as soon as possible.

The guy probably already has points on his license/previous claims galore and the claim will increase his insurance, id be surprised if he lost his job as accidents happen and that's what insurance is there for. Did he look part of a big firm, small firm, or did he seem an independent (ie. paying his own insurance)?

Check your inbox Chris

Hi Matt,

He was wearing a british gas shirt but the van had no company logo's, thing that is worrying me is that my mot is due soon and I have pay for that and a service, 2 tyres and pads then there's christmas on top of that, I really can't afford the £250 excess.

One thing that worrys me the most is he told me he had to pay this guy to repair a van that he had an accident in, needed a rear quarter panel replacing.

I have already contacted directline and they have advise me really it should be through the insurance but if I wished to avoid this route then I could get my own quotes and then tell this guy I want it done through were I choose, at the end of the day I don't want a cheap shodie job doing I want ford parts used, I know it's only a fiesta but still I want it right and no come backs with the work

I guess if you don't want to pay the excess, then it depends on who is deemed liable for the accident. From what you have said, it sounds like him, but this may not be the case.

If your insurance company have said you would be held liable, or it would be shared liability, then you will obviously have to pay the excess, but at least you know you would be getting a good job done, and have comeback in the case of further problems. It depends on whether you can afford the excess in this case, as to whether you should settle with or without the insurance.

If the insurance company have said they would expect the other party to be liable/admit liability, and they would fight your corner, then id take it through the insurance without question.

Sorry I should of said I would have to pay the excess while the sorted it out between mine and his insurance, I would only have to pay if I wanted it done like now.

thats the damage to the dumper

Heart or head, chris? Hope you get it sorted.

I agree..the muppet should be more careful!

What car is it?
TBH, have a word, and if you don't get results, go through insurance. He's obviously not being a [censored] about it, and he's paying for it.

Think I'm going to give him 2 weeks to have sourced me a bumper and horn and have them fitted and it should be easy as the mk6 fiesta is very common, if my car is not put right, then I will leave it in the hands of the insurance company, I don't want to be unfair with him as he has been honest and admitted it was his fault and wants to fix, what I am going to do tho is inspect the bumper and make sure I'm happy with the painting of it and also the structure of it to(no cracks or repairs) before it's bolted to the car. I really want to make sure I'm not having to return my car after a few months because there's a problem with it.

That's fair. Someone on another forum had a scratch and dent on his wing , and the person actually came forward, knocked on his door and said he'd pay for it. He could've just walked away, but the person was then saying 'Should I claim 400 or 500 quid for repairs' (and getting higher), on a wing that only costs 5 quid from a scrap yard.
There's something about insurance and claiming that can turn any normal person!