People cannot park properly. Merry Christmas

[Jimbo10]

Noticed some damage and residue of red paint on my nearside bumper tonight.

Only driven the car twice since cleaning it so that significantly narrows down the time of the accident.

Dash cam footage shows a red car parked next to me at the gym (right under the CCTV) as well.
My camera only picked up the front quarter of the offending car as I drove off (I didn’t notice the damage at the time) so I’m pretty sure this is the offending vehicle.

Contacted the gym and given them the date, and the time I arrived/left.
They are reviewing the footage but told me to contact the police as they cannot release information due to data protection.

What do you guys think. Should I chase it up and proceed with insurance or just take it on the chin?
I’m ridiculously annoyed but in the same breath, claiming on the insurance is likely to increase my premiums regardless of it being a non fault claim.

Here’s the worst of it. There’s more scratches out of frame.

 

[SamR92]

Personally I’d report to police in hope the tosser gets charged with failing to report/leaving scene of accident

 

[V6_Man]

Annoying and few for you mate. I’d report it to the Police first and then the insurance company as this is what I did with my wife’s recently bought B8. The guy called me after he received a letter from Police. His reply was, “I didn’t realise I had hit your car’.
He might come back and pay you cash rather than going through insurance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dazs87]

That’s super annoying - but likely about £200 to repair so it’s not the absolute end of the world. Still heartbreaking though! Happens to all of us as some point. If you’re based near London happy to recommend a couple of people that are amazing. Don’t go through insurance, and police will be a waste of time!

 

[KenL]

If it's on the bumper consider a local garage or smart repair. You won't see a repair. The metal work and bumpers will be painted separately at the factory anyway.

Hope you get the culprit.

 

[Jimbo10]

If going through insurance is going to increase my premiums then I would ideally like to avoid that route. Especially if the person is willing to pay for the repair.

The question is. How can I get their details?
I thought as soon as the police are involved, it automatically gets forwarded to insurance. Or do the police give me the culprits contact details?
Never happened to me before so not sure what the procedure is.

I'm in the North East if anyone can recommend a repairer?

 

[V6_Man]

Police won’t give your their details but can check for you whether the guy has a valid insurance or not. They will contact the culprit and ask them to get back with a reply within 14 days failing which will lead to court proceedings. Well, at least that’s what I was told and happened in my case.

The guy contacted me, exchanged insurance details. His excess was £450. Initially he was adamant to go via insurance as he wasn’t looking at getting his car fixed. But when he realised he had to pay excess regardless, he agreed to pay.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jimbo10]

Police won’t give your their details but can check for you whether the guy has a valid insurance or not. They will contact the culprit and ask them to get back with a reply within 14 days failing which will lead to court proceedings. Well, at least that’s what I was told and happened in my case.

The guy contacted me, exchanged insurance details. His excess was £450. Initially he was adamant to go via insurance as he wasn’t looking at getting his car fixed. But when he realised he had to pay excess regardless, he agreed to pay.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok but how did the guy get your details?

 

[V6_Man]

Ok but how did the guy get your details?

I am not exactly sure tbh. My assumption is that when you report it to police you have to fill in a form with all your details and have to take your insurance certificate and driving license as an evidence that you are insured. I would like to think that when he received the letter he contacted police and asked for my details. You can always call police / visit your local police station and check it with them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Zs14]

You report to police, police will then have a look at CCTV, if they find the reg they will contact contact the registered keeper and explain the situation and then get their insurance details for you to pass to your insurance OR you could just tell the officer to ask 3rd party if they are willing to pay for damage without insurance which most likely police wont do because it means more work (phone call back and forth) for them. They will NOT get charged for anything because police don’t give a shoot and pick and choose what they take seriously.. Been there done that manyy times


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Timi8888]

The picture looks as if it can be hand polished out?

 

[S32B]

What do you guys think. Should I chase it up and proceed with insurance or just take it on the chin?

Yes chase it up, why should s/he get away with it? Chances are s/he will not want an insurance claim either, so just say sort it out quickly and give me the cash and I'll not go through the insurance.

If he's a gym member I'd also go back on the same day/time, could be s/he is there and you can talk to them directly and mention you have dash cam footage as well as the Gyms cctv....just don't tell him how much dashcam footage you have!

 

[Pinky1959]

If you know when it happened and the make of the car go there again at the same time and see if the offending car is there as well and then you can speak to the driver but look for marks on his car first as he may deny it .
As said it may polish out as it doesn't look to bad .
Good luck .

 

[MaffewEM]

Depends on what you wish, the police have to be involved if you want a copy/someone to review the CCTV. They have to be the ones to request it and I guess you can take it from there if they find anything. As for insurance not sure I’d ring them until you find out who it was and how they want to deal with the matter because it would just lead to insurance premiums being risen as you’d essentially have to claim.

Good luck, fortunately it looks like the paint had transferred with a bit of a scratch, that’s a relatively easy repair in general thankfully!

 

[-Ju-]

I think the majority of that will polish out no bother tbh.
Once you touch it mind you are taking over the responsibility of it.
I wouldn't want to risk getting the insurance involved though as it'll affect your premiums, irrespective of fault and means declaring it for the next 3-5 years!

 

[S32B]

lol you didn't read my post above yours then

If he's a gym member I'd also go back on the same day/time, could be s/he is there and you can talk to them directly and mention you have dash cam footage as well as the Gyms cctv....just don't tell him how much dashcam footage you have!

If you know when it happened and the make of the car go there again at the same time and see if the offending car is there as well and then you can speak to the driver but look for marks on his car first as he may deny it

 

[4K]

Looks like his lacquer on your bumper. I'd give that a go with machine polishing or hand polishing as said above. Still try and track down the culprit though.

That'll teach you for going to the gym over xmas

 

[lgooch]

Police won’t give a hoot. If they are not interested in shop lifters who have stole less than 200 quids worth of stuff or house burglaries what makes you think the plod would do anything with this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Daveotto]

Police won’t give a hoot. If they are not interested in shop lifters who have stole less than 200 quids worth of stuff or house burglaries what makes you think the plod would do anything with this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I witnessed a guy in an Insignia back into a car getting out of a parking space the other day, wound down my window and remonstrated with him, he ignored me and drove off ....


Police won’t follow up as it’s a minor incident even if they have the reg number

Take it on the chin, s%#% happens sometimes. Local smart repair guy will make it good as new for a about £100

Don’t go anywhere near an insurance claim as it will affect your premium for years

 

[Jimbo10]

UPDATE:

I've contacted the gym. They have reviewed the footage and said it's not conclusive but the can definitely see a red car reverse parking close to me.

The manager at the gym, recognised the car and the member. He agreed to contact him and explain the situation.
I get a call back twenty minutes later and the manager says the guy adamantly denies it. "If he hit another car he would've owned up to it".
So as it stands there is nothing more the gym can do.

I have contacted the police who will *apparently* view the footage and contact the person in question. Hopefully if the police contact him, he will realise it's more serious than just the gym manager calling him.

I'm 99% sure it is him though. As previously mentioned, I visited the butchers and the gym on the day it happened. Footage from the butchers shows no red cars nearby, whereas the gym shows one right next to me. The manager confirmed the CCTV footage shows the bloke driving past my car and reverse parking (which marries up with the damage)...so it's likely his rear offside quarter is what has caught my bumper.

The car is parked nose first on my driveway so zero chance of the damage occurring at home.

In my mind, the guy either didn't realise he's clipped my car and since the 24th his car has only got dirtier, so any damage wouldn't be noticeable or he knows he clipped my car and is being a di@k.

 

[4K]

UPDATE:

I've contacted the gym. They have reviewed the footage and said it's not conclusive but the can definitely see a red car reverse parking close to me.

The manager at the gym, recognised the car and the member. He agreed to contact him and explain the situation.
I get a call back twenty minutes later and the manager says the guy adamantly denies it. "If he hit another car he would've owned up to it".
So as it stands there is nothing more the gym can do.

I have contacted the police who will *apparently* view the footage and contact the person in question. Hopefully if the police contact him, he will realise it's more serious than just the gym manager calling him.

I'm 99% sure it is him though. As previously mentioned, I visited the butchers and the gym on the day it happened. Footage from the butchers shows no red cars nearby, whereas the gym shows one right next to me. The manager confirmed the CCTV footage shows the bloke driving past my car and reverse parking (which marries up with the damage)...so it's likely his rear offside quarter is what has caught my bumper.

The car is parked nose first on my driveway so zero chance of the damage occurring at home.

In my mind, the guy either didn't realise he's clipped my car and since the 24th his car has only got dirtier, so any damage wouldn't be noticeable or he knows he clipped my car and is being a di@k.

Probably the latter, given he's a human being.

 

[Jimbo10]

I witnessed a guy in an Insignia back into a car getting out of a parking space the other day, wound down my window and remonstrated with him, he ignored me and drove off ....
Police won’t follow up as it’s a minor incident even if they have the reg number
Take it on the chin, s%#% happens sometimes. Local smart repair guy will make it good as new for a about £100
Don’t go anywhere near an insurance claim as it will affect your premium for years

B@STARD drivers!!!
We work hard to buy nice vehicles and other people are so nonchalant when they 'bump' or 'graze' someone else's car. .

I know it's £100-£150 for a smart repair (which is the likely route I'll be taking) but it grinds my gears that I'm paying for someone else's carelessness.

Who know's, the guy might own up to it, or might discover the damage when/if he cleans the car and will decide to come forward...but I don't have that much faith in the human race.

 

[V6_Man]

UPDATE:

I've contacted the gym. They have reviewed the footage and said it's not conclusive but the can definitely see a red car reverse parking close to me.

The manager at the gym, recognised the car and the member. He agreed to contact him and explain the situation.
I get a call back twenty minutes later and the manager says the guy adamantly denies it. "If he hit another car he would've owned up to it".
So as it stands there is nothing more the gym can do.

I have contacted the police who will *apparently* view the footage and contact the person in question. Hopefully if the police contact him, he will realise it's more serious than just the gym manager calling him.

I'm 99% sure it is him though. As previously mentioned, I visited the butchers and the gym on the day it happened. Footage from the butchers shows no red cars nearby, whereas the gym shows one right next to me. The manager confirmed the CCTV footage shows the bloke driving past my car and reverse parking (which marries up with the damage)...so it's likely his rear offside quarter is what has caught my bumper.

The car is parked nose first on my driveway so zero chance of the damage occurring at home.

In my mind, the guy either didn't realise he's clipped my car and since the 24th his car has only got dirtier, so any damage wouldn't be noticeable or he knows he clipped my car and is being a di@k.

An ar*ehole.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pinky1959]

Hi I didn't notice you had posted similar to mine as I was in a rush to go out .
Great minds think alike ! ! !

lol you didn't read my post above yours then

 

[richinsoton]

Contacted the gym and given them the date, and the time I arrived/left.
They are reviewing the footage but told me to contact the police as they cannot release information due to data protection.

I do love the old "can't release it due to data protection..." cobblers. Just what data do they think they are protecting if they sent you a short clip of nob-end hitting your car or to pass onto the Police?. His face & reg plate are both things that are out there in the public domain so there's no invasion of privacy & therefore not subject to "data protection", obviously if it was his personal details you were requesting that's a different matter.

 

[MaffewEM]

I do love the old "can't release it due to data protection..." cobblers. Just what data do they think they are protecting if they sent you a short clip of nob-end hitting your car or to pass onto the Police?. His face & reg plate are both things that are out there in the public domain so there's no invasion of privacy & therefore not subject to "data protection", obviously if it was his personal details you were requesting that's a different matter.

Unfortunately that doesn’t wash with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), as you could track the individual down and do anything, in which case they’d be liable for handing that over. When you enter a place of private CCTV operation you’d want the business to adhere to data protection rules if you were the one being investigated! Else anyone could request anything and get it, even if it’s not theirs to have.. hence police have to request it so they know it’s being used for s specific investigation. Fortunately that stops any ‘stalkers’ and other people who have no right to see a recording of you/your property.

It’s in place for a reason and hopefully you’ll manage to get the police to look into it, as each case opened should have to be investigated until they’ve found it either inconclusive or a culprit but with CCTV evidence the latter is more than likely.

 

[Tom.H]

Mum and dad had a similar thing years back, their car got hit, somebody left a note on their car with the offending cars reg but none of their own details. Friend of the family who was in the police at the time went round the chaps house, there was paint transfer on his car matching my mum and dad's car and he just said "prove it" and that was that.

So unless there's any conclusive evidence of him hitting your car, I'd say it's gonna end up coming out of your pocket which is obviously very frustrating but not much you can do

 

[Flying Scotsman]

To be honest those are strange body damage marks...irregular scratches and very little paint transfer. They look more like a shopping cart or something similar.

 

[Jimbo10]

To be honest those are strange body damage marks...irregular scratches and very little paint transfer. They look more like a shopping cart or something similar.

I can guarantee you it was from a red car whilst reverse bay parking

 

[Spinstorm]

I have been parking ACROSS two spaces in car parks recently for exactly that reason.

The other day some guy opened his door hard into mine - no damage - but didn’t even realise he did it. And a few months ago someone actually dented and scratched my door doing that.

So I’m going to park badly so I have extra space and reduce my risk of damage .

(We all know parking at the end of the car park is not the solution as someone always parks right next to you; but no one tried to fit into a car parking space where someone takes two spaces.)

 

[oli356]

I have been parking ACROSS two spaces in car parks recently for exactly that reason.

The other day some guy opened his door hard into mine - no damage - but didn’t even realise he did it. And a few months ago someone actually dented and scratched my door doing that.

So I’m going to park badly so I have extra space and reduce my risk of damage .

(We all know parking at the end of the car park is not the solution as someone always parks right next to you; but no one tried to fit into a car parking space where someone takes two spaces.)

Or they do it out of spite though! Which I guess I can understand.... unless like its a really empty car park (which I don't come across very often)

 

[Carefree69]

Total pr!ck.

Because of idiots like this I do what I call ‘park smart’. So, if I ever need to park in a public space I will always try to park on an end space, meaning that on one side there is a wall or something, meaning that only one car can be parked next to me. Failing that I will park in between two new/decent cars, reducing the risk of damage (owners of decent cars are less likely to be careless with doors etc).

I’m aware that your car appears to have been reversed into which is unavoidable in a public area, but at least my tactics might help reduce other parking related damage.

I’m lucky with my job in that I can park my car in a secure, gated yard (Fire Station) with ample space away from any other cars, and when I go out of town to shop etc I can always park my car in the local secured Fire Station, so loads of room between cars.

On principle I’d persue it with the Police, nothing to lose and everything to gain.

 

[Bitzieee]

I do love the old "can't release it due to data protection..." cobblers. Just what data do they think they are protecting if they sent you a short clip of nob-end hitting your car or to pass onto the Police?. His face & reg plate are both things that are out there in the public domain so there's no invasion of privacy & therefore not subject to "data protection", obviously if it was his personal details you were requesting that's a different matter.

Working in a dealership we see cars occasionally get banged by customers, even to another customers car. We can't release that footage, but always happy to contact them on the victims behalf and failing that work with the police/insurance.

But you genuinely can't release that footage

 

[richinsoton]

Unfortunately that doesn’t wash with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), as you could track the individual down and do anything, in which case they’d be liable for handing that over. When you enter a place of private CCTV operation you’d want the business to adhere to data protection rules if you were the one being investigated! Else anyone could request anything and get it, even if it’s not theirs to have.. hence police have to request it so they know it’s being used for s specific investigation. Fortunately that stops any ‘stalkers’ and other people who have no right to see a recording of you/your property.

It’s in place for a reason and hopefully you’ll manage to get the police to look into it, as each case opened should have to be investigated until they’ve found it either inconclusive or a culprit but with CCTV evidence the latter is more than likely.

I'd have to strongly disagree. In this instance the OP has a legitimate reason for access to the CCTV footage as I said to either himself OR the Police in my previous post. You are not just giving the footage to some random person as the OP himself / or his vehicle would be in it. You possibly couldn't track the driver down from the CCTV images, the Reg No. could only gives you the registered keeper of the vehicle which isn't necessarily the actual person driving it anyhow.

As I previously said if they don't want to give the footage to the OP they can give it to the Police as there are exemptions to data protection such as the detection / prevention of crime, which is what this is. Just saying "we can't give it out due to data protection" in the hope that you'll just go away is the default setting for the lazy & / or stupid who can't / won't be bothered to help one of their own customers. In my experience when things go wrong & how companies deal with it is a better judge of them than when things go well.

 

[richinsoton]

Working in a dealership we see cars occasionally get banged by customers, even to another customers car. We can't release that footage, but always happy to contact them on the victims behalf and failing that work with the police/insurance.

But you genuinely can't release that footage

& as I said previously OR to the Police, just saying we cannot give out the footage "due to data protection" is not correct without explaining why.

 

[Bitzieee]

& as I said previously OR to the Police, just saying we cannot give out the footage is not correct.

I'm ill, working, and knackered. Did the OP not state that they have passed it on to the police?

In ref to other circumstances, some companies are probably not aware of the rules, even us here are just educated guessing based off information from other people and the *WEB*

They probably guess and say they 'can't give it out' to protect themselves, at the end of the day it's not the companies fault, and they have no obligation to get involved. You'll find most supermarkets who have this all the time won't get involved at all.

If the police went round and asked to see the footage I'm sure they would show the footage to them

 

[MaffewEM]

I'd have to strongly disagree. In this instance the OP has a legitimate reason for access to the CCTV footage as I said to either himself OR the Police in my previous post. You are not just giving the footage to some random person as the OP himself / or his vehicle would be in it. You possibly couldn't track the driver down from the CCTV images, the Reg No. could only gives you the registered keeper of the vehicle which isn't necessarily the actual person driving it anyhow.

As I previously said if they don't want to give the footage to the OP they can give it to the Police as there are exemptions to data protection such as the detection / prevention of crime, which is what this is. Just saying "we can't give it out due to data protection" in the hope that you'll just go away is the default setting for the lazy & / or stupid who can't / won't be bothered to help one of their own customers. In my experience when things go wrong & how companies deal with it is a better judge of them than when things go well.

The OP said it was passed to the police so they clearly told the OP they needed a PIN and police to attend for the release of the footage. Sounds like they passed on the right info to me apart from that he reiterated they wouldn’t pass it directly to him. Technically you can request footage with yourself in (which the operator of the CCTV can charge up to £10 to do) but the OP isn’t in the footage. Only his asset is so therefore he can’t access that himself, if he was in the footage st the time he requested then he shouldn’t have any issues but rules are in place for a reason.

I'm ill, working, and knackered. Did the OP not state that they have passed it on to the police?

In ref to other circumstances, some companies are probably not aware of the rules, even us here are just educated guessing based off information from other people and the *WEB*

They probably guess and say they 'can't give it out' to protect themselves, at the end of the day it's not the companies fault, and they have no obligation to get involved. You'll find most supermarkets who have this all the time won't get involved at all.

If the police went round and asked to see the footage I'm sure they would show the footage to them

Yes, OP did - you’re correct

I don’t blame them to understand and operate within information governance takes years of experience and exams whereas these companies offer a service on brief info provided by the ICO, hence no one understands 100%. But they are right in denying access until police attend with an identification card, unfortunately that’s the only way you can guarantee the law is not being broken.

 

[A4A4]

To be honest those are strange body damage marks...irregular scratches and very little paint transfer. They look more like a shopping cart or something similar.

Who has red shopping carts at a Gym?

 

[A4A4]

I can guarantee you it was from a red car whilst reverse bay parking[/QUOTE

This is so annoying when it happens. Good luck and try your best and continue to get payment for this. But if not you should be able to touch it yourself for now.

Something similar happened to me a bit back and never got to the bottom of it.

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...ar-has-lost-its-mint-condition-status.330888/

 

[richinsoton]

They probably guess and say they 'can't give it out' to protect themselves, at the end of the day it's not the companies fault, and they have no obligation to get involved. You'll find most supermarkets who have this all the time won't get involved at all.

& there in lies my point if you're involved with something as part of your day to day business you should be sufficently trained in it to make the appropriate decision & not just quote "computer says no / data protection blah blah blah". I'm sure if you weren't trained or just guessed you wouldn't be working as a VW technician for very long would you lol.

Anyhow happy new year peeps & here's hoping to no parking mishaps in the new year!.