how to proceed

[ianh]

right i will try and briefly explain my predicament,6 weeks ago i was dropping off a friend at manchester airport.as i pulled into the drop off zone traveling aprox 2mph there was people walking in the area on the ns of me so i was conscious of them and also conscious of a fiat parked on the os of me but there was no one in it,suddenly the passenger door flew open and hit my osf wing,i couldnt avoid it,i was approx 3foot away from the fiat.i then noticed a lady lying across the front seats,she apologised and said her drivers door doesnt open so she has to lean across to the passenger door and get out that side but she had lost control of the handle but its all right as theres no damage done,i couldnt beleive this as it hit my car with a right bang so got out and sure enough there is a big dent in the wing,the prnds lights also started flashing at the moment of collision.i pointed this out to the lady(loose term as she instantly started screaming abuse saying that the damage was allready there),anyhow due to her rantings i just waited for a police patrol to pass,meanwhile she drove off,a few minutes later she walked past me into the airport and carried on her screaming at me.
i only waited for 5 minutes before a patrol passed so i stopped them and reported it to them,eventualy they found the lady and she didnt deny her inability to control her door but says that her door hit me in a different place than where the damage is,even though there was clear paint transfer of her car to mine which the police man noted and suggested it was fine for me to give his name as witness to this.
i have got all her details,its her mums car so is insured for her by her mum.
i have max no claims so dont want to be claiming through my own insurance so i contacted her insurance straight away.
as of yet i havent heard back from her insurance.
what are my options anyone?
my damage is only a dent to my wing and i have had the gearbox ecu repaired.

 

[Ash B]

Options you have is call either two companies Accident Exchange or Helphire i used helphire on my last claim. They supply a like for like replacement vehicle and the car can go to any main dealer they have relationships with. Got to give it to them they were great called them thursday by friday confirmed booking date following tuesday had hire vehicle same day.

Who is she insured with? And what they say?
With credit hire companys as there hire vehicle cost alot some insurance companys will dispute hire bill and it can fall on to you. Decent credit hire company such as Helphire ask you to pay £10 fee which means no matter what happens the cost of the repairs and hire will never fall on you.
Your claim alot simple some one hit a parked and attended vehicle and you have a witness who can confirm damage details. Give them a call on 0845 337 2808 Option 1 (freephone). Just explain no fault accident parked and attended third party opened her car door on my car. And they will sort everything out for you.

 

[ianh]

she is insured with zurich,i have just contacted them now and they are still waiting to hear from her,this happened mid july.
i wasnt actualy parked,i was crawling at approx 2mph,just coming to a stop/giveway,it was her that was parked.
i do have the witness who i was dropping off but he lives in sharm el sheikh not uk.
unfortunately i am a mechanic with my own garage so wont let anyone else near my car to fix it.
i had to just go ahead and do the gearbox ecu as i didnt want it to go worse and cause more damage,the wing still needs repairing/replacing.

 

[Ash B]

she is insured with zurich,i have just contacted them now and they are still waiting to hear from her,this happened mid july.
i wasnt actualy parked,i was crawling at approx 2mph,just coming to a stop/giveway,it was her that was parked.
i do have the witness who i was dropping off but he lives in sharm el sheikh not uk.
unfortunately i am a mechanic with my own garage so wont let anyone else near my car to fix it.
i had to just go ahead and do the gearbox ecu as i didnt want it to go worse and cause more damage,the wing still needs repairing/replacing.

Dont even waste your time with them. One of there insured hit me the start of last month. They couldnt do anything for 2-4weeks they told me and still tried to dispute liability with photos and a witness. Aww right so she opened her car door as you got level with her? Might aswell go to an solicitors to see if they will recover all costs for repairs, loss of use and see if they can instruct some one to suppyl hire if needed.

As no credit hire company will let you repair your own car at your garage. Also in less you have a receipt for the work carried out, solicitors wont claim it back for you. Whats the actually damage? Driverside wing?
And where the gearbox ecu located to? Your friend couldnt be a witness aswell as not an independent witness. Its some one you know

 

[ianh]

cant see how they can stop me repairing my own car? i am a bona fide garage plus my rates are a fraction of others.the actual damage is the drivers wing,the gearbox ecu fixes to the rear of the auto box,it maybe coincidental that a fault showed up on that the same time as the impact but in truth it wasnt there before.l may give them another week to either admit liability or refuse then it looks like i will have to see a solicitor,thanks.

 

[Ash B]

cant see how they can stop me repairing my own car? i am a bona fide garage plus my rates are a fraction of others.the actual damage is the drivers wing,the gearbox ecu fixes to the rear of the auto box,it maybe coincidental that a fault showed up on that the same time as the impact but in truth it wasnt there before.l may give them another week to either admit liability or refuse then it looks like i will have to see a solicitor,thanks.

Well with credit hire companys they have there agreed rates for parts labour etc. Yes your garage is probably cheaper. But insurance companys get funny as they think you chould add parts to the estimate which are not accident related to bump up the money. Yeah only think with the gearbox ecu the insurance engineers will say its not accident related as not by the impact area. Good luck with the claim and keep us updated.

 

[ianh]

thanks and will do.

 

[ianh]

one more thing,anyone any advise on issues of liabilty?
could i be deemed liable or partly liable in any way for contributing to this........maybe because i wasnt driving a doors length away.or any other reasons anyone can share,appreciated.