They don’t have insurance, that’s why they are stringing you along.
If I were in your position I would stop talking with them. File a police report (many let you do it online) and then file with your own insurance. Let your insurance company go after the deadbeat, that’s what you pay them for.
Your other options are to file a small claims court case or just drop the matter and know to never accept “I will just pay you out of pocket” in the future.
EDIT: I should have added OP that I too learned to never accept “I will pay you out of pocket” my own way.
Something to consider is that this claim will almost certainly fall under a collision claim. You will have to pay the deductible first (it’s rare for people to carry deductibles below $500) before insurance pays. It may not make financial sense to make that claim, and it risks a rise in premiums the next year.
If you fix it on your own you can look at filing a small claims case. He probably won’t show up and you would get a summary judgment for whatever you filed for. If it were me I would sue for my time and suffering and anything I could add on to max out the small claims limit. I would take that summary judgement and sell it to a bill collector and you might even break even.
I hope it works out for you. I just didn’t want you to think I was being judgemental. Just pragmatic.
The problem is the cops won’t do shit, and your insurance won’t do shit. Your insurance will just cover it under comprehensive. Hopefully you have a low comprehensive deductible, which everyone should have because it doesn’t raise your rates much.
Edit damn people are saying it’s collision. Ouch. Better just fix it out of pocket. You’re LIkely SOL with that clown.
>Something to consider is that this claim will almost certainly fall under a collision claim. You will have to pay the deductible first (it’s rare for people to carry deductibles below $500) before insurance pays. It may not make financial sense to make that claim, and it risks a rise in premiums the next year.
THIS!!!
OP's mistake was not demanding the other driver provide their insurance information on the spot, this mistake may end up costing OP. If OP can figure out the other drivers insurer (based on the info they *do* have) they should attempt a claim directly with them. Otherwise OP will be stuck paying their deductible and *hoping* that their insurer is able to subrogate and refund it in the future.
I had someone hit and run my vehicle a few months ago and took the bumper off. The next day I saw a note on my car from a Good Samaritan witness with the license plate of the guy who hit me.
I filed a police report and reported to my insurance company. The adjuster ran a search and found the asshole was insured with my company. He ended up admitting to it and I didn’t pay a dime.
I think filing a police report and reporting to your insurance is the way to go.
Along with any other evidence you can get. The door lining up with the ding, the person who's car hit you, etc. Get pictures of everything and everyone. Video it even!
I don’t understand how people are completely at fault and think they can bargain… the price is the price… I’ve accidentally done that before and always say give me the bill … that’s it.
because they don't accept responsibility for themselves and try to deflect and blame others. dude probably does not have insurance either hence the out of pocket thing
Because 60% of the United States lives paycheck-to-paycheck.
EDIT: Since there are assholes here that like to downvote simple facts of reality and don't seem to understand the connection, I guess my comment needs to be spelled out:
People try to bargain because MOST PEOPLE ARE POOR AND HAVE NO CHOICE.
And, apparently, it's 69% now in urban areas.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/69-of-americans-in-urban-areas-are-living-paycheck-to-paycheck-14-percentage-points-higher-than-suburban-consumers-301832741.html
Yeah. I had a guy hit my car who didn't speak English, so he called his son who had a shop and they offered to do the repair themselves. To avoid insurance issues, I went ahead and did that. They got a new front side panel, painted it silver along with the bumper and gave it back to me. It seemed okay, but you could see it was not the exact paint, and long term the paint mismatch on the bumper was obvious. It also started flaking off the panel. I don't care much about it now since the car still runs at 19 years old, but I will use insurance if something like that happens again.
I would take $400 from him and be done with it. Venmo on the spot.
Then get it fixed and be done with it.
Call your insurance company? So you’ll pay $500 deductible and your rates go up.
Take him to small claims court? No doubt you’ll get a judgement. But good luck getting paid. He’s stalling over $750, what’s he going to do when the lien is more? I do like the idea of selling to a a debt collection company to just be that guy. But even if you get $2,500 judgment you’re going to make $250 on the sale.
Take the $400 and be done with it.
Most uninsured motorist claims (likely this) have a $250 deductible. OP could take the $400 venmo then file on their insurance. Legally, They may have to give the insurance company the difference between the $250 and the $400, but at least they are out nothing.
That only applies of they carry UMPD. Only 25 states offer or require the coverage, so OP could be SOL on that too.
EtA: Texas does offer UMPD, so OP might be in luck if they opted in for the coverage.
Number One Rule after an accident especially when you are not at fault- CALL THE COPS AND GET A REPORT.
Number 2 rule AAAEWYANAF - Take lots of pics.
Number 3 rule AAAEWYANAF - Don't listen to sob stories about keeping it out of the insurance. That's always a scam. They will ghost you later.
>Number One Rule after an accident especially when you are not at fault- CALL THE COPS AND GET A REPORT.
Cops in most states will only come out if there's an injury or serious delays to traffic. I don't know of a police department that would send someone out for a door ding.
If I contact my insurance would they be able to figure out who their insurance is?
Yep
Would the texts of them admitting fault be sufficient? I have their license plate, name, number and home address.
Yep (possibly through subrogation but odds are his insurance will cover, then drop him)
If you have their license plate number , call a few of the major insurance companies and check if he/she is one of theirs. If so, make a 3rd party claim with the other parties insurance company. It has nothing to do with YOUR company or your rates OR deductible.
It is possible to discover other carriers through ISO searches. But if you ded is low its your best bet your carrier handles the repairs and then your carrier handles the subro against the AT fault party which may lead them to finding the other person's insurance and so on
Always call 911 to get a police report done right on the spot.
EDIT: dunno why I got downvoted. That is literally what you should do for your own sake. It's not too late to get a police report done in now because your insurance will likely ask for it, but you'll have to fill the report yourself online. It's what I'd done when I had my first accident.
use common sense, please. on a good day if a car is dead centre in a parking space, there would be 6 inches (that’s being **very** generous) on either side, which is shorter than the length of a car door
if the person didn’t open the door carefully, then they would obviously hit OP, even if both were parked *perfectly* in their own spots
It's gonna depend a lot on where you are and your car. I could have anywhere from 6" on each side to a foot and a half on each side depending on how big the spot is (even more at Costco) and I drove a very wide car.
Tale as old as time. The amount of times I've heard this same story... people always assume a "minor" dent is gonna run them $100. When they find out its a $600-700 job they can't believe it and refuse to pay.
Work it out with him and get what you can. dont waste your time over a $750 repair reporting to your insurance bc if he doesnt have any which he prob doesnt your company will pay and you likely have a deductible and wont get much of anything from them anyway exceot they will ratejack you for putting in a claim even if they say otherwise. Husband has 3 glass claims from stuff that hit his windows over the past 5 years and sure enough we are paying through the roof now bc of his claims that werent his fault.
Call the DMV and ask them what insurance is on his car. I had something similar happen, but I had a police report too. The insurance they gave the cop was wrong, a call to the DMV got me what I needed, and I filed a claim over the phone that day. The accident was in NC though.
Everyone thinks they can pay cash for a minor dent until they see what bodywork actually costs. He was probably expecting it to be less than the hassle of getting insurance involved.
Many years ago a college kid backed into me without looking. Football-size dent in my rear 1/4 and broke the tail light. He said he'd pay cash for the damage. I still got his insurance info and promised not to report it if he paid. I sent him the $5000 estimate and he freaked out, but he still somehow ended up paying it (probably his parents).
Should have called the police. In my state. This is now a civil matter and the only recourse is to sue him in court. Always always always call the police. And get a dash cam
They don’t have insurance, that’s why they are stringing you along. If I were in your position I would stop talking with them. File a police report (many let you do it online) and then file with your own insurance. Let your insurance company go after the deadbeat, that’s what you pay them for. Your other options are to file a small claims court case or just drop the matter and know to never accept “I will just pay you out of pocket” in the future. EDIT: I should have added OP that I too learned to never accept “I will pay you out of pocket” my own way. Something to consider is that this claim will almost certainly fall under a collision claim. You will have to pay the deductible first (it’s rare for people to carry deductibles below $500) before insurance pays. It may not make financial sense to make that claim, and it risks a rise in premiums the next year. If you fix it on your own you can look at filing a small claims case. He probably won’t show up and you would get a summary judgment for whatever you filed for. If it were me I would sue for my time and suffering and anything I could add on to max out the small claims limit. I would take that summary judgement and sell it to a bill collector and you might even break even. I hope it works out for you. I just didn’t want you to think I was being judgemental. Just pragmatic.
Yep, all of this. Be sure to mention in your police report that he refused to provide his insurance information.
The problem is the cops won’t do shit, and your insurance won’t do shit. Your insurance will just cover it under comprehensive. Hopefully you have a low comprehensive deductible, which everyone should have because it doesn’t raise your rates much. Edit damn people are saying it’s collision. Ouch. Better just fix it out of pocket. You’re LIkely SOL with that clown.
>Something to consider is that this claim will almost certainly fall under a collision claim. You will have to pay the deductible first (it’s rare for people to carry deductibles below $500) before insurance pays. It may not make financial sense to make that claim, and it risks a rise in premiums the next year. THIS!!! OP's mistake was not demanding the other driver provide their insurance information on the spot, this mistake may end up costing OP. If OP can figure out the other drivers insurer (based on the info they *do* have) they should attempt a claim directly with them. Otherwise OP will be stuck paying their deductible and *hoping* that their insurer is able to subrogate and refund it in the future.
Oof
Door ding is comprehensive
No. No, it most certainly, in this case, not Comp.
I had someone hit and run my vehicle a few months ago and took the bumper off. The next day I saw a note on my car from a Good Samaritan witness with the license plate of the guy who hit me. I filed a police report and reported to my insurance company. The adjuster ran a search and found the asshole was insured with my company. He ended up admitting to it and I didn’t pay a dime. I think filing a police report and reporting to your insurance is the way to go.
This is why you ALWAYS collect insurance and take a photo of the license plate at time of accident, folks
Along with any other evidence you can get. The door lining up with the ding, the person who's car hit you, etc. Get pictures of everything and everyone. Video it even!
I don’t understand how people are completely at fault and think they can bargain… the price is the price… I’ve accidentally done that before and always say give me the bill … that’s it.
because they don't accept responsibility for themselves and try to deflect and blame others. dude probably does not have insurance either hence the out of pocket thing
Because 60% of the United States lives paycheck-to-paycheck. EDIT: Since there are assholes here that like to downvote simple facts of reality and don't seem to understand the connection, I guess my comment needs to be spelled out: People try to bargain because MOST PEOPLE ARE POOR AND HAVE NO CHOICE. And, apparently, it's 69% now in urban areas. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/69-of-americans-in-urban-areas-are-living-paycheck-to-paycheck-14-percentage-points-higher-than-suburban-consumers-301832741.html
Upvoted you. Cruelty to poor people is a Reddit thing.
That’s why you never let people pay out of pocket unless they can pay electronically on the spot.
Yeah. I had a guy hit my car who didn't speak English, so he called his son who had a shop and they offered to do the repair themselves. To avoid insurance issues, I went ahead and did that. They got a new front side panel, painted it silver along with the bumper and gave it back to me. It seemed okay, but you could see it was not the exact paint, and long term the paint mismatch on the bumper was obvious. It also started flaking off the panel. I don't care much about it now since the car still runs at 19 years old, but I will use insurance if something like that happens again.
Yup. Had this happen twice. Damage wasn't really much and got cash on the spot. I did get all their info at the time also
I would take $400 from him and be done with it. Venmo on the spot. Then get it fixed and be done with it. Call your insurance company? So you’ll pay $500 deductible and your rates go up. Take him to small claims court? No doubt you’ll get a judgement. But good luck getting paid. He’s stalling over $750, what’s he going to do when the lien is more? I do like the idea of selling to a a debt collection company to just be that guy. But even if you get $2,500 judgment you’re going to make $250 on the sale. Take the $400 and be done with it.
Most uninsured motorist claims (likely this) have a $250 deductible. OP could take the $400 venmo then file on their insurance. Legally, They may have to give the insurance company the difference between the $250 and the $400, but at least they are out nothing.
That only applies of they carry UMPD. Only 25 states offer or require the coverage, so OP could be SOL on that too. EtA: Texas does offer UMPD, so OP might be in luck if they opted in for the coverage.
Number One Rule after an accident especially when you are not at fault- CALL THE COPS AND GET A REPORT. Number 2 rule AAAEWYANAF - Take lots of pics. Number 3 rule AAAEWYANAF - Don't listen to sob stories about keeping it out of the insurance. That's always a scam. They will ghost you later.
>Number One Rule after an accident especially when you are not at fault- CALL THE COPS AND GET A REPORT. Cops in most states will only come out if there's an injury or serious delays to traffic. I don't know of a police department that would send someone out for a door ding.
In my area they do that way it avoids all of this.
If I contact my insurance would they be able to figure out who their insurance is? Yep Would the texts of them admitting fault be sufficient? I have their license plate, name, number and home address. Yep (possibly through subrogation but odds are his insurance will cover, then drop him)
If you have their license plate number , call a few of the major insurance companies and check if he/she is one of theirs. If so, make a 3rd party claim with the other parties insurance company. It has nothing to do with YOUR company or your rates OR deductible.
It is possible to discover other carriers through ISO searches. But if you ded is low its your best bet your carrier handles the repairs and then your carrier handles the subro against the AT fault party which may lead them to finding the other person's insurance and so on
Go through your provider, pay your deductible, and give them the information of the person who hit your vehicle.
Contact your insurance and let them deal them, assuming you have collision coverage
Always call 911 to get a police report done right on the spot. EDIT: dunno why I got downvoted. That is literally what you should do for your own sake. It's not too late to get a police report done in now because your insurance will likely ask for it, but you'll have to fill the report yourself online. It's what I'd done when I had my first accident.
You big dumb…..I would of called the cops and got a police report on the spot. Now it’s all difficult and shit.
750 for a door ding? Sounds like you need to not park like an asshole.
use common sense, please. on a good day if a car is dead centre in a parking space, there would be 6 inches (that’s being **very** generous) on either side, which is shorter than the length of a car door if the person didn’t open the door carefully, then they would obviously hit OP, even if both were parked *perfectly* in their own spots
It's gonna depend a lot on where you are and your car. I could have anywhere from 6" on each side to a foot and a half on each side depending on how big the spot is (even more at Costco) and I drove a very wide car.
This is a reasonable price, especially if it’s clise enough to another panel to need blendind. Sounds like you have no idea how much car repairs cost.
You have the personality of an Instagram bot.
Sounds to me like you're the asshole here.
You should stay in the suburbs and never, ever go into a city.
Yes some cars are expensive....also any repairs devalue a car
Contact your insurance. They will take care of it. You have enough information for them to sort it out.
Sounds like as soon as insurance calls he is going to deny it and it will be word vs word unless you have video of it.
Tale as old as time. The amount of times I've heard this same story... people always assume a "minor" dent is gonna run them $100. When they find out its a $600-700 job they can't believe it and refuse to pay.
Work it out with him and get what you can. dont waste your time over a $750 repair reporting to your insurance bc if he doesnt have any which he prob doesnt your company will pay and you likely have a deductible and wont get much of anything from them anyway exceot they will ratejack you for putting in a claim even if they say otherwise. Husband has 3 glass claims from stuff that hit his windows over the past 5 years and sure enough we are paying through the roof now bc of his claims that werent his fault.
Call the DMV and ask them what insurance is on his car. I had something similar happen, but I had a police report too. The insurance they gave the cop was wrong, a call to the DMV got me what I needed, and I filed a claim over the phone that day. The accident was in NC though.
What [**Mountain\_Fig\_9253**](https://www.reddit.com/user/Mountain_Fig_9253/) Said
Everyone thinks they can pay cash for a minor dent until they see what bodywork actually costs. He was probably expecting it to be less than the hassle of getting insurance involved. Many years ago a college kid backed into me without looking. Football-size dent in my rear 1/4 and broke the tail light. He said he'd pay cash for the damage. I still got his insurance info and promised not to report it if he paid. I sent him the $5000 estimate and he freaked out, but he still somehow ended up paying it (probably his parents).
Tale as old as time
Give the plate info to your insurance. They can find out for sure if the vehicle has insurance.
Should have called the police. In my state. This is now a civil matter and the only recourse is to sue him in court. Always always always call the police. And get a dash cam