Damaged car in car park

Honest John Back Room » Legal matters
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Tue 29 Jun 2010 15:13
Damaged car in car park - sparklism

Hi,

I'm really hoping someone can give me a bit of advice. This morning, I scratched a car's bumper in a car park and didn't know what to do. The damage wasn't terrible, but it was still damage nonetheless. It is not dented, definitely just a scratch, but quite a deep one. I phoned my old driving instructor (I've only passed in the last few months) who came through and he was going to advise me and help me take photos so that the person with the scratched car couldn't accuse me of any other damage. B y the time my instructor had got through the car in question had gone. I feel worse because now I can't leave my details. There is CCTV in the car park but I don't think it is pointing at the area where the incident took place. I don't know any details about the car I damaged other than it is red.

The same thing happened in reverse a few weeks a go. A car has gone into me and caused much more damage and just driven off. My front wing is quite badly damaged but my car is old and I'm not going to bother repairing it. But that doesn't make this ok, the person who damaged my car may not have a conscience, but I do. I feel terrible for what has happened. A lot of people have told me not to worry about it, chalk it up to experience. The car park isn't manned or anything so there is nobody there I can report it to. I don't know what to do, can someone advise please?

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Wed 30 Jun 2010 23:45
Damaged car in car park - Gregory II

This is a very common occurance. There isn't a lot you can do. When the photo's were taken, did you have make a note/ photograph of the registration.

I am glad there are those with a conscience out there. Many don't even bother when damage is done.

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Thu 1 Jul 2010 06:41
Damaged car in car park - LucyBC

You need to report this incident to the police immediately with as much information as you have to protect yourself.

I deal with many similar cases, many of which seem to occur in supermarket car parks.

They are often witnessed by a third party who writes down the number and passes it to the driver of the damaged car.

Having no ability to otherwise trace the driver the owner of the damaged vehicle goes to to the police to see if they can help.

Once this occurs the usual response is to charge with

  • failure to stop
  • failure to report

which are the same charges as you might expect for a hit and run. In many cases they throw in a "driving without due care and attention" charge as well.

I can normally persuade the CPS to drop the case providing liability is admitted and the repair is paid for but the negotiations can be lengthy and if you don't have legal insurance with us you could be looking at £250+ in legal costs.

The chances are there won't be any prosecution if you report it - the police will just pass on your details and you can deal with it with the other driver and have a clear conscience.

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