Been bumped.

[ianbenny]

I am not happy. Some nice kind and caring barsteward has reversed into the passanger door and wing with a lovely long towbar fitted.

New door and wing required (£1300 est).

Didnt notice for a day, but on the way home from work heard a bit of wind noise from the door. Got home and looked at the top of the door and it was sticking out a bit. Then the wife said there's the problem, a deep v in the bottom of the door.

I have no idea how I missed it. I think I know who did it but cant prove it as his car has more dents and bashes already. What a ****.

To top it all, when I found the insurance docs, they have only got a letter wrong on the reg number!

Waiting to see if they are going to wriggle out of paying.

I could cry, it's only 10 weeks old.

[amity498]

sorry to here this, its a pain when people just think of cars as tools to a - b and dont care about the damage they do with them.

fingers crossed you should be ok with the insurance people, lucky you havent been caught with anpr, would be a double problem

[Nismo75]

If you think you know who it their tow bar will still have paint on it from your car. Maybe worth checking out?

[blackspaven]

Yeah, mine got a ding in te lower sill after 3 days from new! :wonder:

I know it's probably not the place, so apologies in advance, but it IS quite amusing that you inadvertantly put a blue hyperlink on your original post that seems to give the impression that if you click on it it opens a new e-mail to the suspected guy with the dented car. It looks like you've set up a quality email address for him when it open.

[FUBAR]

Gutted for you :( this sort of thing drives me insane if I ever did something like that to another persons car I would man up and hold my hands up and apologise make it right.

****NSFW**** or if any little ears about some colourful language but sums up my and most peoples view on such matters!

ps. any pics?

[catzi]

Downer. Hope it's sorted out quickly.

[ianbenny]

sorry to here this, its a pain when people just think of cars as tools to a - b and dont care about the damage they do with them. fingers crossed you should be ok with the insurance people, lucky you havent been caught with anpr, would be a double problem

Good point, never thought about that!

The funny thing is with the insurance is that the description is correct, only the middle letter of the suffix is worng, an 'F' instead of an'S'. So when they type this reg in it comes uo with a Peugeot Boxer :think:

Also, I have just driven to France and back on holiday and surely I must have passed a camera doen the road from Durham to Porthsmouth and back.

I have confronted the guy who I think (know) did it and he denied it obviously(he's a notorious bad driver), althought he was parked there when I arrived and was gone when I returned.(this was outside our local allotments) I did look at his tow bar but it's that marked (as is the car) that it's impossible to see any paint etc, and mines the dark anthrocite grey colour. Also, I doubt if there was much of a reaction when he hit as its fairly soft in the door area and you dont have to go in far to do alot of damage.

I can predict his garden will not be producing much this year though as I have a big bottle of Weedol :wonder:

The repairers are picking it up on Thursday. They are Nationwide, anyone used them?

[Anddenton]

Good point, never thought about that! The funny thing is with the insurance is that the description is correct, only the middle letter of the suffix is worng, an 'F' instead of an'S'. So when they type this reg in it comes uo with a Peugeot Boxer :think: Also, I have just driven to France and back on holiday and surely I must have passed a camera doen the road from Durham to Porthsmouth and back. I have confronted the guy who I think (know) did it and he denied it obviously(he's a notorious bad driver), althought he was parked there when I arrived and was gone when I returned.(this was outside our local allotments) I did look at his tow bar but it's that marked (as is the car) that it's impossible to see any paint etc, and mines the dark anthrocite grey colour. Also, I doubt if there was much of a reaction when he hit as its fairly soft in the door area and you dont have to go in far to do alot of damage. I can predict his garden will not be producing much this year though as I have a big bottle of Weedol :wonder: The repairers are picking it up on Thursday. They are Nationwide, anyone used them?

Sorry to hear about your bump! Not a lot of love on here for Nationwide I think, see http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/239612-nationwide-accident-repair-centres/page__p__2815216__hl__nationwide__fromsearch__1#entry2815216 although it seems some branches are good http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/232909-any-advice-on-accident-damage/page__st__30__p__2810173__hl__nationwide__fromsearch__1#entry2810173

Unfortunately (And especially if he is a bad driver) he may not have known he hit you, one of my neighbours reversed into me a few weeks ago smashing my front number plate and doing quite a bit of damage to his rear bumper, however he just drove off and when I stopped him he said he didn't think he had hit me. To be honest I didn't feel the impact as it was all absorbed by bumpers etc. I only knew their was contact from the crunch noise. Still once he was aware at least he was good enough to offer to pay for any damage, I think he was just gutted about now needing a new bumper on his Focus

[jrw]

Good point, never thought about that!

The funny thing is with the insurance is that the description is correct, only the middle letter of the suffix is worng, an 'F' instead of an'S'. So when they type this reg in it comes uo with a Peugeot Boxer :think:

Also, I have just driven to France and back on holiday and surely I must have passed a camera doen the road from Durham to Porthsmouth and back.

I have confronted the guy who I think (know) did it and he denied it obviously(he's a notorious bad driver), althought he was parked there when I arrived and was gone when I returned.(this was outside our local allotments) I did look at his tow bar but it's that marked (as is the car) that it's impossible to see any paint etc, and mines the dark anthrocite grey colour. Also, I doubt if there was much of a reaction when he hit as its fairly soft in the door area and you dont have to go in far to do alot of damage.

I can predict his garden will not be producing much this year though as I have a big bottle of Weedol :wonder:

The repairers are picking it up on Thursday. They are Nationwide, anyone used them?

I would demand it be picked up by an approved VAG repairer as the car is so new so you keep your anti-corrsion warranty. You have rights to say where your car goes to.

http://www.vwgroup-paintandbody.co.uk/googleCentreLocator.asp

[ianbenny]

^{Oh S@@T, Its Nationwide Middlesborough!!!}

^{I can just feel my BP getting higher already. The other annoying thing is that they only offer a Fiat Panda as a courtesy car. You can upgrade to a Punto for £12, a Bravo for £24 and an Alfa for £60. I 've gone for the Bravo as I could not do 300 miles a week to work in a Panda or is that being snobish .}

^{I think I will wash the car tonight and take photo's of everything. Its not got a mark on it appart from the bump. (I havent even scrapped the wheels yet on the bloody high kerbs on the local high street yet)}

[jrw]

^{Oh S@@T, Its Nationwide Middlesborough!!!}

^{I can just feel my BP getting higher already. The other annoying thing is that they only offer a Fiat Panda as a courtesy car. You can upgrade to a Punto for £12, a Bravo for £24 and an Alfa for £60. I 've gone for the Bravo as I could not do 300 miles a week to work in a Panda or is that being snobish .}

^{I think I will wash the car tonight and take photo's of everything. Its not got a mark on it appart from the bump. (I havent even scrapped the wheels yet on the bloody high kerbs on the local high street yet)}

......Or just look on the link i posted, find a decent bodyshop and phone your insurers and ask it to be booked in there :think:

[alkip]

Sorry to hear about this, hope it gets sorted well.

As said you have the right to tell your insurers where it is repaired!

[blackspaven]

^{Oh S@@T, Its Nationwide Middlesborough!!!}

^{I can just feel my BP getting higher already. The other annoying thing is that they only offer a Fiat Panda as a courtesy car. You can upgrade to a Punto for £12, a Bravo for £24 and an Alfa for £60. I 've gone for the Bravo as I could not do 300 miles a week to work in a Panda or is that being snobish .}

^{I think I will wash the car tonight and take photo's of everything. Its not got a mark on it appart from the bump. (I havent even scrapped the wheels yet on the bloody high kerbs on the local high street yet)}

That's absolutely pants!! When some **** reversed into my car at work, my insurance company gave me a choice of places to go, one of which was okay with me as I had a friend who'd had some private work done there and was happy with it, BUT they gave me a courtesy car in line with what I was driving... so I was given a brand new Laguna as standard from Enterprise car rental!!

WTF insurance company are you with to offer you a bloody Panda and expect you to PAY to get anything better?!! You're being done fella!

[ianbenny]

Thanks for all your replies. This is the price you pay for these comparison site cheapest insurance quotes.

Anyway, took the good advice and cancelled Nationwide, and used the link. The nearest to me is RMB Toyota in Yarm, (I had already bookmarked this last week). Phoned them up and taking it in tommorow after work but they will get the job anyway.

That's absolutely pants!! When some **** reversed into my car at work, my insurance company gave me a choice of places to go, one of which was okay with me as I had a friend who'd had some private work done there and was happy with it, BUT they gave me a courtesy car in line with what I was driving... so I was given a brand new Laguna as standard from Enterprise car rental!! WTF insurance company are you with to offer you a bloody Panda and expect you to PAY to get anything better?!! You're being done fella!

I thought that about the Panda too. It sucks. The insurance company is Hastings Direct and they were significantly cheaper than other quotes for my previous Mondeo 2.0TDCi. RMB will supply me with their own car as Hastings will now not do so, but who cares. If I had to hire one out of my own pocket I would, as I am sick of the whole bloody palava already, especially with them getting the reg no wrong to begin with but I should have looked at the docs properly, not just the front sheet at the time.

If the basteward that did it owned up, I could have sued the pants off him but alas not.

And, now the bloody combi boilers packed up. SWMBO is on the moan. I need to lie down a bit I think.

Cheers everyone.

[blackspaven]

I was with Hastings last year and they were awful! I think it WAS with them I had the claim, but it was the repairers themselves who organised the courtesy car, may have been wrong though.

Strange how any same company can have many different working practices.

[jrw]

Good Stuff. RMB look a lot like www.shorade.co.uk and do a top notch job. I wouldn't take my car anywhere else, especially these big chains that stack em high.

[Metblackrat]

In most insurance policies it states in the T&C's that they decide where it is repaired. You do not automatically have the right to request where it goes.

As for the policy having a wrong digit, it won't be a problem. This happens all the time. I reckon I stop 2 or 3 supposedly uninsured cars every week and a quick call to the insurers reveals a typo on the policy.

[blackspaven]

In most insurance policies it states in the T&C's that they decide where it is repaired. You do not automatically have the right to request where it goes.

Blimey, i've NEVER had that in mine! I'm pretty anal about smallprint cos i've been caught on on stuff before and that's a new one for me.

[jrw]

In most insurance policies it states in the T&C's that they decide where it is repaired. You do not automatically have the right to request where it goes.

As for the policy having a wrong digit, it won't be a problem. This happens all the time. I reckon I stop 2 or 3 supposedly uninsured cars every week and a quick call to the insurers reveals a typo on the policy.

They can put that but the OFT say otherwise:

Insurance Information

Know your rights!

Insurance companies direct policyholder's vehicles into their "approved" repairers. A network of repairers that they have chosen. This enables them to keep their own costs down. They also dictate the level of service and quality of repair you the customer receives. Does controlling their cost mean repairing your vehicle cheaply?

It has been agreed with the Office of Fair Trading and The British Board Of Motor Insurers that as a Motor Vehicle insurance policy holder you have the right to choose the repairer you wish to carry out the repairs on your vehicle, regardless of the insurance company's advice. You are not obliged to use their approved repairers.

[alkip]

They can put that but the OFT say otherwise:

Insurance Information

Know your rights!

Insurance companies direct policyholder's vehicles into their "approved" repairers. A network of repairers that they have chosen. This enables them to keep their own costs down. They also dictate the level of service and quality of repair you the customer receives. Does controlling their cost mean repairing your vehicle cheaply?

It has been agreed with the Office of Fair Trading and The British Board Of Motor Insurers that as a Motor Vehicle insurance policy holder you have the right to choose the repairer you wish to carry out the repairs on your vehicle, regardless of the insurance company's advice. You are not obliged to use their approved repairers.

Yep, that's exactly the piece of info I sent to my insurance when I had some numpty run in to the back of me some years ago. The insurance company reacted like they didn't even know about it but agreed to let my car go to a repairer of my choosing thereafter :yes:

[catzi]

I would demand it be picked up by an approved VAG repairer as the car is so new so you keep your anti-corrsion warranty. You have rights to say where your car goes to.

http://www.vwgroup-p...ntreLocator.asp

Definitely should be a VAG approved bodyshop to maintain the warranty. When the wife pranged our new car I put it into a local VAG approved shop and they made an excellent job of it.

[_Kenny_]

Haven't the insurance companies changed now regarding approved repairers? I'm sure the small print on my policy states I can take my car to a repairer of my choice...but have to pay an extra 200 quid on my excess for the privilege!

[Sando]

ANPR- It may have flagged you up if it was mounted in a police traffic car however you'd have known as you'd have been pulled. You have a legitimate reason so it's highly unlikely action would have been taken, it's amazing how often the insurance companies get a letter wrong because it's mid-heard or a typo. So long as the car description on the policy matches yours you're most likely to get told to rectify it and given a producer.

As for the guy who drove into you, photograph the back of his car and take him to the small claims court, it doesn't cost a great deal and you may be successful. All the process info is available online

[ianbenny]

ANPR- It may have flagged you up if it was mounted in a police traffic car however you'd have known as you'd have been pulled. You have a legitimate reason so it's highly unlikely action would have been taken, it's amazing how often the insurance companies get a letter wrong because it's mid-heard or a typo. So long as the car description on the policy matches yours you're most likely to get told to rectify it and given a producer. As for the guy who drove into you, photograph the back of his car and take him to the small claims court, it doesn't cost a great deal and you may be successful. All the process info is available online

I think it would take Sherlock Holmes to sort all the bats and bumps on the git's car, it has that many.!!!

Hastings only said that if I went somewhere else they would not supply the courtesy car and also if the price quoted is too high for what they think, they will have it re-assesed by their own people. But, looking at the info above, its going to RMB anyway as far as I'm concerned and as I have had 2 nearly the same quotes (I was told by one garage that most of them use the same software programme to do the quotes). I am not pis*ing about as the car is brand bloody new.

Going to RMB tonight after work and they said the provide a car (who pays I am not sure). I have checked the MIB database and it says the car is insured so no problem there.

Going to look at the small print on the insurance docs now.

[io1901]

Our Touran was bumped by a car with a tow bar who like yours helpfully drove off without reporting it. We reported it to the Police and the insurance co. We insisted that the repair was done at VW dealer

Police checked the supermarket car park video but couldn't identify the car that did the damage.