[wakeaskquestions]

My mother hit some person's old car with her SUV. The person pointed at some rust/scratch no more than half an inch long and demanded money. My mother complained that the rust isn't from her car. The person copied my mother's name and driver's license but NOT the insurance info. My mother gave him the number to our insurance agency. We found out later that he copied our address wrong, and our insurance agent refused him any attempt to make a claim. Now, this person has my mother's name, her driver's license, and our insurance company's phone number. He does NOT have our insurance policy number or anything else of the matter. Can he still make claims against my mother? I know even if we're forced to pay for that little "scratch", it'll be about $10 worth of repairs, but I would like to know. Thanks!


Wake

[shygrneyzs]

Did anyone call the police? I suspect not. Your Mother did hit the other car. Apparently the insurance agent did not feel the damage done was worth a claim? Why else refuse this person any damage award?

Yes, your Mother could be asked to pay for the damages and she could dispute it. It would go to small claims court and there the evidence would have to be presented. Did she take any pictures when the accident happened? Does your Mother have this person's phone number or any information? Can she obtain it? Perhaps to call him and settle this.

An aside, I do not think a repair would be only $10.00. You must not have been to a body shop lately. You sneeze in there and that is $10.00 alone.

[wakeaskquestions]

No calls to the police.
No pictures taken.
Our insurance agent is our friend, so he "played dumb" and told the guy no one lived in the wrong address provided.
My mother felt that the supposed scratch was not her fault. The person's car look very broken down already with rust and scratches in many places.
The person provided my mother with his name and address.
Basically, there's no proof the accident ever happened.
Yes, I have not been to a body shop ever. I was blessed with family and friends with amazing auto fixing and repairing abilities for cheap.
So is there still chances of him taking us to small claims with no evidence except having my mother's name, license number, and wrong address?

[shygrneyzs]

He can do anything he pleases when it comes to taking your Mom to small claims court. To prove it would be his burden. The Judge may well dismiss the whole case. Without any evidence, his case would be nil. Plus the fact he never called the police, there was no accident report, etc. Not a good case at all and he would be wise to chalk it up to life.

Perhaps your Mom should diffuse this whole thing and call the police herself. It is not against the law to not report a minor bump. That way she gets solid advice and this other person does not have much steam.

[excon]

Our insurance agent is our friend, so he "played dumb" and told the guy no one lived in the wrong address provided.

Hello w:

The person you hit was making a legal claim upon your insurance policy. Pretending what's so, to not BE so, is fraud. Your agent friend is not only risking his license, he's risking a felony conviction. If you and your mom knows about it, you both are party to the fraud.

Your mom HAS insurance for this very purpose. Or, she could have settled for cash, but she didn't want to.

Now, you've given this driver lots of power over your lives that you didn't need to. If you have HIS number, I'd call him up and try to settle the matter. Don't try to be cheap either. That's what got you into this trouble in the first place. Have him get an estimate and PAY IT.

excon

[Fr_Chuck]

The minute the other driver demanded money is when you dial 911, because now it will be his word against hers. So of course he can sue her for 1000's in court for damage to all sorts of things to the car, and I bet his neck is starting to hurt by now also.

Your insurance agent is doing the worst thing in the world ( and breaking the law) by playing dumb. He should take the claim, and sent it thougha and let the company adjusters decide what is to be paid if anything.

Call you agent and get him back in tough with that man ASAP

[rkim291968]

All good advices. The only thing I worry is that he would damage his car even more on purpose and would try to stick it to your mom's policy. Try to settle it for a few dollars (whatever you are willing to give him to shut him up). This may be better than going through the mental anguish dealing with this man.


(Ranting mode on)

Once one of my friend's soccer ball hit a Chinese American women's MB. Although there was absolutely no scratch or damage, she became so upset and wrote down my friends name, address, DL while practically yelling at him. This was despite the fact that we all apologized to her, and shown her absolute respect. Sigh... folks, it's just a car, a device to get us from one place to another.

[ScottGem]

Sounds like you didn't give him your insurance company number but you insurance agent's number. If he knows your insurance carrier, he can call them directly, bypassing the agent, who could then be in trouble as noted.

What your mom should do at this point is have the incident reported to your carrier (not your friendly agent) and let them handle it. If the car is that beat up, they will not pay to fix other damage.

[wakeaskquestions]

All advices noted, I will inform my mother about all this and let her decide. Thanks for all the fast info!