Sentry mode - Thank you! Merc hit the car & drove off

[Doudeau]

As someone who spent a not inconsiderable number of years in the service, I can tell you it’s just not that simple. There are an utterly ridiculous number of offences on the books, and this increases every year as every successive government comes out with yet more and more laws. It is simply impossible to prosecute every single offence, even if the evidence is available. Fortunately, the police have discretion and aren’t forced to prosecute every single wrongdoing, despite your beliefs. It would be impossible.

In the case of RTCs, insurance companies are already there to deal with the aftermath, so it’s not like nothing happens. Yes, it would be better if those who FTS were penalised more often, but unfortunately there simply aren’t the resources to deal with that. I appreciate it’s a lazy trope, but would you prefer the police were dealing with someone who failed to stop after a fender bender or going to the aid of a battered partner?

I do agree we have ended up in a situation where people have no fear of consequences for their actions. However, this is not down to the police. Successive governments have tied both hands of the police and courts behind their backs so the consequences of wrongdoings, if they can even be convicted, are so inconsequential that those who know the system have absolutely no fear of the outcome of being caught.

Though, the real kicker is these days the police are so busy policing themselves that there’s no time to deal with the public. That’s the real crime.

To add some flesh to the incident I mentioned above (which was caused by a driver of a 1 year old Merc in a nice gym in Notting Hill (so you’d expect her to have decent morals).

The cctv video footage (which I still have saved on my iPhone) clearly shows the lady cause the accident, stop her car, check out the damage she’d caused on my car (£4k worth, so not trivial) and then drive off - so no excuse for not realising what she’d done.

Unfortunately, the gym’s cctv wasn’t good enough for number plate recognition. The gym used a 3rd party for parking offences and they had ANPR but weren’t prepared to give the registration to either me or my insurance company - they’d only be prepared to provide it if requested by the police. So the fact the police weren’t prepared to assist was more than a little frustrating .

What made the Police’s disinterest SO much worse for me was that in the same week I had the back window of my other car smashed and a rucksack in the back was stolen. This was another car park in the same district as my gym but the same police station had an officer allocated to try and stop car looting in that area and they couldn’t have tried to be more helpful - I was even offered psychological assistance in case this incident had affected me . I explained with use of expletives that it’s the other incident where I was being driven crazy and not the one she was interested in.

You can guess that my respect for the police did this that week.

 

[Cardo]

To add some flesh to the incident I mentioned above (which was caused by a driver of a 1 year old Merc in a nice gym in Notting Hill (so you’d expect her to have decent morals).

The cctv video footage (which I still have saved on my iPhone) clearly shows the lady cause the accident, stop her car, check out the damage she’d caused on my car (£4k worth, so not trivial) and then drive off - so no excuse for not realising what she’d done.

Unfortunately, the gym’s cctv wasn’t good enough for number plate recognition. The gym used a 3rd party for parking offences and they had ANPR but weren’t prepared to give the registration to either me or my insurance company - they’d only be prepared to provide it if requested by the police. So the fact the police weren’t prepared to assist was more than a little frustrating .

What made the Police’s disinterest SO much worse for me was that in the same week I had the back window of my other car smashed and a rucksack in the back was stolen. This was another car park in the same district as my gym but the same police station had an officer allocated to try and stop car looting in that area and they couldn’t have tried to be more helpful - I was even offered psychological assistance in case this incident had affected me . I explained with use of expletives that it’s the other incident where I was being driven crazy and not the one she was interested in.

You can guess that my respect for the police did this that week.

The difference being one is a traffic matter whilst the other is a criminal matter. You are only technically a victim in the latter incident. I fully appreciate the former incident may be the more annoying/distressing one, however according to government policy and legislation it is when you qualify as a victim that you receive that extra kid glove treatment. In the former incident, whilst you have been injured in respect of civil liability, you are not a victim in the criminal sense.

 

[Ash92]

C

I'll add my warning to all not-at-fault accidents, watch out for your insurance passing you on to claims managment companies and rental companies. A bigger bunch of crooks you'll never find. They will stretch out any repair process as long as possible if they can provide you with a rental, which is charged to the other drivers insurance at a rediculous price, tied in with a loan that you've taken out to pay for it all. Be very cagey with what you sign, especially at the rental shop. Eventually you may need to justify in court why you needed a car at that price and why you needed a credit agreement to pay for it.

If you can find it, my feeling is your best bet for getting a repair done quickly is to contact the at-fault party's insurance directly, or their appointed claims company, they may try to contact you. They will at least be motivated to keep the cost down by getting things moving.

Can confirm I've had similar experiences.

A few years ago my Mini was reversed into by an oblivious driver more concerned with sorting their hair rather than checking the rear view prior to reversing.

They stopped, admitted fault, gave details (potentially false). Had the whole thing on a cheap £8 dashcam.

Texted the number out of goodwill in order to avoid going through the insurance company - nothing heard back after 72 hours. Tried my utmost hardest to make it through to their insurance company, but it was impossible - I wanted to avoid my insurance company getting involved as it was non-fault and I know that they will find any excuse to put your premium up.

The bodyshop that I took my car to for a quote told me about the credit car hire / repair company who would begin fixing my car instantly and deal with the other party's insurance; I was told in writing that I would not be liable to pay any costs providing I would support the process (up to and going to court).

Although the third party's insurer was not having any cooperation from the third party driver, they were willing to settle the claim.

Turned out I had to go to court and have my finances analysed to explain why I had to to use a credit hire company, as this heightened the cost to the third party's insurance company (they were charged above-average daily costs for my courtesy car). It was a bit of an annoyance having to source banking statements etc and it is unnerving having somebody question your spending habits for something you're innocent of.

In court, it was clear I could have afforded a equivalent rental - although I could never understand why I would have been expected to front the cost myself, in a non-fault accident. I stated my attempts at trying to contact the insurance company directly to make a claim against a driver insured by them, but this fell on deaf ears. An own goal on their behalf?

Eventually, it was settled in court between the credit hire company's lawyer and that of the insurance company's. The daily rates in dispute would be lowered - so nothing out of pocket for me as I had cooperated with the credit company.

Short term, my car was fixed and I was driving around in a new 2 series BMW. But the whole build up to court was 8 months of low-level stress that I could have probably done without!

The system feels broken. Always wondered if there was any kind of repercussion for the non-cooperative third party driver?

 

[Cardo]

The system feels broken.

Rip-off Britain at its finest. The whole motor vehicle insurance sector in the UK is completely broken. They do not provide a service to the public; the public are part of the process for these companies to make as much money as allowed by the regulations.

 

[GRiLLA]

C


Can confirm I've had similar experiences.

A few years ago my Mini was reversed into by an oblivious driver more concerned with sorting their hair rather than checking the rear view prior to reversing.

They stopped, admitted fault, gave details (potentially false). Had the whole thing on a cheap £8 dashcam.

Texted the number out of goodwill in order to avoid going through the insurance company - nothing heard back after 72 hours. Tried my utmost hardest to make it through to their insurance company, but it was impossible - I wanted to avoid my insurance company getting involved as it was non-fault and I know that they will find any excuse to put your premium up.

The bodyshop that I took my car to for a quote told me about the credit car hire / repair company who would begin fixing my car instantly and deal with the other party's insurance; I was told in writing that I would not be liable to pay any costs providing I would support the process (up to and going to court).

Although the third party's insurer was not having any cooperation from the third party driver, they were willing to settle the claim.

Turned out I had to go to court and have my finances analysed to explain why I had to to use a credit hire company, as this heightened the cost to the third party's insurance company (they were charged above-average daily costs for my courtesy car). It was a bit of an annoyance having to source banking statements etc and it is unnerving having somebody question your spending habits for something you're innocent of.

In court, it was clear I could have afforded a equivalent rental - although I could never understand why I would have been expected to front the cost myself, in a non-fault accident. I stated my attempts at trying to contact the insurance company directly to make a claim against a driver insured by them, but this fell on deaf ears. An own goal on their behalf?

Eventually, it was settled in court between the credit hire company's lawyer and that of the insurance company's. The daily rates in dispute would be lowered - so nothing out of pocket for me as I had cooperated with the credit company.

Short term, my car was fixed and I was driving around in a new 2 series BMW. But the whole build up to court was 8 months of low-level stress that I could have probably done without!

The system feels broken. Always wondered if there was any kind of repercussion for the non-cooperative third party driver?

A familiar story, thankfully in our case we never ended up in court but had to give evidence to their solicitors ready for it, I can only imagine how much extra stress that would bring.

In our case it was my wife's car, while I was away. She was put in a rental by her insurer through Enterprise, but once it was clear that it was no fault she was called by Enterprise and told she had to go back to the office and sign something else, and this was important etc. That was the point they snuck in the credit agreement and a 50% increase in the cost of the rental.

Absolute sharks.

 

[M3noob]

This is the UK forum, common shortening of Mercedes-Benz, a manufacturer of military vehicles for the Nazis.

Also the car on your rear bumper at 75mph that is so close you can't see the three pointed star :-(

 

[GlynG]

As someone who spent a not inconsiderable number of years in the service, I can tell you it’s just not that simple. There are an utterly ridiculous number of offences on the books, and this increases every year as every successive government comes out with yet more and more laws. It is simply impossible to prosecute every single offence, even if the evidence is available. Fortunately, the police have discretion and aren’t forced to prosecute every single wrongdoing, despite your beliefs. It would be impossible.

In the case of RTCs, insurance companies are already there to deal with the aftermath, so it’s not like nothing happens. Yes, it would be better if those who FTS were penalised more often, but unfortunately there simply aren’t the resources to deal with that. I appreciate it’s a lazy trope, but would you prefer the police were dealing with someone who failed to stop after a fender bender or going to the aid of a battered partner?

I do agree we have ended up in a situation where people have no fear of consequences for their actions. However, this is not down to the police. Successive governments have tied both hands of the police and courts behind their backs so the consequences of wrongdoings, if they can even be convicted, are so inconsequential that those who know the system have absolutely no fear of the outcome of being caught.

Though, the real kicker is these days the police are so busy policing themselves that there’s no time to deal with the public. That’s the real crime.

You know I can appreciate what your saying and that's why my thoughts are to rid the statute books of offences if the resources are never going to be available to effect the law and then we know we will need to file in the small claims court.
My suggestion of an absolute offence for hit and run of £1K plus 20% of the total cost of the damage caused wouldn't need extensive involvement of the police just for them to reveal the drivers details from the reg number - the fact so many hide behind GDPR and data protection makes my blood boil as usually its quoted as a blocking tactic and hope you go away.

Yes we do need a lot more police but also they need to be properly vetted and political correctness needs to be excluded from the selection, It really angers me when there are quotas for so many women, ethnics, guaranteed interviews for those with a disability - their focus is on compliance with wokeism and therefore those appointed are not always the right people for the right reason. Progression within the service should always be through the ranks and not some 22 year old that just left university with a degree in needlework, when lions are governed by donkeys then results suffer - hence, take a look at crime detection rates - people should be loosing their jobs.

 

[WannabeOwner]

driving off after causing damage to a third party property is an offence

Is that the case if the car park was on "private land"? (IDK)

 

[Wattsisname]

Is that the case if the car park was on "private land"? (IDK)

Is there a distinction between private land per se; your garden, your farm etc and land set aside for public use that is in private/corporate ownership such as carparks, store carparks etc.?
If, as I fear, there is not, then it's down to seeking redress through the court I suppose.
I remember a notable occasion when a driver left their ( genuine) contact details under the wipers, having clipped a front corner. They arranged for a mobile repairer who did an excellent job.
That repairer commented that if his client ever learned to negotiate car parks, his business would take a significant hit.
Whatever their parking problems, they are a decent person unlike the OP's and ratbag runners in general.

 

[Cardo]

Is that the case if the car park was on "private land"? (IDK)

The legislation applies to a “road” or “other public place.” As long as the public have access to the location, then it is a public place. An open car park is in play. Farmland that is physically closed off to the public is not in play.

 

[crouchy]

@ItsBlacknWhite some good news today, the threat of court has worked and the third parties insurance company has paid out, so hopefully it will be the same for you! Keep chasing me, it has taken Churchill 6 months......

 

[dakhlkt22]

This is the UK forum, common shortening of Mercedes-Benz, a manufacturer of military vehicles for the Nazis.

How do you pronounce Merc? "Merk" or "Merse"?

 

[fholbert]

You say Benz we say Merc. "

I assumed you we’re talking about a Ford Mercury.

 

[init6]

How do you pronounce Merc? "Merk" or "Merse"?

Merk

 

[Wattsisname]

I assumed you we’re talking about a Ford Mercury.

Not too many of those Fords over here in UK and mainland Europe. Do you guys refer to that ford as a Merc?'
Mercedes is a Spanish female given name pronounced in Spanish a bit like Mer- thed- es. The car was named after a little girl of that name who was the daughter of one of Daimler- Benz's financial backers. Clever move

 

[ItsBlacknWhite]

Brief Update: Dropped the car at the bodyshop on 11th September and was provided a Model Y (LR with 20” wheels),
and my car was returned today 25th Sep. As a recap the incident happened on the 16th August, called my insurance on 1st September for an update, they said they had sent the dashcam video to other parties insurance 31st August. At their initial contact with them the other insurer said their client hadn’t contacted them to report any incident so thats when they asked for any proof, so dashcam video was sent over. (My renewal came in Friday gone from £770 to £963, a 25% increase, with protected NCB.)

 

[yessuz]

I assumed you we’re talking about a Ford Mercury.

I am yet to see ford mercury in UK..

 

[fholbert]

I assumed you we’re talking about a Ford Mercury.

Like warm beer, you didn’t miss anything.

 

[Billbrown1982]

Brief Update: Dropped the car at the bodyshop on 11th September and was provided a Model Y (LR with 20” wheels),
and my car was returned today 25th Sep. As a recap the incident happened on the 16th August, called my insurance on 1st September for an update, they said they had sent the dashcam video to other parties insurance 31st August. At their initial contact with them the other insurer said their client hadn’t contacted them to report any incident so thats when they asked for any proof, so dashcam video was sent over. (My renewal came in Friday gone from £770 to £963, a 25% increase, with protected NCB.)

Everything about that story is good except for the insurance increase. So frustrating, even though we don't know how much of it is just down to the price gouging going on this year.

 

[yessuz]

Everything about that story is good except for the insurance increase. So frustrating, even though we don't know how much of it is just down to the price gouging going on this year.

25% I think is in line with what all are seeing....