Doesn't answer my calls

[s14tilo]

I was at a party one night and my friend comes inside to tell me that someone has backed into my car. I shrugged it off because people try to scare me all the time with that, but he made me go outside and look at it. Sure enough, the dumbass that no one knew had backed into my pass. front fender. Thank GOD, my wheels were turned and he didn't hit them. Anyway, I have called the guy a few times and the one time he did answer he said he had to call me back, but I haven't heard a word, and I have left voicemails. He owe's me $1300, and the little high school bitch won't reply to me. What should I do?

[imtheoneandonlyD]

You should have called the cops. Get everything on file. They can track him down alot better than you can.

[s14tilo]

Well I was drunk at the time. Wasn't thinking clearly.

[dave92cherokee]

Go to the courthouse and sue his ass. They will issue a subpoena and just have a couple of people from the party as witnesses that he did it and pictures of what he did and if there's any paint on your car from his make sure it's easily visible in the picture then take pictures of his vehicle where he hit you and make sure the paint on his car is very visible in the picture as well and a written estimate on the repair cost and with all that the judge will more than likely make him pay for the repairs and court costs.

[s14tilo]

That's a good idea. It's just hard because I go to school in St. Louis, which is 3 hours away from there and I don't have much time when I go home. I will get him this summer if he doesn't pay me by then.

[Igovert500]

Um, call the little prick's father. Explain the situation (leave out hte drinking part), say you have witnesses, 2 body shop estimates, and are thinking about going to court if you cannot get him to start paying you. Make sure you mention that hte kid has already admitted guilt and you have witnesses of that too. Say you don't want to go to court, but you will if you have to.

And next time, call the cops. Same thing happened to a friend of mine, and it took him forever to get the money. If it's the otehr guy's fault, always call the cops.

Also, please shrink the picture in your sig, it is entirely too large. I shouldn't have to scroll sideways to see the whole thing, plus there are people who still use 56k and that is just obnoxious for them.

[s14tilo]

That's another thing, his father recently died and I feel bad for that.

Sorry about the sig, I don't know how to shrink it. My photo editor program is out of date and I cant resize the pictures. Is there another way?

[Igovert500]

MS Paint can do it.

[fredjacksonsan]

One of your calls should be to your insurance company, especially if you have Collision coverage. Your insurance can do a lot to help you out but you have to notify them.

[s14tilo]

wont my insurance go up even though it wasn't my fault? I already pay $266 a month with a $1000 deductible, so I can't afford any raises in my insurance.

[fredjacksonsan]

While it's possible your insurance could go up from any claim, if you don't have any other claims then it probably won't - unless a lot of tickets have been reported to them, or something like that. Usually, an insurance company will only ding you if it's your fault. In this case, you were parked legally and your car was hit by another driver. You can't possibly be at fault (unless the other company can prove that you were parked illegally.)

Anyway, if I were in your position and had all the information about the other car, I'd be calling them. You'll be out your $1000 deductible, but only until they collect from the other company - or the other driver.

This sort of thing happens every day in auto insurance; when your company collects from the other one, it's called subrogation. You should always be able to report any accident to your insurance company; they should take care of you, and go after the other company (if it's the other person's fault).

Hope that helps, I used to work in auto insurance claims.

[ilgoldstein]

If your car was parked, your insurance should not "charge" you with the accident. You were not at fault. They may even be able to help you get your money.

Don't feel bad about his dad dying recently, that has nothing to do with it. When my dad died, it did not entitle me to hit someone's car and not pay.

Send him a registered letter demanding he pay you within 10 days or you will sue him. Call the DMV to see if you need to report the accident. In California, you have to have insurance, and if there is an accident causing over $750 in damages, all parties are supposed to file a report with them providing insurance information. If one party files and the other doesn't, they send them a letter requiring filing or their licence is suspended. You can then find out who their insurance company is if they refuse to tell you.

Also check to see if you can file small claims where you live.

[s14tilo]

I don't really know how insurance works. Will they automatically act on it if I let them know I have a claim or do they need my permission? Do I get reimbursed if I pay up to $1000 dollars for the deductible, or does that mean I pay $1000 and then they pay the rest? Thanks

[fredjacksonsan]

$1000 deductible means that when your company pays for your car's damage, you pay the first $1000 and they pay the rest.

If you're at fault (which you're not) that's the end. If the other driver is at fault(which he is, and in this case you can prove it with witnesses), then your company goes after their insurance company to get back the entire amount of the repair, and pay you back your deductible.

There's probably a clause in your insurance contract which states you will report all accidents to them. They will likely advise you that engaging in an agreement outside of insurance is a bad idea (the stories I could tell!). It's just better to report it to them, let them handle it, and avoid all the frustration.

So here's the two scenarios:

1) Waiting for the guy to pay up, threatening small claims court, frustration, etc etc. Your car has NOT been repaired. Who knows how long it will take.

2) Call your insurance company, get your car in a shop pronto, pay $1000 which you will get back in a couple of months or so. You'll probably have the deductible back and your car fixed before your small claims court date would have arrived.

PM me if you have any more questions, I'll be happy to answer them for you.

[ilgoldstein]

Good advice, take it.