If a person whose car you tapped says never mind about it, my car was already dented, and then changes their mind 3 days later, are you still liable?

[HappyGrace]

The car was literally tapped (backed into very lightly and slowly) in a spot where there was already rust from an old dent, and the person said forget about it. So no insurance info was exchanged, no accident report, nothing! Then changed their mind three days later and now want it dealt with.

 

Isn't it too late for them to change their mind? Because technically we don't know if the car was further damaged AFTER that, etc.

 

What would you do-call your insurance? call a lawyer? nicely tell the person it's too late?

[SJ.]

I don't know.  Do you know the person on a personal level?  I'm not sure how someone would track me down.

[HappyGrace]

They tracked me down from their neighbor across the street that I was backing out of. I don't know the person at all, and the person I was visiting doesn't either. The person I was visiting was a witness to the car owner saying that they didn't want to do anything about it. I went to the door and told the person what happened. Without looking at the car, they said don't worry about it. There is a huge rusted dented area from prior damage right where I hit it (and some other paint down part of the rest of the side of the car, like it was hit and sideswiped previously.) Absolutely no damage to my car except a tiny bit of paint on the bumper.

[LucyStoner]

This is why I never leave even the smallest accident without pictures.  Thank goodness for camera phones.  

 

I don't think there is a rule that says they can't change their mind but based on what you say about their car already having been rusted there, the insurance person should be able to figure out what is from your incident and what was already there.  

[KatieJ]

We have had two episodes in our family in the past year involving these types of situations.

Our mantra has become, Call the Police if somone touches your car or you touch their's,

Recently our SIL had an accident. The woman said she didn't want the police involved. He drove his car home after exchanging information, but did not call the police. SIL and our daughter continued on with their evening plans and came home to find the car gone. The other woman got home and her "family" told her to call the police. Because English was not her first language, the police misunderstood the situation and thought our SIL was a Hit and run. Clearly that police officer was wrong, as she knew his name and where he lived. However Police had inpounded it for a Hit and run. All worked out fine in the end.

 

I would think now your insurance company will have to sort it out.

[Guest]

Ugh. We had a similar, slightly worse situation. Person sideswiped my husband on the freeway; they were trying to get back on when the offramp backed up. It was 100% their fault, the woman admitted it. They did exchange numbers, but no police were involved because the woman was taking her older mother to the dentist and was late.  Two days later, a screaming boyfriend of this woman (who was not present at the accident) called up my husband on Thanksgiving day saying it was all my husband's fault, that he was responsible for her car being near totaled, blah, blah, blah. We ended up having to get all the insurance companies involved, pictures taken, the works. Both insurance companies determined from the damage that she was at fault and paid my husband for the scratch that he was otherwise going to ignore. (Old truck.)

 

Long story short - we have learned to also always call the police. A few months later, a car slammed into the back of me and the guy apologized profusely and said he was late to a wedding and wasn't driving his car. We still made the cops come.

 

Sorry, but I would imagine that insurance will need to get involved.

[SKL]

I don't think it's too late for them to change their mind.

 

However, it is quite possible that they have manipulated the situation to maximize their take from the insurance.

 

Once I rear-ended someone in very slow traffic (I had looked to my right because it felt like someone over there was about to hit me, and the guy in front of me suddenly put on his brakes).  We were in a big traffic jam so there is no way I was going fast enough to hurt anyone.  The guy and his passenger both jumped out of the car and came back to see the sucker who hit them.  Their car had previous fender-bender damage which had rusted, proving that it was not done by me.  I gave them my insurance info (but I think they were hoping I'd give them some money to make them go away).  I rushed home and called my insurance company, telling them all this and saying "get someone to go take photos of the car, because you want evidence that their damage is old."  A while later the insurance company called me to ask me what kind of car the other guy was driving.  Apparently the driver changed his story and claimed he couldn't remember which car it was . . . and he said his passenger was injured, but he couldn't remember the passenger's name . . . .  The insurance company said they knew this guy from previous cases where he did the same thing.  Looking around for the worst beat-up car to total and some hurting person to claim an injury.  Of course they ultimately settled and I assume the guy got something, since my insurance went up for about 5 years . . . .

 

In short, I agree - take photos when you can.

[Halftime Hope]

_{Yep, photos and call the police, every time.  I'll only tell you one story.}

 

_{Last year dd was home on break, did not regularly drive, and therefore didn't routinely carry an insurance card in her small wallet/phone/ID carrier.  (She does not carry a purse often either.)  She and another lady both backed out of parking spots at the same time, moving in an exact mirror image of each other and hit each others bumpers.  The other lady got out, started shouting at dd, and when dd couldn't produce an insurance card, she called the police.  Dd called me, totally panicked, and I brought her the insurance card in about 5 minutes.  Dd had left the car exactly where it was hit in the parking lot where I told her to leave it, but when I got there the other lady had pulled into a different spot and was trying to change the scenario and intimidate dd, saying that dd had pulled into her and hit her.   When the policeman got there, he looked at everything, called the lady on her behavior, took a police report, and warned dd to *always* have her insurance card on her.  Then he totally dressed down the other lady for her behavior and warned her not to file any charges as it had been both their fault, and then--get this--warned her against perjury.} 

 

_{I took pictures of her car and our car (lots of damage to our fiberglass bumper), so that I'd have that as a back up to the police report, if needed.}  

 

_{I was just so stinkin' frosted that this lady tried to railroad my daughter, who was still green behind the ears.}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[goldberry]

I always understood police don't come out for non-injury accidents.  Is that not true?  Here in Colorado there is a law you are supposed to remove the cars from the path of any traffic for non-injury also.

[Joker]

I always understood police don't come out for non-injury accidents.  Is that not true?  Here in Colorado there is a law you are supposed to remove the cars from the path of any traffic for non-injury also.

 

This differs by state. I learned the hard way. I came from a state where the police would not come unless there was an injury, so I didn't know to wait and call them in my new state. My insurance paid for it dearly.

[Halftime Hope]

Apparently the lady was trying to get dd in trouble by reporting her to the police for not having her insurance card on her.   I've never had police come to the scene of a fender-bender before, so I couldn't speak to what they do or don't do.  

 

As far as moving the cars, this was in the parking lot behind a restaurant at noon on a Saturday, so, it was busy, but not blocking essential traffic, nor blocking the primary parking spaces for the restaurant.  If it had been somewhere else, she'd have needed to move it.

[Mom0012]

This is why I never leave even the smallest accident without pictures. Thank goodness for camera phones.

 

I don't think there is a rule that says they can't change their mind but based on what you say about their car already having been rusted there, the insurance person should be able to figure out what is from your incident and what was already there.

I don't think the insurance company will care about the condition of the car prior to your tapping it. Years ago, I accidentally let my door lightly bump into the car next to it while getting out. The car was old and had dents all over the door, but the woman who owned it had dollar signs in her eyes. I told the insurance company about dents already being there, but they said it didn't matter if I had added even another tiny one. I honestly don't know if I did because there were so many there already.

 

As far as the time that has passed, I don't know, but I think I would call my insurance company and find out. You could do it anonymously. I'd be concerned that there was no limit on the amount of time she could pursue damages, but a limit on how long I had to report it to the insurance company.

[hjffkj]

Unfortunately, its not too late. In my opinion, I would take your friend who was a witness to the accident and file a police report of the accident and have the friend make a statement that she witnessed the other person saying not to worry about it. If you do that before she makes a statement it will look better on your part.

 

In the future, ALWAYS involve the police or at least take pictures. Someone rear ended me once and messed his car up pretty badly, mine was a bit scratched but I wasn't going to worry about it because it was an older car. He didn't think the police needed to be called but he wouldn't say it was his fault either and a witness said not to call the police either and to just let my insurance pay for it. I was thinking "are you both insane, he just rear ended me while I was yielding to traffic. There is no way this is my fault." After the police left, agreeing it was his fault and giving him the ticket the man said he would be dealing with the auto work himself so if I needed work done let him know not his insurance company. 20 minutes later I got a call from HIS insurance company that he filed a claim and was claiming it was my fault. Thank God I called the police because I simply told them what the police said and they said "Oh, well let us know when you want us to look at your damage and write you a check."

[8circles]

I'm sitting here chuckling because I posted about a car accident over a year ago & got ripped to shreds by a couple posters about how stupid I was that I thought the police would care about a non-injury accident.

 

OP, I don't know if too much time has passed but I echo the others who say always, always, always report to police (whether or not they come) & call your insurance company.

 

I would start now by calling my insurance company.  They've always advised me really well on how to handle these sorts of issues.  I hope it ends up as nothing more than an inconvenience.

 

[TechWife]

I always understood police don't come out for non-injury accidents. Is that not true? Here in Colorado there is a law you are supposed to remove the cars from the path of any traffic for non-injury also.

I've never heard of the police not responding to an accident. At the very least, damaging someone's property is a crime. if an accident has occurred, laws have typically been broken.

 

If there are no injuries and the cars are operable, we are supposed to move out of the path of traffic. If its safe, I take a picture first. Unfortunately, I've been in quite a few accidents. I always insist that the police be called .

[unsinkable]

I'm sitting here chuckling because I posted about a car accident over a year ago & got ripped to shreds by a couple posters about how stupid I was that I thought the police would care about a non-injury accident.

 

OP, I don't know if too much time has passed but I echo the others who say always, always, always report to police (whether or not they come) & call your insurance company.

 

I would start now by calling my insurance company. They've always advised me really well on how to handle these sorts of issues. I hope it ends up as nothing more than an inconvenience.

I have a feeling it is dependent upon where you live...but I don't think you should have felt ripped to shreds bc your experience if different.

[QueenCat]

I always understood police don't come out for non-injury accidents.  Is that not true?  Here in Colorado there is a law you are supposed to remove the cars from the path of any traffic for non-injury also.

 

Here, they will come if they can, but it is not a priority. When you call, they'll tell you they are sending someone, or that they can't. And if an emergency comes up while they are with you, they will leave and you may end up with a very incomplete report. It is the law here to move vehicles out of the road if the vehicle can be moved, with no one injured still inside the vehicle. You can be ticketed for leaving the vehicle in the road or in a manner that blocks others.

[8circles]

I have a feeling it is dependent upon where you live...but I don't think you should have felt ripped to shreds bc your experience if different.

 

Yeah, I agree. 

 

It does seem to be dependent on location - it's expected to be reported everywhere I've lived.  There are also billboards at times reminding people to report all accidents here.

[athena1277]

If you call the police of a fender-bender, do you call 911 or the non-emergency number? (and how many people know the non-emergency number?) How do you find out if the police will or won't come in your state?

[Danestress]

The time lapse is not an issue in terms of their ability to pursue a claim. It could go to damages though - ie, it might be harder to prove damages after a time period.

 

You do need to call your insurance. I am not experienced with this, but I believe ultimately it is your carrier's choice to pay a claim or defend against it.

[Tess in the Burbs]

you could call the non emergency # and ask if they can do a report over the phone or should you go in with your witness.  I have found the police won't come to you unless it's serious.  My car was vandalized and they did the report on the phone and didn't want to see the damage.  It was strange!   call your insurance too and ask what they want from you in this case

[8circles]

If you call the police of a fender-bender, do you call 911 or the non-emergency number? (and how many people know the non-emergency number?) How do you find out if the police will or won't come in your state?

 

I called the non-emergency number - I had to search for it on my phone - I was out of town anyway so I wouldn't have known that number under any circumstances.

 

In my town, I know that it would be OK to call 911 & ask to be transferred to the non-emergency number (I've asked) but I'm sure that would be problematic in many jurisdictions.

 

It might be worth a call to the non-emergency number to ask these questions.  In my case, I feel like with my smartphone I can find what I need without being prepared ahead of time so I don't worry about it too much.

[SKL]

I had a guy insist on calling the cops after I hit his mailbox.  (I had backed up and come to tell him it was me and promised to pay for it.)  The cops came and gave me a ticket.  I had to go to traffic court.  So yeah, I guess the "will the cops come for a non-injury accident" does vary by location.  LOL.

[twoxcell]

In my experience the person will get what they want. Similar things have happened to my mom and sister and both times insurance paid and they did not care about any evidence or anything else. :( My mom had lightly bumped a car with her door in the parking lot and the lady claimed on dents that were already present. My sister bumped a car while backing out of a parking space both cars bumped each other and were equally at fault but the person claimed even after telling my sister not to worry about it and they got the money.

[G5052]

Even if the police won't come, I always call them because they will at least log your call, and that might help if the person gives you a bad time.  

 

And I always get their information and call my insurance.  Even if they don't file and/or you don't file, you need it on record.  My insurance says that the increase in rates only happens if someone actually files.  Sometimes what looks like a very minor accident will actually be worse later if there is deeper damage.  I learned that the hard way when someone hit me several years ago.

 

I scraped a bumper of another vehicle in May, and I did everything right.  No regrets that time.

 

 

 

[HappyGrace]

We went ahead and filed it w/ our insurance. They said there is NO limit on the length of time from the loss, and it doesn't matter if the police saw it, etc.

 

So yeah, the person basically gets what they want. Our insurance did say the adjustors are good about telling what is old damage and what is new damage, etc, so that's good.

 

Thanks, everyone!

[Journey]

no, it's not too late for the other person to report the claim.  since you hit her, let her report it.  i work for a huge insurance company and our policy is, if you didn't cause the accident, and you are not hurt, then let the other person report it.  And insurance adjusters are usually good at their jobs and they will be able to tell how old the damage is on the other car.  Also, insurance companies are not going to pay for something they don't feel is legitimate.  So, don't worry about it.

[Laurie4b]

Just call your insurance company and let them deal with it. "Don't worry about it" isn't the same as "I agree there's no damage."