Car Reversed Into - Driver Drove Off - Wife Confronted Him Later

[noTAGlove]

Wife had her car heavily reversed into today. It is street parking but a private road shared by the school she works for and large residential houses along it. The parking space is private to the school.

Anyway, wife was alerted to the thump by the porters of the school, and as it is covered by CCTV they viewed the footage and effectively the guy in the opposite house tw@atted his car into the wife's bumper with a good old force. Then drove off and parked his car in his house as if nothing had happened.

Wife went with the porters to confront him, and he made up a cock 'n' bull story about he thought he hit a lamppost, blah, blah, blah.

Has left the bumper with a dent and loads of scrapes, plus panel scrape. But, car is only worth £500, so we can live with it. Otherwise if we claim on the guys insurance the car will be written off given it is such a low value and repair will cost the same as the car is worth. Car is very reliable so don’t want it written off.

But, we'd like to teach the guy a lesson, as this stuff really p!sses me off. Plus he had a big pile of a house in SW London, so not like he was skint

Any suggestions?

[RJM25R]

Wife had her car heavily reversed into today. It is street parking but a private road shared by the school she works for and large residential houses along it. The parking space is private to the school.

Anyway, wife was alerted to the thump by the porters of the school, and as it is covered by CCTV they viewed the footage and effectively the guy in the opposite house tw@atted his car into the wife's bumper with a good old force. Then drove off and parked his car in his house as if nothing had happened.

Wife went with the porters to confront him, and he made up a cock 'n' bull story about he thought he hit a lamppost, blah, blah, blah.

Has left the bumper with a dent and loads of scrapes, plus panel scrape. But, car is only worth £500, so we can live with it. Otherwise if we claim on the guys insurance the car will be written off given it is such a low value and repair will cost the same as the car is worth. Car is very reliable so don’t want it written off.

But, we'd like to teach the guy a lesson, as this stuff really p!sses me off. Plus he had a big pile of a house in SW London, so not like he was skint

Any suggestions?

Tell him the damage is about £250, ask if he’d rather pay for it or go through the insurance.

I’ll wager his excess is £250 so he’ll probably offer to pay.

[Foxy100]

Tell him the damage is about £250, ask if he’d rather pay for it or go through the insurance.

I’ll wager his excess is £250 so he’ll probably offer to pay.

Tell him it's £350. He'll pay it anyway.

[andy tims]

If he doesn't want to play ball, point out that driving away after an accident / not exchanging details is illegal.

He could have left a note.

[walkerwek1958]

If he doesn't want to play ball, point out that driving away after an accident / not exchanging details is illegal.

He could have left a note.

Agree, I had a similar incident many years ago with ex wife's car. We found who'd done it (they lived locally) and when confronted they agreed to pay up and keep it out of the insurance.

I'd remind him that he's committed an offence and offer him choice of insurance + police or pay the cost of getting the car sorted........at around £500. He's bang out of order and he knows it.

[vortgern]

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Demanding he pays money (a) to charity or (b) on the pretext of an estimate could be perceived as blackmail, and he might decide to teach you a lesson.

If your wife works in a school she could find this causes problems.

Where have you obtained his email address? Did he give it to you?

Better just ask for his insurance details IMO.

[scottbombedout]

Tell him it's £350. He'll pay it anyway.

Try and squeeze him for £375?

[Tifa]

Try and squeeze him for £375?

We alway knew you were a thinking man.

[noTAGlove]

We have his email address now. Let me know what you think.

Hello,

I am writing to you as you crashed into my wife’s car which was parked at XXXXX School. I am her husband of the person you crashed the car into.

I presume you are aware the it is a criminal act to leave the scene without leaving your personal details or reporting the crash to the police with immediate effect. The crash was caught on the school CCTV and witnessed live by the porter on duty.

We have had the damage preliminary inspected and estimate the repair cost/reduction in cars value, as a result of your driving to be around £250. Therefore, I’m offering you an opportunity to pay the estimated repair bill/reduction in cars value of £250 and donate £50 to charity (Shelter - a good cause at this time of year don’t you think), and we will not take this matter any further.

Otherwise please provide insurance details, and we will advise you of any further action we will take.

Happy Christmas,

XXXX

[adrianw]

Tell him its £500 and buy another car.

If it is just some pain you wish to inflict for his dishonesty, make an insurance claim, only problem is your premiums will also increase.

[Franky Four Fingers]

Does he have a letterbox?

[Xantiagib]

Does he have a letterbox?

I'm suprised it took up to 23 posts to get this suggestion.... I'd thought it would have appeared sooner....

Anyhow my 2cents worth - get £250 - £300 out of him if you can .... buy something nice with it or donate it to charity and make something nice happen out of a sour situation

[eldrich]

Don't send that letter, get a quote, tell him what it is to get it repaired and ask him for his insurance details. Do not get it repaired with him 'offering' to pay it because what happens if he doesn't pay it - you're then stuck with the bill and will find it difficult to claim on his insurance.

Do it the proper way and the loss of his excess/increased insurance is all you need to get satisfaction.

[blackal]

Don't send that letter, get a quote, tell him what it is to get it repaired and ask him for his insurance details. Do not get it repaired with him 'offering' to pay it because what happens if he doesn't pay it - you're then stuck with the bill and will find it difficult to claim on his insurance.

Do it the proper way and the loss of his excess/increased insurance is all you need to get satisfaction.

I think you’re a bit late to the (3rd) party..........

[johnbaz]

Don't send that letter, get a quote, tell him what it is to get it repaired and ask him for his insurance details. Do not get it repaired with him 'offering' to pay it because what happens if he doesn't pay it - you're then stuck with the bill and will find it difficult to claim on his insurance.

Do it the proper way and the loss of his excess/increased insurance is all you need to get satisfaction.

I made this mistake years ago when my mums neighbour reversed from his mums drive at speed and smashed the nearside wing of my mk1 Escort, He said 'Get it done and i'll pay you', never ever saw him again!!


John

[Mr Tetley]

Does he have a letterbox?

That was exactly my first thought. I spend too much time on this forum.

[Slamdoor]

Well you’ve let him off Scott free. Given the evidence and his failure to report I wouldn’t have been as generous. Sod Xmas.

[Kingstepper]

Of course you really should report to insurers whatever the outcome...

[Onelasttime]

Of course you really should report to insurers whatever the outcome...

Why?

[Kingstepper]

Why?

Aren’t we obliged to inform insurers of any accidents?

[Mr Curta]

Aren’t we obliged to inform insurers of any accidents?

They’d be bloody busy keeping the records updated if people did that here.

[Onelasttime]

Aren’t we obliged to inform insurers of any accidents?

Given the choice of informing my insurer that my banger has been banged while parked up and them raising my premiums whether I claim or not, or saying nothing and sorting it myself, i’ll be saying nothing.

I don’t believe I would be committing a crime.

[Kingstepper]

Given the choice of informing my insurer that my banger has been banged while parked up and them raising my premiums whether I claim or not, or saying nothing and sorting it myself, i’ll be saying nothing.

I don’t believe I would be committing a crime.

Not a crime but probably breaking T&Cs of your insurance.

[Gyp]

I so so hope that the way in which the CCTV has been collected and shared is not in breach of GDPR.

Does the school's data protection policy for the CCTV - as shared with the Information Commissioners Office - include the purpose of investigating collisions on the road? Identifying persons in cars on that road and in their private driveways opposite?

We're the neighbours informed that they were under surveillance?

Does that policy include that the CCTV data can be shared with staff members and their relatives?

Hopefully this is all in place, as otherwise writing to tell someone they (as an individual not just their car) have been identified from the school CCTV, including on their driveway and that has been shared could prove very costly for the school!

[blackal]

I so so hope that the way in which the CCTV has been collected and shared is not in breach of GDPR.

Does the school's data protection policy for the CCTV - as shared with the Information Commissioners Office - include the purpose of investigating collisions on the road? Identifying persons in cars on that road and in their private driveways opposite?

We're the neighbours informed that they were under surveillance?

Does that policy include that the CCTV data can be shared with staff members and their relatives?

Hopefully this is all in place, as otherwise writing to tell someone they (as an individual not just their car) have been identified from the school CCTV, including on their driveway and that has been shared could prove very costly for the school!

“Wife had her car heavily reversed into today. It is street parking but a private road shared by the school she works for and large residential houses along it. The parking space is private to the school.”

So - she is an employee of the school.
Both she and the school share ownership of the road.

I think the School is well within their rights to share the information with an employee involved in an incident on their property.

[Gyp]

“Wife had her car heavily reversed into today. It is street parking but a private road shared by the school she works for and large residential houses along it. The parking space is private to the school.”

So - she is an employee of the school.
Both she and the school share ownership of the road.

I think the School is well within their rights to share the information with an employee involved in an incident on their property.

I think your emphasis is wrong regarding ownership - the road is private and shared by the school and the houses opposite, not by the school and the OP's wife.

Irrespective, since the GDPR came in earlier this year, the data (which includes CCTV) can only be used for the purposes for which it is recorded and shared with those authorised to use it for those purposes.

The penalty for doing otherwise is significant.

For me, doing what the school has done seems perfectly reasonable, however the data protection regulations say otherwise.

[BillyCasper]

I so so hope that the way in which the CCTV has been collected and shared is not in breach of GDPR.

Does the school's data protection policy for the CCTV - as shared with the Information Commissioners Office - include the purpose of investigating collisions on the road? Identifying persons in cars on that road and in their private driveways opposite?

We're the neighbours informed that they were under surveillance?

Does that policy include that the CCTV data can be shared with staff members and their relatives?

Hopefully this is all in place, as otherwise writing to tell someone they (as an individual not just their car) have been identified from the school CCTV, including on their driveway and that has been shared could prove very costly for the school!

Consent is only one form of lawfulness. Legitimate public interest, legitimate interests of the school, legal obligations of the school are all lawful reasons for collecting data other than consent. I think.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Gyp]

Consent is only one form of lawfulness. Legitimate public interest, legitimate interests of the school, legal obligations of the school are all lawful reasons for collecting data other than consent. I think.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Are you referring to the consent of the joint property owner to have the area subject to CCTV coverage?

Your comments regarding reasons for collecting data are all completely legitimate, however businesses (including schools) now have to to declare in advance what personal data (including CCTV) is being recorded, what it can be used for, by whom etc.

... And how was the email address obtained?

[Saint-Just]

Are you referring to the consent of the joint property owner to have the area subject to CCTV coverage?

Your comments regarding reasons for collecting data are all completely legitimate, however businesses (including schools) now have to to declare in advance what personal data (including CCTV) is being recorded, what it can be used for, by whom etc.

... And how was the email address obtained?

Are you saying that CCTVs fall foul of GDPR and as such the evidence they collect are no receivable in a civil action ?

[BillyCasper]

Are you saying that CCTVs fall foul of GDPR and as such the evidence they collect are no receivable in a civil action ?

CCTV use should be clearly signed.

Take a look at page 15 of this riveting 50 page guidance. Reasonable disclosure is allowed with procedural controls.

https://ico.org.uk/media/1542/cctv-code-of-practice.pdf

[Saint-Just]

thank you. I don’t know either.

[Gyp]

thank you. I don’t know either.

All I really know is that I've been stopped from using data at work as my use was not the use for which it was intended (even though all involved agreed that it would have been useful and appropriate) and I've subsequently sat through what seems like hours of GDPR training.

The key messages being

- businesses or public bodies have to state in advance and agree what data is being collected, the purpose that the data's being collected for, and who will have access to that data
- that purpose must be lawful and appropriate
- collecting anything else, using it differently or releasing it to the wrong person could end up with an eye wateringly big fine.

With that in mind, the OP's situation rang alarm bells.

[Saint-Just]

I agree. And the first eye watering fines were dished to many a well known charity so they wouldn’t think twice about going for a school.

I am not sure however that in this case GDPR would apply because banging someone’s car can hardly be called sharing data.

But I wouldn’t want to test it in court. At all.

[Gyp]

I agree. And the first eye watering fines were dished to many a well known charity so they wouldn’t think twice about going for a school.

I am not sure however that in this case GDPR would apply because banging someone’s car can hardly be called sharing data.

But I wouldn’t want to test it in court. At all.

Banging the car isn't sharing data

Sharing the CCTV footage would definitely be sharing data

Under the GDPR, the ICO can impose up fines of up to 20 million Euros or 4% of group worldwide turnover (whichever is greater) against both data controllers and data processors. Not sure with a school if the group would be the school, the local council, the department of Education...

[jaytip]

Off tangent to the OP’s original post but regarding GDPR, what is the situation regarding dash cams?
I have one in my taxi with a camera both inside and out.

[Gyp]

Off tangent to the OP’s original post but regarding GDPR, what is the situation regarding dash cams?
I have one in my taxi with a camera both inside and out.

https://www.griffinhouseconsultancy....ed-notify-ico/

[jaytip]

https://www.griffinhouseconsultancy....ed-notify-ico/

Thanks for that but unfortunately that tells me nothing for my situation because it’s my dash cam fitted in my own taxi.

[Gyp]

Thanks for that but unfortunately that tells me nothing for my situation because it’s my dash cam fitted in my own taxi.

I felt that...

"As Dashboard cams are not covered by the legislation you do not need to Notify the ICO, nor is*signage required, which is obligatory for non-domestic CCTV*cameras. However, if the Dashboard Cams *are on work or commercial vehicles, then a member of the public has the right under*Section 7 of the DPA to make a Subject Access Request to view the footage which contains their image;*for that reason a sign saying how they can apply for this may be warranted but not currently compulsory."

would cover you on the basis that your taxi is a work/commercial vehicle

[Captain Morgan]

I felt that...

"As Dashboard cams are not covered by the legislation you do not need to Notify the ICO, nor is*signage required, which is obligatory for non-domestic CCTV*cameras. However, if the Dashboard Cams *are on work or commercial vehicles, then a member of the public has the right under*Section 7 of the DPA to make a Subject Access Request to view the footage which contains their image;*for that reason a sign saying how they can apply for this may be warranted but not currently compulsory."

would cover you on the basis that your taxi is a work/commercial vehicle

It’s an unclear situation but my interpretation is this is aimed at inward facing cameras covering the driver and punters not external facing ones but i accept my interpretation is worth little until clarified by the ico or courts.