On Saturday night someone drove into the side of our car while it was parked. They left a phone number which didn't check out and then left.

I called the police and they came out to take details. The next day they called to say that the person had reported the incident at their local police station. They say, however, that they can't give me the persons name or insurance details because of data protections issues. They will however, release the details to my insurer.

My concern is that the details will get lost in the process and I'll end up having to pay the £250 excess on the policy.

So is this particular plod talking ball cocks, and / or is there a way I can persuade the police to give me the details?

It's data protection gone mad I tell ye!

Your car was stationary though. You will get your excess back. Do you have legal insurance as well on your policy?

Get your insurers to contact the plod directly and make contact, once they've confirmed they've done that then any cock ups are their problem, you'll have nothing to worry about.

i'd have thought the threat of details 'getting lost in the system' would be an argument FOR data protection rules rather than against them.

and there is no way they should release the details to you, despite the fact that they left the wrong phone number and more than likely had an ulterior reason to do so (possibly over the limit/not insured driver etc), it is up to the courts to take care of your claim, not you.

Your car was stationary though. You will get your excess back. Do you have legal insurance as well on your policy?

Eh? Why would I get my excess back if I can't prove who did it and have their insurance details?

I do have legal insurance, but for the sake of £250, I'm reluctant to start something which will undoubtadly zap a lot of time and energy.

I just want to know why I can't know something which if I had caught the person doing it, they would be legally obliged to tell me.

and there is no way they should release the details to you

Can you explain in simple english why they shouldn't tell me? They told a police officer something which if I had been present at the incident, they would have been obliged to tell me.

Confused from Perthshire 😕

The Police have a duty to protect the guilty as well as the innocent, if they bandied about the details given to them in reports then we'd just live in a society of retaliatory action. For all the police know you could be planning to go round there with a baseball bat and duff the driver up.

The Police have a duty to protect the guilty as well as the innocent, if they bandied the details given to them in reports then we'd just live in a society of retaliatory action. For all the police know you could be planning to go round there with a baseball bat and duff the driver up.

This has to be nonsense or the public would never know the names and addresses of anyone that was accused, but not convicted of a crime.

urm, they don't unless they are charged 😯

I asked the Police for the first name of one of my neighbours, as he has been in trouble in the past, and I was told that they couldn't for data protection reasons, so I would suggest that the PC you spoke to wasn't talking rubbish.

just ask the police officer for the accident ref number and contact details for the accident records office, pass these onto your insurance company, and let them do the work, thats why you pay them a premium

Well in the case of a normal car crash, yes they're obliged to give their details. But since the info has gone via the police it probably does fall under their rules to not tell you. There's no reason TO tell you, getting them "just in case" doesn't really make much sense. If they get lost in the system it's their fault, not yours.

urm, they don't unless they are charged

Oh so you can only know if the Police are convinced that they did do it, and that there is a good chance of a prosecution – that makes sense then 😯

😯

and i'm out.

time for a bath

If they get lost in the system it's their fault, not yours.

But that will be of little comfort when the insurance company shrug their shoulders and say I have to cough up the excess.

michael – sorry, I didn't mean to be obstinate. I'm just amazed by the whole situation. I know they have to protect the accused etc., but it would make life so much easier for me and them (paper work wise) if they just said here are the details, speak to your insurance, the matter is closed.

As it is, presumably, I could pursue a case of failing to stop and provide details, and get them charged, just to force the issue of finding out who they are?

Bizarre.

I'm kinda with you on this one.
The Police aren't gonna give you anymore details than you would have got had the bloke left the correct details in the first place.
You don't have to provide your address to a the other party, so risk of retaliation & duffing up is a bit of a nonsense, really.

As said though, get all the info from the Police & let your insurance company deal with it.
Hopefully you'll get it sorted quicker than my incident in July when a woman crashed into my car & then claimed I hit her stationary vehicle. It's still ongoing & my insurance is due at the end of the month. Currently, the insurance company is quoting me almost double what it would if this current claim nonsense had been sorted, as it assumes the worst outcome. They will refund the difference if there's a satisfactory outcome though apparently, but will leave me out of pocket in the short-term, over & above the £250 I have already stumped up for my excess.

Good luck with yours! Hopefully it will be a bit more clear cut.

Geoffj,

I understand your frustrations with this nonsense. Here is some (hopefully) simple advice.

As has already been said, get the accident reference number from the police. Forward this to your insurance company. They know which police department to contact, and will be given all the details of the driver and their insurers in order to pursue a claim.

Check if you have "uninsured loss recovery" on your policy. This may allow you to get back out of pocket expenses, such as your excess and travel/hire car costs if your car is off the road.

On that subject, keep everything that will show your expenses….receipts, etc.

I know it's a pain, but a car can be replaced…at least you or someone you care about hasn't been hurt. It could have been much worse……….

geoff… isn't what the police are doing easier for you? They are saying, here is the incident number, give that to the insurance company, and the matter is then closed.

Why does knowing the details of the other party make any difference to you in the slightest?

If the details are subsequently lost (why would they be?), then you most likely have a claim against the Police, or more likely, your insurance company will have.

geoff… isn't what the police are doing easier for you? They are saying, here is the incident number, give that to the insurance company, and the matter is then closed.

I've not really thought about it like that, but maybe.

I guess I should have more faith in my insurance company and the police – now there's a thought 😉

Geoff
Your getting upset about something that hasn't happened. regardless of whether the number left on your car was duff the person then went to the fuzz and handed in their details too, so I would presume they left the original number in good faith even if it was a wrong one. If the the driver had other intentions there wouldn't have been a phone no on the sheet of paper, it would have read "I crashed into your car, now I'm leaving a note so that the people who saw me do it think I'm doing the decent thing and leaving my details, but I'm not, Cha cha"

Theres nothing for the fuzz to cock up as they have an accurate record of the drivers details on file, you can't assume that the insurance co are going to cock it up from here, but if they cock it up they will, with your persistence, cough up.

The police will have a better record of the drivers ID than the driver would have given to you if you were there, or that you could have given to both your insurer and the police. There is already a incident number, so you don't need to start the process of getting one, so your a step ahead.

WIN

OK I'm convinced. I'm going to sit back and have faith.

And if it all goes Pete Tonge I'll be back on here in a month with a grumpier head on 😆

EDIT: And yes it is only a tin box, no one was hurt etc., in the grand scheme of things, it is pretty irrelevant.

But that will be of little comfort when the insurance company shrug their shoulders and say I have to cough up the excess.

Why would they lose it? And the Police will have it on record now as a reported accident, they dont just note things down on a post-it and hope the next person picks up the note on the next shift.

And if it all goes Pete Tonge I'll be back on here in a month with a grumpier head on

MAK SURE YOU HAV THE CAPSLOPK ON TOOOO! 😀

Why would they lose it? And the Police will have it on record now as a reported accident, they dont just note things down on a post-it and hope the next person picks up the note on the next shift.

CK – fair point, well made.

erm…..well the police lost the file for an accident my brother had, when some nutter came round a corner on the wrong side of the road & hit his car before crashing his own car into a speed camera, uprooting it & rolling the car. They reckon he was doing at least 70 in a 40 to uproot the camera.

The bloke legged it, and when the police turned up to the address the car was registered to, funnily enough no one had ever heard of him. 3 months down the line, they had no record of the incident number and had lost all the statements, photos etc. taken at the time.

I'm sure this won't happen in your case though 😉

It is quite clear that this is how the system works.

The Road Crash Unit for that particular Police Force will hold all the records of the crash.

You inform your insurance company about the crash and furnish them with the relevant Crash Reference Number.

Your insurance company will then contact the Police to obtain details of the other driver and the details recorded by the Police of the other drivers insurance company. They will then contact the other parties insurers and begin the process of recovering costs for your repairs. In the meantime your insurance company will contact you and organise for the repairs to your vehicle to commence.

Simples! 😀

Good luck

MUTDs

geoffj

It shouldn't be as bleak as you think regards the insurance. Someone ran into me a few months ago, he accepted liability, we swapped details and I went off to get a quote for the repairs. When talking to the guy in the repair shop, he told me that as I wasn't liable for the accident it wouldn't cost me a penny. Not only that, but I would also get a courtesy car equal to my own car while it was being repaired. (I got a Renault Megane to replace my Mondeo).

You inform your insurance company about the crash and furnish them with the relevant Crash Reference Number.

Mmm – I asked the PC for a reference number – "oh we don't do those, just give them my shoulder number and contact details".

Hire car is being delivered and ours is going to the body shop tomorrow. All very efficient so far.

geoffj

Sounds like a lazy copper to me. Ignore that call the police for your area on their local 0845 ask to be put through to their Road Crash Records Office for that area, if they won't give you the reference ask which office is dealing with it and give those details to your insurers.

MUTDs

I was involved in an RTA last year and the police arrived at the scene, from what I recall he got my policy number for me (from my reg and details) and gave it to the other guy and did the same for him and gave it to me (remember his hand writing was rubbish and was hard to read). Anyway about a week later I had a letter from his insurance company which listed his full details.
The Police officer did it secretly on little slips of paper and then the insurance company gives me all his details!

I am surprised they wouldn't give you his name and insurance details as surely that would save them hassle and what should be exchanged at the scene of an accident.

I am surprised they wouldn't give you his name and insurance details as surely that would save them hassle and what should be exchanged at the scene of an accident.

Me too 🙄

The police can't release the details to a member of the public because they would be braking the law! It's not their fault the legislation is written that way. If you had exchanged details at the scene the police wouldn't have had to attend anyway. You can always phone up the local station and obtain the incident number from their call handling system if you are desperate for a reference number. Not sure what you are worried about. It's the insurance company who should be worrying about finding the details so they can claim against the other parties insurer.

It is quite clear that this is how the system works.

The Road Crash Unit for that particular Police Force will hold all the records of the crash.

You inform your insurance company about the crash and furnish them with the relevant Crash Reference Number.

Your insurance company will then contact the Police to obtain details of the other driver and the details recorded by the Police of the other drivers insurance company. They will then contact the other parties insurers and begin the process of recovering costs for your repairs. In the meantime your insurance company will contact you and organise for the repairs to your vehicle to commence.

Simples!

Pretty much.

(Where applicable) The Police fill out long winded report forms for collisions etc which list out the cars, drivers, passengers, insurance details, injuries, road conditions at the time, events and likely contributing factors to the cause of the incident. This is then filed away as already said for the insurance to pull from the Police.

Amongst other things, filling in the form is done on behalf of the insurance company, who would have had to do the same work anyway. But as its cost the Police time and effort to do it, for an action which may not necessarily be a criminal issue ( i.e. Not necessarily a Police matter ), the insurance companies are meant to pay a fee to get the form. This helps pay for the Police's time and effort to do the work. Some companies try and pap the getting of the info onto the drivers by asking them to pester the police for it and so avoid them paying the fee.

I may be worth pursuing a little more though, as there is a duty for the driver to leave more than just a phone number …. as below.

( This is greatly paraphrased by the way, but is the salient points )
———————————————————-

S.170 – RTA 88 – Reportable Road Crash
If crash occurs owing to an MPV ( Mechanically Propelled Vehicle ) on the road, it is reportable if
• Personal injury other than the driver occurs
• Damage caused to other vehicle or trailer
• Injury caused to animal not being carried
• Damage to property ( permanent fixed items, not bins etc ) is caused

S.170(2) – RTA 88 – Stop and Supply Details
Driver of an MPV involved in a reportable crash must
• STOP
• Supply details to any person have reasonable grounds to need them
• Name, address, VRM of vehicle

Offence not to stop and supply details.

S.170(5) – RTA 88 – Produce Insurance
Where a reportable crash
• Involves personal injury
• To someone other than the driver
• The person must produce their insurance certificate at the time of the crash
• To a constable
• To any other person having reasonable grounds to supply need it.

Failing that, report to Police station as soon as reasonably practicable within 24hrs and produce certificate then.

———————————————————-

So OK, he's contacted the Police within the 24hrs, but he could have left you a bit more than just a phone number.

Ultimately, I think the insurance is the route to go and hound them.