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I had to pay for the repairs myself, the police weren't interested, and the father basically said 'tough sh1t'.
..and you didn't try pursuing it legally?
re: kid on bike hitting car.
How bad are the scratches and can you get a light cheap enough on ebay etc?
What is the car and how old is it?
I would probably go down the route of being sympathetic to their side and if the scratches were not too bad/car already scratched and it was cheap enough not bother and just fix it.
Or get a quite from a scratch repair place and find a 2nd hand headlight and see how much it's going to be. Then get a quote from an expensive place and say to the dad you would be happier with the cheaper option.
But if the cost will be more than the excess it will be hard to justify them paying for it. But don't be fooled into assuming that your daughters insurance won't go up. It will, regardless of blame so I would want to factor it in to the remuneration.
Regarding the legality make sure the car was parked legally and when you settle the financial aspects (or not if you don't want to) you probably want to get a piece of paper signed absolving your daughter of any blame/saying they won't sue her etc. There is a term for it but I'm not a laywer. Talking of which it might be worth asking one for advice, get your daughter to check her home insurance or car insurance for free legal cover.
any news yet?
I sent her an ultimatum today, and gave her 7 days to reply before I go to bikeline / her insurer. I kinda realise this is just what I should have done from day 1 but never mind. Feels like progress, but just waiting to hear from her now.
I sent her an ultimatum today, and gave her 7 days to reply before I go to bikeline / her insurer
That was what you could have done a while back. Today was your time to get lawyered-up and get them to write the letter.
Give her 168 hours and no more. She's running rings round you, as things stand.
Am I missing something? I don't see what the rush is?
I can make a claim on her insurance within three years of the accident, so a couple of weeks is neither here nor there. Obviously people on here want to read a happy ending to the story but she doesn't 'win' from this unless I give up (which I won't) or the three year clock expires (which is 2.9 years away).
The issue is that it's causing you a lot more hassle than it should and she thinks she's winning.
And she has time to come up with excuses, defences, accusations, false witnesses to support her. And the recollection of your witnesses becomes more vague, they become less supportive and interested in helping out.
You were in a rush to ask for advice, the choice to ignore the consensus (much based on experience) is yours, good luck with the final outcome.
Well done for being so patient, it's sad that your patience did not yield any results. There is some good advice on here even if the majority wont be happy until you've stormed round this woman's house, shat on her doorstep, kicked her dog and called her cat a bastard.
JonR - MemberWell done for being so patient, it's sad that your patience did not yield any results.
+1 - nice to at least try to sort it amicably.
The amicable bit was 3 weeks ago, since then the driver has apparently lied to and misled the OP, who seems to be issuing elastic deadlines. In 11+ years as a copper I've never known a case dragging on unnecessarily (eg not waiting for forensic evidence) to benefit, especially those involving witnesses who's sense of duty has a short sell-by date.
Ah well gents, it's his f up. Let him make it.
Basically OP you are being really nice about this and she is trying to **** you over,I assume you are not desperate for any money hence your laid back attitude .
I can only assume the lady in question is a very sexy, and the OP is only being this reasonable to curry favour.
It's. The. Only. Explanation.
Ummmm curry flavour 🙂 The best super noodles
I'd ask her for more money or threaten contacting her insurance company. Because being a blackmailer is still better than having to speak to an insurance company.
The week's ultimatum is nearly up. She coughed up yet?
UPDATE
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The week's ultimatum is nearly up. She coughed up yet?
Yep. She replied to my ultimatum with a counter offer of pretty much what I had in my head, and the money is now in my bank.
The amount probably wasn't quite as much as I might have received from her insurer, but overall it seems like a fair amount and I'm satisfied that I haven't ripped anyone off / put money into the hands of lawyers / insurers / driven insurance premiums up etc. So basically I'm about as happy as I could be, really.
What did I learn? I think the main point was that I was always in complete control (whether I realised it or not). My 'ultimatum' could have been made from the start and this may have been over a bit quicker, but I feel better for having at least given her a chance.
So yeah, I'm happy. I've already bought a new helmet and I've got some money to spend on another bike. Thanks for all the advice and criticism!
Happy ending. Good job for being the reasonable man in this unreasonable world. I've been following this with interest so glad to see you got a good result.
Great news.
Cool!
My 'ultimatum' could have been made from the start
Surprising that no one advised you of this earlier. Ah well, good to hear it's all resolved.
Good. you've got a pay out much quicker than you would through the courts or insurers.
Great news that you got good offer from the driver and the cash in the bank; especially without all the extra hassle and wait of having to go through more official channels.