Yesterday, my mother, my daughter & i were leaving the mall when i was involed in a small fender bender..?

Question

I checked both ways before i began backing out of the parking space & then a car drove into the rear/side of my SUV. I immediately pulled back into the space and got out. At first i thought it was my fault. The guy driving the other car insisted on NOT calling the police because he didnt see my backing lights. I urged him to exchange phone numbers incase we would like our cars to be fixed & finally convinced him to do so. I told my husband & he was irate that we didnt call the police so we could figure out who was at fault. The guy called today and asked me to bring him $250. I talked to his mother and told her i will need a written estimate for my husband (still waiting for a reply to that) My car is going to take atleast $150 to fix. But i am assuming he is now faulting me for the accident. My husband is now refusing to pay...what should i do? I am still unsure of who is to blame for the "fender bender" It is initially up to my husband but i dont want a guilty conscience or bad karma

Answer 1

1. you are at fault for failure to maintain control of your vehicle while backing out.

2. call the police and get some type of report now before the other person calls the police and reports this as a hit and run, and yes I have seen this many times.

3. call your insurance company and get this on file for your protection.

Answer 2

Check with the local PD and see if they require any kind of report...Ask if you can file a report after the fact...(In CA, a police report is only required if there are injuries or a traffic hazard.)...Take photos of the damage (include date stamp)...If the damage is less than the cost of your insurance deductible, it is not worth it to report to insurance...Since both vehicles only seem to be scratched, it would appear to be a case of 'you take of yours and I'll take care of mine.'...Do not send any money to the other party...If you think you might contest the other party's accusation of fault, then you'll want to have the insurance get involved.

All the best

Answer 3

If you were backing up, you were at fault. Your husband is right about calling the police though. As a licensed driver, you should have at least a basic idea about what to do in an accident. At this point, I would not pay a dime!

Answer 4

From now on dont ever do that again. Always get the information and always call the police. Your insurance company will most likely not pay to fix your vehicle. You could go to the mall and see if they have outside camera's - if you could find your accident on camera you would then have proof of who was at fault.

Answer 5

Call your insurance company and tell them what happened. A lot of times police don't get involved in small parking lot accidents on private property.

Regardless, tell your insurance agent everything and that the guy wants the money etc..and get his advise.

Don't pay the guy the money..Maybe he doesn't even have ins. He would either have to sue you in small claims or go thru his ins. to file a claim against you.  Chances are he has no ins. that's why he didn't want the cops involved.

Don't worry, your rates won't go up just asking your agent about this :)) GOOD LUCK

Answer 6

You are at fault.  No matter what the other guy was doing, you have to yield to him when you are backing out of a spot.  Your husband needs to grow up (a 24 year old saying this) and face the consequences.  First thing you need to do is report it to your insurance company.  Instead of giving the guy money, tell him to contact his insurance company.  They will square everything away.