Douchebags.
Back in Feb, my dad was visiting a relative in Wales who happens to live on one of the many narrow, residential roads with parked cars on either side that Wales seems to be made up of. He was slowly moving down the road, looking for a parking space when he noticed a car coming the other way. He decided to edge as close to the side as possible to let the car by; however, in doing so he scraped against an '05 reg Ford Focus on the wheel-arch, taking some paint off of it (as I understand).
My dad decided to be nice, and left an apologetic note with his mobile number on it so the owner could contact him. They did ring him, and when he wanted to swap insurance details the owner said that that wasn't necessary and they'd just get their insurance company to sort it out (???). Anyway, my dad ended up claiming on his own insurance for the damage to his own car and we pretty much forgot about it from then onwards.
Fast-forward to yesterday evening, I come home to find some county court papers lying on the doormat. Turns out, the owner has decided to bring the matter to court, and they want:
What the actual fuck?
They do fuck-all for 5 months and then suddenly decide they want to sue my dad?? Why in the hell did they not just claim off of dad's insurance?? It doesn't affect their premium in anyway, as far as I know, because my dad admitted fault! Also, over a grand for a bit of paint work? It didn't sound like there was very much damage to the car, at least not a grand's worth of damage. And hire car for a week?? My dad's car was done and dusted in three days and that was longer than expected due to my dad deciding to get some extra work done. The owner totally just hired a car for a week so they could have two cars for a bit, or something.
Gene says it best...
My dad decided to be nice, and left an apologetic note with his mobile number on it so the owner could contact him. They did ring him, and when he wanted to swap insurance details the owner said that that wasn't necessary and they'd just get their insurance company to sort it out (???). Anyway, my dad ended up claiming on his own insurance for the damage to his own car and we pretty much forgot about it from then onwards.
Fast-forward to yesterday evening, I come home to find some county court papers lying on the doormat. Turns out, the owner has decided to bring the matter to court, and they want:
- £1084 and some pence for repairs to the car
- £400-something for a week's car hire
- £80 solicitor fee
- Some double-digit amount for court fees
What the actual fuck?
They do fuck-all for 5 months and then suddenly decide they want to sue my dad?? Why in the hell did they not just claim off of dad's insurance?? It doesn't affect their premium in anyway, as far as I know, because my dad admitted fault! Also, over a grand for a bit of paint work? It didn't sound like there was very much damage to the car, at least not a grand's worth of damage. And hire car for a week?? My dad's car was done and dusted in three days and that was longer than expected due to my dad deciding to get some extra work done. The owner totally just hired a car for a week so they could have two cars for a bit, or something.
Gene says it best...