Car hit by old bloke, now he has disappeared.

LEl cheepo on 28/02/2020 - 23:56

I’ll try to be as simple and brief as possible.

My wife had her parked car hit in a car park, a note was left on her windscreen with just a number.

I rang it, spoke with “Ed” who is quite elderly beyond his years (I’ll get to why i say this)

Ed had a funny memory of what if anything happened, he was quite befuddled and difficult on the phone.
Eg: continuously asking my name and then replying “I don’t know anyone by that name”
Add into the mix a non native English woman yelling at him in the background and it was quite a strained conversation.

Eventually he remembered, he admitted to hitting it and said he has insurance etc etc.
he said he would be in contact soon but asked for a copy of my wife’s license which she sent, he sent a blurry but semi legible copy of his license but his street number was missing in the pic (rest was ok, could make it out clear enough)

He was an odd bloke to talk with and a bit difficult in general and said he cant talk anymore when we were on the phone as he had a party to go to (jealous a 68yo had a better night life then me)
Before ending the call he said he has a hospital appointment and wont talk till next week…the he sent a rambling description via txt as to the events leading up to the car been hit… that was three weeks ago.
Since then, nothing.

As my wife isn’t too phased because it’s an old car anyway I haven’t put a huge effort into chasing it up, just a few txts here and there and no response.
Tried calling yesterday and the number has been disconnected.

As mentioned, it’s an old car, 03 corolla its got a few scratches on it anyway but I figured if he is claiming on his own insurance (he said he would) i might as well get the dents and scratches he made fixed too.

Not really sure what to do from here.
The car is only insured 3rd party these days so RAC doesn’t care and won’t be chasing it up on our behalf.

So where to from here?

Other than going to the police station not really sure what to do. Even then would they care and is it worth the effort?

Poll Options

  • 39
    Forget about it and move on.
  • 14
    Keep following up on it.
Automotive

Comments

  • Clear on 29/02/2020 - 00:01
    +2

    He's obviously full of shit and taking extreme measures to avoid paying up. If it was me I'd pursue if I deemed the damage to be major. If it's minor then don't worry about it.

    Either way I have no sympathy for dishonest people.

    • El cheepo on 29/02/2020 - 00:24
      +2

      Based on principle i would usually too. But not really a lot to gain out of it plus where to go from here?
      How would I follow it up? Going looking in his street for a car that matches the damage is doable but the effort… seems unlikely to resolve anything if they don’t want to easily anyway.

    • Halo375 on 29/02/2020 - 15:36

      If he wanted to really get away with it then why did he leave his real number?

      • Clear on 29/02/2020 - 16:02
        +1

        People can change their minds.

  • Muzeeb on 29/02/2020 - 00:12
    +3

    If damage is minimal then it's not worth the battle or time.

    • El cheepo on 29/02/2020 - 00:27

      One long scratch from passenger side door to rear passenger side door and dented.
      I reckon if i were slightly motivated i could probably make the scratch less visible.
      Would rather just leave it for an insurance company to sort out. Just wishing he had given his insurance company name (if any) then could have at least dropped a phone call to check.

  • Bourb on 29/02/2020 - 05:45
    +7

    Maybe he didn't make it out of the Hospital?

    • El cheepo on 29/02/2020 - 10:13

      Also a legitimate concern of mine too, poor bloke if so.

  • Euphemistic on 29/02/2020 - 06:18
    +6

    Get a quote for the repair.
    Investigate the street on his address and try to match his name and house number using phone book online or visit the street.
    Send letter of demand

    If he pays, win. If not, you haven’t invested too much time.

    Sometimes making drivers like this accountable makes them recognise they should think about handing in the licence (before they park in a cafe)

    • El cheepo on 29/02/2020 - 10:14
      +1

      Thats what I’m telling my wife too, it’s an accountability thing.

      If he never has to own up, he might do it to multiple cars or worse, have a serious accident.

  • garetz on 29/02/2020 - 07:52
    +2

    If he was trying to get out of it, why did he leave his contact details ? Seems like a strange situation.

    • DuckKnight on 29/02/2020 - 08:30
      +1

      I'm assuming he had a spare SIM with the intention to ghost OP. I know he forwarded an ID but there's no way to confirm it's the individual responsible without meeting face to face.

    • El cheepo on 29/02/2020 - 10:13
      +1

      It’s super weird.

      I’m fairly confident it was a legitimate phone number and his id is too.
      Sounded like (this may sound offensive) he had a mail order bride situation too.

      As we were talking she was yelling in the background
      “What you do ed” you hit car?!” Etc

      Im curious if she, who ever she is has advised him to just dump the number?

      • Euphemistic on 29/02/2020 - 10:57

        If you block someone’s number what happens when they call you? Does it show as disconnected?

        Is it possible they just blocked your number?

  • Tee Rex Arms on 29/02/2020 - 08:49

    Why would the police get involved with a non-reportable TC where you’ve exchanged details already…

    • El cheepo on 29/02/2020 - 10:10

      Exactly, thats why im stumped what to do if anything at all.

  • Ocker on 29/02/2020 - 09:57

    Insulted that you deem a 68 year old an "old bloke" !!

    • El cheepo on 29/02/2020 - 10:07
      +1

      It’s not that he is 68 that made me refer to him as elderly, i work with many in their 60/70s driving trucks, it’s physical work when hitching and unhitching trailers or loading things. But those old boys still put much younger blokes to shame in how hard they work.

      I referred to him as elderly beyond his years as he didn’t seem all with it on the phone, which made me feel like he probably shouldn’t of been driving in the first place.

  • HardQuiz on 29/02/2020 - 10:04

    Could this be the new way to scam people and assume identities?

    Why did you send your wife’s DL to a random person on the phone claiming to hit your car?

    • El cheepo on 29/02/2020 - 10:09

      Its a complicated comedy of communication.

      The simple and very short answer, my wife sent it when i told her he had asked for it.

  • Cave Fire on 29/02/2020 - 11:19
    -1

    Police are usually involved when someone exchanges details and they prove to be false. Eg, phone number is not valid. They will get his details from his license. Maybe they can get the insurer details? That's pretty much all you would need. Hopefully "Ed" actually has a policy, not just ctp or something.

    • Tee Rex Arms on 29/02/2020 - 13:45

      Wrong. The required particulars are name and address and vehicle rego. Police certainly won’t go chasing phone numbers or giving that information out.

      • Cave Fire on 29/02/2020 - 15:28

        Actually, my point is that the number is now not working. I think they would give him a visit depending on case load. Has happened to me even though the family member at our house was not at fault.

  • donga100 on 29/02/2020 - 12:28

    17 year old car, I probably wouldn't bother. Scratches give character on cars like that.

  • [Deactivated] on 29/02/2020 - 12:36
    +3

    Forget about it and move on.

    It is literally what the old dude did.

    • Bignudge on 29/02/2020 - 15:30
      +1

      And that's the exact same thing he'd do if he hit a brand new Lamborghini

      • [Deactivated] on 29/02/2020 - 15:33
        +1

        Yeah. The forgetting wasn't figurative.

        The dude litetally has no recollection.

  • Bignudge on 29/02/2020 - 15:33

    Camp it out on his street for a week, look for cars parking there with corresponding damage, see where he lives…. and send a letter of demand

  • [Deactivated] on 29/02/2020 - 16:13

    68 is old now?

    • Euphemistic on 29/02/2020 - 21:00

      And woefully underpowered.

    • [Deactivated] on 01/03/2020 - 12:49

      I got called "old" by my 3-year old's friend. I'm in my 30s. Age is relative.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/03/2020 - 00:25

    Car hit by old bloke, now he has disappeared.

    Someone owes me money, now their legs are broken.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/03/2020 - 12:46
    +1

    a note was left on her windscreen with just a number.

    He wanted to do the right thing but then contacted his insurance and realised that he can't afford the excess. Either that or his missus got to him before you did. She wouldn't be impressed that he left his number when there was no witness.

    I would let it go.

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