What would you do in this situation?

[Midlodemocrat]

A couple of weeks ago I backed into a Honda Pilot, literally tapped the bumper, but someone was sitting in the car. I got out right away, and it appeared that there was no damage. Of course, the driver got out and said that there was a huge dent "right, in a plastic bumper". Then the woman driving it says 'you really whacked us'...Yup, going backwards with the car under its own power.

So, I called the cops because she was being such a pill about it. The cops came, said it was a non reportable accident because there was such little damage. I told the owner that I would pay for the damage.

Here's the kicker. There was a scratch of paint the size of your thumbnail. The asswipe owner wanted to replace the entire bumper. Okay, I paid him $450.

Today, he called and says that he needs $150 more because there is more damage.

I hung up on him.

I am not giving him another dime. I swear to you, I 'tapped' the bumper. It was the kind of tap that if you had done it in a parking lot and there was no one in the car, you would have just driven on because there was no visible damage.

[MissMillie]

1. hindsight

always keep a disposable camera in your glove compartment....

[Midlodemocrat]

4. I took a picture with my cell phone, but it was night time.

One of my friends came and witnessed it. Literally, a scratch mark of paint the size of your thumbnail.

[Squatch]

6. Unfortunately, you thought the damage was enough to

replace his whole bumper for him, so he may be able to make some claim in court.

[Midlodemocrat]

11. I didn't think that. He took it to the auto body shop

and that's what they said. Plastic bumper and all that. Now he is claiming that some air intake thingy was damaged. How do I know that HE or his wife didn't do that?

Not giving him another cent.

[Squatch]

12. Well, you did pay him $450...

[Midlodemocrat]

13. Because I agreed to repair the damage.

And because they were being such dicks about it.

How do I know this damage is from the same situation?

I kid you not. I was backing up, foot on the brake and tapped the car. Tap.

If I hit it the way they are talking, the air bags would have gone off.

[Squatch]

14. But, you said the extent of his damage was a scratch.

Certainly, that's not worth $450.

You got fleeced and they're going to try to fleece you again.

[Midlodemocrat]

15. It was. But with plastic bumpers, they have to replace the

whole thing.

[Squatch]

16. They couldn't just paint it?

[Midlodemocrat]

17. Apparently not.

Plastic bumpers, no dent, nothing, just a paint chip off.

I guess this guy felt that he should get a whole new bumper out of the deal. I hope a hummer drives over their car while they are parked at Ukrop's.

[Squatch]

18. Some people will try to screw you just to be mean.

That's why you have to be mean back.

[Squatch]

2. I would have told him to shove it, in the first place.

[Floogeldy]

3. Screw 'em.

Let 'em try to sue you in small claims court. Gets pics of the car's bumper if you can.

[Midlodemocrat]

7. Obviously, if he is shaking me down for $150, he can't afford to

sue me.

I understand the whole 'my new car' thing, but for Christ's sake, grow the fuck up. Someone whacked the shit out of my car at a funeral a year ago and kept going.

Suck. It. Up.

I'm not answering the phone.

[pitohui]

21. sure he can afford it, it costs all of $60

for $150 he can file a small claim, doesn't need an attorney, costs $60 around here

the minute you paid those people money, you acknowledged that you were somehow in the wrong and owed them something, now they've pounced on it

don't answer the phone is OK as far as it goes but you may need to take more assertive action than that to protect yrself from further extortion attempts

[Midlodemocrat]

28. I doubt he can afford that.

How do I know that in the three weeks since the accident that they didn't cause this additional damage?

I don't. That is my point. He can sue me all he wants, but there is no way I am giving him a penny without a court order.

[pitohui]

32. good you are doing the right thing

just keep control of your cell phone photo, police report, etc.

if a yr goes by and they haven't filed, they can't file around here


unfortunately once a deadbeat gets $$$ out of a person, they keep coming around unless you give them NO encouragement

[underpants]

5. He already got you for more than he should have

Ignore him.

[Midlodemocrat]

8. You know. I was really, really nice about it.

My deductible is $1000, so I told them just to let me know how much it was. It happened on a Thursday. This guy TOOK THE DAY OFF Friday to go and get an estimate. Called me Saturday with the amount. I put the check in his box Wednesday.

3 weeks ago.

I just got off the phone with my husband who said the same thing. Ignore him.

[underpants]

10. Yep

This guy seems to think you are an ATM.

[two gun sid]

9. It was damn nice of you to even pay as much as you did...

don't give these pricks another cent.

[pitohui]

19. it wasn't nice, it was stupid

by paying $450 on a claim w. no police report she has already acknowledged that she did something wrong

i think she has a good chance of losing in small claims court

what will the judge see, that she hit the car, she claims nothing happened but paid $450 anyway? i dunno, that's not going to play well, the judge has to assume that she was in the wrong and knew it

what's done is done, however, extortion is illegal and i would strongly consider AGAIN trying to make a police report, this time explaining that the person has twice tried to extort money for you from an accident where the cops came out and determined there was no damage, did you get that cops name at least since he refused to make a report? it will be hard to explain why you paid the first time, but at least you can try to get some documentation that this person is harassing you for money

the cops may again say they won't take your report but if the person realizes that you are thinking abt documenting an extortion claim, then maybe they'll go hassle someone else

i'm thinking they make a living doing this as i knew someone who did, normal people don't sit around parking lots waiting to be tapped by other cars

they never go to jail for this, best you can do is scare them off and hope they find easier prey

didn't your mama or your insurance agent ever explain to you that you never, ever admit to blame in an accident, you wait for the police or the court to decide that

[Midlodemocrat]

20. Um. There was a police report.

The amount of damage is considered non reportable in VA, but they were being such assholes, I called the cops to protect myself.

[pitohui]

24. good, get a copy of that report

and call and see if you can file a new report, because you are being extorted

[Midlodemocrat]

25. I have a copy. The cop gave it to me that night.

He was practically laughing at the absurdity of the entire situation.

[pitohui]

31. it may seem absurd to them, but it isn't absurd to us

like i said, i knew some people who were accident victims for profits

it ain't exactly rare, i think there is a class of people who share information and even attorneys w. ea. other in order to profit off nonsense like this

some of these folks are really good and actually pretend to be all nice and have a smile and a "honey, we'll work this out w.out calling the cops" and then come back later to sue you, that's what happened to me, well, they ended up suing my insurance company and they lost the case, but i learned from that if it's important enough to exchange information it's important enough to get police documentation, no extortionist will ever again try to file hit and run charges on me to get more $$ out of me when i damn well didn't hit and run in the first place!

there are predators out there who prey on decent people and it just pisses me off

[two gun sid]

33. Have you contacted your auto insurance provider?

Tell them what has happened and what actions you have taken.

[Midlodemocrat]

35. No, I haven't.

My deductible is $1000 because the car is five years old, so I wanted to save a little cash on premiums.

I should do that, though. Good idea.

[two gun sid]

36. I don't know if this will help, but, here's a link:...

http://accident-law.freeadvice.com/auto/

Good luck and I still think it was pretty nice of you to try to make it right. Sometimes, no good deed goes unpunished though.

[Wcross]

22. I have always wondered about "pre-damaged" cars.

Have you ever seen a car wthat has been damaged and not repaired out on the road? Lets say you accidently rear-end them, how do they prove how much damage you did and what as already there? How do you prove the car was already damaged?

[GOPisEvil]

23. Fuck him!

I quote from the estimate to repair my car after a minor accident, where I was the middle car in a 3 car collision.

The estimate covers front and rear bumpers and a bracket for the front license plate. The total: $389.50. The paint? $249.60. $450 is more than enough for one bumper and a paint job. If he wants more money, ask to see statements from 3 body shops. In fact, you probably should have done that in the first place, but that's neither here nor there.

[Midlodemocrat]

26. The place he went is pretty good. I was going to have him

go there, but he went on his own.

My thing is, how do I know that they didn't do more damage in the three weeks since the accident? I don't.

[GOPisEvil]

29. I'd call the body shop myself then.

See what they tell you...

[Midlodemocrat]

30. I just did.

The damage is interior damage, something about an air intake valve, or something. I COULD have done it, but who's to say that they didn't do it in the three weeks since the accident?

I feel stupid even putting accident in writing, because it is so ridiculous.

He got the first estimate the day after the bumper thumper, now three weeks later he tells me he needs more money?

And, the auto body guy even said it was a bit of stretch to replace the whole bumper because the damage was so miniscule.

He can go pound sand.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

27. As long as you didn't put it in writing, just ignore the prick.

You don't owe him shit.

[skygazer]

34. I had something similar happen

I hit an oil slick on the road one night - Highway 17 just south of Los Gatos for those who are familiar with the road; not a good place to do donuts. Did a complete 360 (amazingly without hitting anyone) and managed to pull over to the side. Another car pulled up in front of me.

I wasn't even aware of hitting him but he claimed that I tapped his rear bumper. When I looked, there was a small black streak from my rubber bumper - no dent, no damage, no scrape. We exchanged information and continued on our way.

About a week or so later, I got a call from the guy. I could tell he was being prompted by someone in the background and he claimed to have taken the car to a body shop and they gave him an estimate of $350 for the "damage." He wanted me to pay him so we didn't have to fool with the insurance companies.

I told him, "That's what I have insurance for. Either make a claim through your company or live with it." And I hung up.

Never heard another thing about it. He was trying to fleece me and you have already been fleeced. I would not allow myself to be fleeced any more than you already have been.