Vehicle backed into, now what?

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DiverBob
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Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by DiverBob »

Our vehicle was parked near the Museum of Glass on Monday and was backed into with damage to the rear bumper. The person was kind enough to leave a short letter with a name and a phone number. I called the number that night, but was unable to talk to the person because he was driving. They must have programmed my number because they will not answer my phone. This morning I used my wife's phone, and actually talked to this person. He claimed there was no damage to my vehicle. I told him there was damage and that I needed his insurance info to get the repairs started. He then hung up. Ya, I believe that I'm pretty much screwed on this one, but I figured that I would ask the group. The phone number is a 510 area code, which is the Oakland, Ca area. Is there anything that I can do to locate this person with just a cell phone number? Thanks, Bob
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WylerBear
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by WylerBear »

Your first step, if you haven't already done so, is do a police report. They may have ways of tracking cell phones now. And just because it's a 510 number doesn't necessarily mean they are still living there-they could be living in Tacoma now and never changed numbers-lots of people do that now.
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Dmitchell
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by Dmitchell »

Also call your insurance Co. They don't want to be the last to know and they will usually just take over on the claim processing for you.
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dwashbur
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by dwashbur »

What everybody else said. They don't necessarily still live in California; my phone is an Idaho number but I live here, I just haven't bothered to change it. But definitely call both the police and your insurance company; between the two of them, they should be able to track this person down. They have resources that nobody else (such as you) does, and the insurance company in particular will be aggressive in finding him so they don't have to pay.
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airsix
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by airsix »

Don't give up trying to track them down. If you handle it with your own insurance you end up paying (higher premium, higher deductible, etc.) If you find out who they are you can file a claim with their insurance and then it's on them. This happened to me 2 years ago. I left my car parked at a friends house and it was hit while we were on a dive trip together. The person left a note but the spouse quickly severed communications once I started calling. First 2 calls they were real friendly and wanted to "make it right" and agreed to pay out of pocket rather than involve their insurance. I provided 2 formal estimates and sent the car to the shop at their request. Then suddenly they dropped off the face of the earth. I initially just had a cell number but I tracked them down and left messages at home, cell, and their business (a car dealer) over the course of 3-4 weeks. I was lucky in that the note they left did have the name of their insurance company so I finally just called the insurance co and explained the situation in detail. They literally gushed money on the spot.
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dsteding
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by dsteding »

What everyone else said, but in your back pocket if you can't track him down, this will likely be covered under your uninsured motorist provision of your policy. Usually this means a lower deductible and no hit on your premiums.
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Matt S.
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by Matt S. »

This happened to me once. I called the police and they told me to get lost... If I had a license place they may have pursued it, but with only a phone number (and no injury) they were not interested in investigating. Very frustrating. I hope it works out better for you!
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DiverBob
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by DiverBob »

Thanks to everyone for the replies and advice. I did contact the TPD today and filed a formal report. They seemed interested and took all of my info. She did say that the hit and run detective was very overbooked! I wish that I did have the name of the insurance company, but just a name and cell number only. I want to keep my insurance out of it as much as possible. Thanks again, Bob
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edm81363
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by edm81363 »

You could always crowd-source the problem out. Give us his number and let's see how he feels about all the phone calls he gets...
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Scubak
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by Scubak »

edm81363 wrote:You could always crowd-source the problem out. Give us his number and let's see how he feels about all the phone calls he gets...
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ArcticDiver
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by ArcticDiver »

As a person who has been in a similar situation, first of all, probably by your contract with the insurance company you cannot keep them out of it. If you notify them you will both comply with your insurance contract and get them to help you get your money IF. If the money is more than your deductible. If it is around your deductible or less they may do nothing. Mine didn't increase my premium and I doubt others will either.

With the police report and the note from the other party the insurance company may go after them anyway.

If you send the police report and the letter the other party left to DMV along with a repair estimate in many states they will put a flag on the license. Really gets in the way of renewals and can interrupt a nice evening if it comes up on a traffic stop for some other reason.

Just some ideas from my experience.

Oh yes, once you get the go ahead from your insurance you might as well get it repaired. Whether you can negotiate a better rate with the shop than the insurance rate is up to you.
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dwashbur
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by dwashbur »

ArcticDiver wrote:As a person who has been in a similar situation, first of all, probably by your contract with the insurance company you cannot keep them out of it. If you notify them you will both comply with your insurance contract and get them to help you get your money IF. If the money is more than your deductible. If it is around your deductible or less they may do nothing. Mine didn't increase my premium and I doubt others will either.

With the police report and the note from the other party the insurance company may go after them anyway.
Agreed. There's no reason to keep your insurance company out of it, because this is their job. It's what you pay them ridiculous premiums for. And since it wasn't your fault, you weren't even there at the time, it won't raise your rates at all. (If it does, you need a new company.) Get them working for you, because they'll be relentless in their pursuit of this person.
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John Rawlings
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by John Rawlings »

One other point - if you have "uninsured motorist" coverage, (which covers things like this), by Washington State law if your insurance company EVER is able to find this guy and squeeze money out of him the very first check the company cuts MUST be to you to reimburse you for whatever your deductable is. I discovered that little bit of information years ago when I suddenly received a check from my company that had tracked down a guy that had smashed into me and had no coverage.

Good luck....if nothing else try to make sure that dishonesty doesn't pay for this clown.

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pogiguy05
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by pogiguy05 »

You can also try one thing I learned from someone, type their number into a search engine and see what comes up. I did this when I get these marketing people calling.
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BASSMAN
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Re: Vehicle backed into, now what?

Post by BASSMAN »

edm81363 wrote:You could always crowd-source the problem out. Give us his number and let's see how he feels about all the phone calls he gets...
Come on Bob! Give up the number, we'll totally blow up his phone with a simple, "Pay Bob now!" message or what ever you want us to say. :smt064

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