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Hit and Run - Please Help !!


sidicks
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This morning my wife was the victim of a driver which crashed into her car and then failed to stop. Fortunately my wife is unhurt, but there is major damage to the front wing, wheel and driver's door of her car. (2005 A3 Sportback)

She has protected no claims, so the insurance issue isn't a major problem, however obviously we want the other driver to pay for the damage and if necessary be prosecuted for failing to stop etc.

She has reported the incident to the policy already, but now has to go to the police station to present all of her documents - is this normal ??

My concern is that the other driver may well try and get the damage on their van repaired, and hence if the police do try and contact them, the evidence may be removed.

Given the registration number of the van, is it possible to find out the owner / registered keeper so that we can try and find the van and take some pictures of the damage?

Any help you can give would be much appreciated !!

Cheers

Sidicks

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Yes, it's normal for the police to want to see all your details.. don't worry about it.. it's all routine.

If you have the reg of the van you should have no problems..

a) the police can track them and should/will do

b) If you have legal cover on your insurance then this will cover this.. they will chase that driver and his insurance.

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[ QUOTE ]

She has reported the incident to the policy already, but now has to go to the police station to present all of her documents - is this normal ??

[/ QUOTE ]

Both parties typically get a stop notice after an accident - don't worry about that!

You can contact DVLA to get the keeper details. Just say the vehicle collided with you!

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Thanks.

I'm sure that previously someone has posted a website where you can input a registration number and get details of the vehicle (but not the name and address).

My wife is 90% sure she got the plate correct, but I'd like to see if I can verify it myself.....??

sidicks

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I had this happen to me in France, years and years ago.

I was filling up with petrol and this car reversed into me, smashing my rear light cluster. Chased after him, alors alors! grin.gif but he drove off.

Luckily the station assistant had seen it and got his number. He filled in this long form.. in French.

Anway, when i got home i sent this for to my insurance company and they sorted the whole thing out.. and claimed on matey's insurance.. bonus 169144-ok.gif

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My greatest sympathies - this happend to me a few months ago and the feelings that I went through I wouldn't like to repeat in a hurry.

My car, which was parked outside the house, was hit by a car which failed to stop.

Luckily I got the number of the car that hit us, called the Police immediately, and reported the incident. We called the insurance company the next day and visited the Police station with all our details to report it officially, fill out forms etc.

Amazingly the Police had already found the car abandoned a few miles away, and moved it into the pound. The next day a shamefaced youngster came in to ask for it back, as it was his dad's car. He was insured and was allowed to drive it, and also admitted hitting my car and failing to stop.

So in the end, it was a simple insurance job for £5k's damage with no cost to me or No claims Discount etc. I do count myself lucky that the car wasn't already stolen, the driver was found quickly etc, as that was always a fear in the back of our mind.

My advice is to get on to the Police ASAP and push them to track the offending vehicle, and owner, so it can be proved that the van was the one involved in the crash, so that any claim can be pinned against them.

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other thing to do is were was the accident ? you may find there was a local shop / bank / traffic camera that had cameras near buy - think about the route the cars may have taken to get there - no harm in popping in to the shop etc and asking for a copy of a tape ! this happened to me years ago - it was near a funeral directors and tehy have a cammera out the front - we popped in and asked if by any chance it was recording - it was - we then were abel to give the police a copy of the tape which showed the driver - and case closed.. very usefull. so many places have cameras now, at least she is unharmed

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I really appreciate all the help from people on here. Unfortunately my wife has remembered the registration number of the van incorrectly, so we will have to use the links that people have kindly provided to try different combinations to find the correct plate.

So far the police have been extremely helpful, and have suggested that there may be some CCTV cameras that may have filmed the incident. We will also talk to some shops in the area to see whether they have any useful footage.

The worst case is that the driver can't be traced and we are left with paying the excess for the insurance (the NCB is protected, so won't be lost).

Worse things happen at sea, as they say, and so after a stressful day for my wife sorting out the admin etc, things don't seem so bad now.

Thanks for all the helpful comments - I'll keep you updated on progress!!

beerchug.gif

Sidicks

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They don't even ask how many years NCB you have anymore, they just seem to ask if you have claimed in the last 5 years.

Your policy does go up, but you then get you NCB discount deducted. However most policies charge you 20% for protecting, your policy will only go up 20% if you do claim, so you may as well pay it if you have an accident.

You are paying the same to protect it just in case.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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