Dear all:
I went to downtown SF three weeks ago to shop a perfert gift for my gf for valentines. Downtown is always a pain in a** for parking, but gladly, I found a parking space on the street that is just big enough to fit in my G.

Before I left, I found out that the car (white accord 00') in front of me had someone sitting inside, and it seemed that it was leaving. I wanted to wait for the accord first because it made me easier to get out.

The driver of that white accord just started the engine and nothing else. After waiting for about 1~2 minutes, I decided to go. The space between us was tiny but I was able to drive away after 3 turns of steering wheels.

Yesterday I received a call from that driver. He claimed that I hit his car's rear bumper and the scratch on his bumper cannot be repainted. He said that he copied down my license plate and got my home phone number from Police Dept.

My question is:

1. Can police release personal information by license plate to anyone???
2. Now he said that he is being nice enough to settle down with me under table (not reporting to insurance company), and he said that he has a friend who runs a auto shop and can do repair for 1500~3000.

What in the hell would a bumper cost 1500~3000?

3. I did not find any scratch on my front bumper, and I was sure that I did not hit anyone (I dont think I was stupid enough not to notice it). What should I do? Should I ignore him? Report to Police or?

My insurance agent is an ***; basically he just asked me to call the insurance company (something like the 800 number) and reported to them. My insurance agent IS FIRED for sure! But regarding this incident, any of you ever had similar experiences that you can share with me? Or any suggestion???

Thank you all =__=

 

I would give your insurance company all the info and report it as a fraudulent claim. Is it possible to have done $1500-3000 damage to his car without any damage to yours? Your insurance company should be able to settle that question pretty quickly. Either way, you have car insurance to protect yourself and your property, including the possibility that you'll be wrongly accused.

Regarding if the police can release your home phone number to a stranger with your license plate number. I doubt it. I'm certain the police could contact you regarding a complaint (you would get that contact in writing) but there's no way they would give your phone number to a stranger.

 

A friend of mine was just rear-ended in his new Acura TSX. There were some scratches to the bumper and a puncture about 1 inch in diameter. He was able to have this fixed at a shop that provided a lifetime warranty for the work and it was $550. It now looks like new. If you just scratched the guys bumber, it should be repairable even if it was a deep scratch. If it comes down to it, have your insurance company get involved, and they'll do an appraisal on the work required. Don't give this f__ker any money to have his "friend" fix it. Sounds like fraud to me.

 

Sounds like that crook had dollar signs in his eyes when he saw you driving a nice G. Here's what I would do.

1. Call him back and get all his information. His full name, CDL number, address, license plate number of his car, insurance carrier, etc. My guess is he'll refuse to give you that info. Tell him you have to have the info for your insurance. If he refuses to give you any info or gives you bogus info, then you know for sure he's a fraud.

2. I would call the SF Police Dept. and report the info. They will probably just take a report over the phone. If and when they contact the guy, I'm sure he'll leave you alone after that.

3. Take a bunch of good pics of your front bumper. This is to show you have no damage.

4. Under NO circumstances should you give this guy any cash whatsoever.

I hope this helps.

 

i agree with all the above posts. IN NO WAY, SHOULD YOU GIVE THE CON MAN ANY MONEY!!!! let the cops and insurance companies sort it out. considering the fact that your car has NO damage on it, it would seem unlikely for him to prove that you hit his car. in court, he would have to prove that your car caused the damage on his car. considering how "soft" our car's paint and bumpers are, there would obviously be damage if you hit something even at slow speeds.

just make sure you don't park outdoors in front of your house until this is settled. if he was given your address, he can go to your place and cause damage to your front bumper to make evidence against you.

 

Repoprting it to your insurance company doesn't mean they will pay it. Your liability policy covers you for a defense of this case as well. Not just what you pay out to other people. Remember, the burden of proof is on this guy. He would have to prove with a preponderance of evidence that you caused damage to his vehicle. This is especially difficult without a statement from you that would admit contact occurred or without an independent witness that might substantiate the case. Secondly, the physical damage is also going to be important. Looking for damage to your car that would match his is helpful. Particularly in cases like this, an inspector will put a tape measure against your car so you can show the height of key points on your car. Secondly, if there is no damage to your car, it can help your case. Lastly, if his damage does not match in both the nature of the damage and the extent that could have been caused based on what you see (or don't) on your vehicle, then that could be another defense. A typical bumper cover replacement runs under $1000 even on most luxury cars. It's typically under $500 to repaint a bumper cover on most cars. Having your insurance get involved will help fight this aspect as well. Basically should, for whatever reason the insurance pay this person(reasonable amount of evidence against you, court award, or arbitration award), they will only pay the reasonable cost of repairs or at least make that argument. Keep in mind that even many fraudulent claims get paid. An insurance company can't help if a judge or jury decides against you. But they can help build a case, and if worse comes to worse, they pay the claim. So before you fire your agent, consider this. You pay for insurance for this reason. His suggestion is reasonable.

As far as your personal info, he can ultimately obtain it. The police may run the plate and contact you if he files a report. They don't always bother, it's hit and miss here. If they contact you, they usually put some info on the report. The report can be obtained by this person and he'll have your info. Depending on your state laws, your state's DMV may be able to release this info. In CA, you can file an SR-19 after filing an SR-1 and the DMV will pursue the insurance info for another party involved in an accident so long as they have sufficient info to identify who you are. They will actually send the person they are looking for a letter requesting the insurance info, then follow-up with the insurer to make sure the policy was valid. Lastly, I'm sure if he files suit, he can subpeona the info. I'm not sure of the exact process here, but it would make sense in the interest of civil justice.

Just so you know, I've been quite successful in inter-company arbitration defending cases like this where there is no evidence of contact. I am assuming of course there was no contact. If this guy takes you to small claims though, it could simply be up to the judge. Many judges in this case may be biased to the plaintiff as he has taken the initiative to actually file suit and present a case. If this guy is lying though, I doubt he will put it before a judge. Or even file it with his own insurance. In a case like this though, I'd probably ask for a copy of his estimate just so you can show it to a judge if the damages on it are unreasonable. It could attest to his credibility(or lack thereof).

 

call the pd back, invite them to look at your car to see there are no damages.

do not enter into any kind of agreement under the table
do not give the other driver anything

if they decide to pursue it, contact your insurance company, they will deal with it.

if you deal with it the way i describe above, the best case scenario for you is that the other driver realizes you did nothing and doesnt pursue it. your worst case is that they try to take you to court (via their insurance co) and your insurance company handles everything for you. this is the worst possible scenario for you, so dont pay anything under the table since there's a good chance that you wont have to do anything at all.

btw if you hate your insurance co that much, get another
i would also try to report this attempted fraud to his insurance company. tell his insurance company he tried to offer you money under the table, etc. tell the police as well. get his company and the police to see there's no damage, then tell them they owe you for lost time and inconvenience on this bs.

 

I forgot to mention that the police would not give him your address and phone #, so that's a confirmed lie. Most likely he obtained it from the DMV for a small fee.

 

Heed this great advice!!! This is the reason why we pay large sums of money for our insurance...it's for situations like you're in...your ins. co. lawyers should take care of you now. It should be the only call you make.

 

BOGUS!-- Report the SOB to the police.

 

Please let us know what comes of it. We want that fraud nailed

 

The suggestions all seem sound-it seems like a fraudulent attempt to extract money. Why would he wait 3 weeks to contact you? Did he hope you would have no memory of the day and assume you'd just pay? Maybe he was planning to back in to you while you were getting out so you would have "caused" damage. I agree with taking a dated photo of your bumper too.

 

A dated photo that YOU take isn't going to mean squat. You need PROOF, verifiable PROOF that would stand up in court, that your bumper is fine with NO contact. And you need it as soon as possible. From a third party, a cop, etc.

All you have to do is be able to prove there was no contact and that your bumper is fine. If you can prove that, then he has no case.

 

Thank you all for your replies *warm* -)

I already contacted the police in my area, but they told me to call SF police dept regarding personal info release by license plate. Basically I think that is messed up. I am going to sue SF police dept if they did release my info (if they are not supposed to)!!!!
Now I feel totally insecure. THIS IS A GREAT COUNTRY, dont get me wrong, but we've had a lot of F**KED UP PEOPLE WHO ARE MENTALLY TOTALLY NOT STABLE... dang, now I am setting up some video survailance!!!

He did have a witness--> his fd who was sitting in the car.

I talked with my insurance company, and it seems that they are on my side. My agent is going to send someone to inspect both our cars and other further investigation. $1500 for a bumper that I understand, maybe he wanna jack some money for not reporting to insurance so my monthly fee wouldn't go up.. but $3000 is absurd! I am definitely going to lay justice on this guy!!! Is there anyway I can sue him for a fraud claim?

But thank you all.... you are the best!