What to do when someone hits your parked car uk.

Has someone damaged your car while parked? This is one of the most frustrating things that can happen to a car owner. Depending on the circumstances, you do have options for making a non fault claim.

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What’s in this article?

Table of Contents:

Car Damaged While Parked
If They Stopped
If They Didn’t Stop
If You Hit a Parked Car
Making a Claim

Have you hit an unattended car? If you were at fault for the accident, we cannot help you make a claim, but we can give you advice on the situation. There are a few procedures you need to follow after a car crash while parked to ensure the situation is handled correctly.

What to do if they stopped after hitting your car.

If the third party that crashed into your car stopped, you should collect
the following information from them:

Name
Address
Phone number
Insurance information
Registration plate

Keep all of this information safe, as you will need it if you want to make a non fault claim.

Auto Claims Assist provides a complete accident solution, known as Accident Management, if you have been involved in an accident that was not your fault. At no cost to you, we help with:

Recovering your vehicle at the accident scene (if needed).
Opening your non fault accident claim against the other driver’s policy.
Organise your Car Accident Repair.
Provide a comparable replacement vehicle while yours is off the road (if needed).
Get you back on the road with as little disruption to your life as possible.

Using Auto Claims Assist (Accident Management Company) eliminates the need to claim on your own insurance if you were not at fault for the accident.

Claiming on your insurance may result in paying your excess and loosing your no claims bonus.

Request a callback.
One of our advisors will call you back. Or, call us now on 0330 128 1407.

What to do if they didn’t stop after hitting your car.

If your car was crashed into and the driver who caused the accident did not stay at the scene, this is referred to as a hit and run.

Although it may complicate things, there are still some ways you may be able to get help.

Check for notes.

If your car was hit and you were not present, by law the at fault party is obligated to leave a note with their contact details. This should include their name, address, registration plate and an explanation of what happened.

RAC Insurance claim that the chances of someone leaving a note after hitting a car in a car park accident is only 9%, if there was no note left on your car, there are a few more actions you can take.

Check for CCTV.

Checking for CCTV footage can be a great way to try and track down the responsible party.

Here are a few tips on how to go about checking for CCTV footage after your car has been damaged:

Talk to your neighbours and see if they have any CCTV cameras on their property. Many people nowadays have security cameras for their own peace of mind, so it’s worth asking around.
Look for any businesses in the area that might have CCTV cameras pointed towards the area. This could be anything from a corner shop to a garage.

Check for witnesses.

Witnesses can play a critical role in parked accidents.

If you have witnesses who can attest to what happened, this can be invaluable in helping your claim move forward smoothly.

Here are a few things to keep in mind about using witnesses to support your claim:

Make sure you get contact information for any witnesses at the scene of the accident. This includes their name, phone number, and email address.
Get a written statement from each witness detailing what they saw. This should include a detailed account of the events leading up to and including the accident.

Unfortunately, without sufficient evidence its very hard to file a claim against the at fault party.

If you can’t collect the correct evidence, the best thing you can do in this unfortunate situation is to contact your own insurance.

What to do if YOU hit a
parked car.

Even if it’s just a small scrape, never just leave the scene of an accident. According to Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act, if you’re involved in an accident that causes injury or damage to another person, vehicle, property, or animal – you must stop or you are committing an offence.

What to do after you hit a parked car.

You will need to leave your name, address, and vehicle registration.

You need to report an accident to the police within 24 hours. Don’t call 999, as they only deal with emergencies. Instead dial 101, the non-emergency police number. (if the accident isn’t a serious emergency)

If you fail to tell the police about the accident within 24 hours, you may incur a fine, points on your licence, or a disqualification from driving.

Contact your insurance provider

If you were at fault for the accident, and the damage is major, you should contact your insurance company.

They will help you through the process and talk you through your claim options.

How to make a claim for a car damaged while parked.

For us to help with a parked car accident claim, you must have the correct evidence & information to prove exactly what happened.

To start a non-fault claim simply contact Auto Claims Assist and a member of our experienced team will be in touch to discuss your claim further.

You will be assigned your own dedicated claims handler, this personal service can be extremely helpful in dealing with the often-stressful process of a car crash.

Your First
Contact After
The Accident.

Your first contact after the accident, if it wasn’t your fault, should be an accident management company (also known as a credit hire company) like Auto Claims Assist.

Some people think that the first thing they need to do after a non-fault accident is to contact their own insurance company.

In light of this, we have created a comparison between calling an accident management company vs your insurance company here here after a non-fault accident.

Using your own insurer could leave you worse off if the accident wasn’t your fault.

Start my claim

By contacting Auto Claims Assist first, you'll be entitled to a much better experience and at no cost to you: