What to do when someone hits your parked car

Discovering that someone has hit your parked car can be a stressful experience, but staying calm and taking the right steps can make the situation and claims process much easier.

Car Damaged While Parked

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 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 losing your no claims bonus.

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 crucial 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.

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.

Auto Claims Assist do not manage at fault claims, you can contact your insurance company and they will give you guidance on your options.

How to make a claim for a car damaged while parked

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 after a non-fault accident.

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