You think you had a bad day...

[deli_conker]

Okay, so yesterday is my birthday and I take off work early. I have a few errands I want to run and then relax for the rest of the day.

After I leave work I go to the deputy registrar to get my drivers license renewed. There's a few people there, but they have everything split up so that the more common things have their own line etc. I pull my number for my place in line and wait. About 10 minutes go by when a lady asks the "crowd" if anybody is there to renew a license. I'm the only one that raises a hand. "The system is down state wide. You can either wait or come back later." Okay. My license technically expires at the end of the day so I ask her what I should do if the system doesn't come back up today and I get pulled over with an expired license. She shrugs her shoulders. I leave.

We had an appointment dealing with my youngest daughter's health insurance about an hour after I left, so I go home and we get ready and go to the appointment. It should only take about 15 minutes. So we get there on time and wait. And wait. And wait. We see the guy she has the appointment with walking around, but he's not coming out to get us. It's now 30 minutes after we are supposed to be seen when a security guard comes into the waiting room asking if anybody owns a car just like mine. I stand up and say yes. He informs me that some lady in the parking lot just hit my car and she's waiting to exchange information.

I go outside and there's a Somalian lady in the car next to mine. The damage is probably less than $1000. She hands me two insurance cards. The most recent of which expired on March 19 of this year. I copy all the information and double check it. She tells me that she has an appointment inside and that she'll call the guy who actually owns the car and let him know. She goes inside. I figure I'll wait to share my info with the guy that actually owns the car (I didn't get her license, although I'm fairly certain she didn't have one).

While I'm waiting, I look at my insurance card and follow the instructions...
1.) call the police
I call them and after being on hold for a little while, explain the accident. I'm told that since it happened in a parking lot and nobody was injured, that they will not respond, but I am free to stop by in person or online and fill out a report.
2.) call my insurance company
I'm getting ready to do this when the owner comes up to me. He tells me that there's no reason to call the insurance company. He knows guys who own body shops and they can fix it for me for $50. All they have to do is pop a piece back in (true) and it will be alright. I say, "What about the all this spider-webbed paint and this gouge into the fiberglass?"...

"Oh we can use a can of spray paint to cover that up."

At this point he starts telling me that he has a family and that he doesn't want his insurance to go up. He even starts to get threatening. Saying that he wouldn't want to have to do anything about it if I called it in. Long story short, I tell him I'll ask my brother who works on cars to see if he can fix it. He then offers to shake my hand and says "Thank you my brother."

Yeah. Something like that.

He follows me inside, I take a turn towards the cafeteria to see if he'll keep following me. He doesn't. He goes upstairs and talks to the lady who hit me (my girlfriend saw this). Then I watch him leave. He makes a phone call while inspecting the damage on his car, moves the car, and then takes off in the one he showed up in. I call my insurance company and (long story short) they tell me that I'll have to call his insurance and open a claim with them. "The insurance card I saw had expired, what if he's not insured?" Then you can open a claim with us, we'll fix you car, but you'll have to pay the deductible. "Okay, so if he's not insured, I'm going to get screwed out of $500 to pay for something that somebody else did with no other financial recourse and no way of keeping this person from doing it to somebody else?"

'Ummmm. Yes, that's correct."

I figure the guy lives nearby (considering how fast he showed up) and that I'll wait until we leave to call his insurance. Oh yeah, it's an hour after our scheduled appointment now. Turns out the guy we had our appointment with decided to go to lunch while we were there waiting. My girlfriend at this point starts to raise ****, in a nice way, about everything that has happened since we arrived. I forgot to mention that the lady that hit me thought it was funny; "tee hee (hand covering mouth while smiling). I hit somebody in the parking lot".

Within 10 minutes we're seen and fifteen minutes later we're ready to leave. I use the pay phone to call his insurance company. Turns out he had already called them to tell them that somebody had hit his car. His agent then gave me the claims number.

Keep in mind, that if we were seen at our appointed time we would have left before the lady who hit me showed up...

And yes, I got the security guard's name before we left to check out the driver's license issue. Before we left home I got the numbers and addresses of deputy registrars near our "flight plan". I called the closest one and they were up and had no line. We go there and I get everything taken care of to find out they don't take credit cards. Nice. They do have a debit card system though. I am forced to use it and pay a huge fee to do so, but at least the driver's license is taken care of.

I called the claims number and talked to somebody letting them know the situation. I also am trying to find out what their privacy policy is so that this guy won't have my home address or phone number. Last thing I want to do is have a pissed off Somali waiting for me outside my front door.

I'm supposed to call back a claims adjuster today around 10:30. We'll see what happens...

(did I mention that it was my birthday?)

[Fluff]

Wow, when it rains it pours. Sorry for you troubles. I hope everything turns out ok. Shame it had to happen at all, let alone on your birthday.

[mitche8359]

Happy B-lated b-day?

Good luck and keep updating.... should be interesting.

[malkore]

Wow, that sounds even more fun than my one and only auto accident. I was struck by a guy, about $1,000 in damage. He had no insurance. He had no license because he'd already been caught driving without insurance.
And I couldn't do squat, because he happened to be my wife's sister-in-law's younger sister's boyfriend (now husband).
So instead we found the cheapest body shop in town to get a $500 estimate, and then he paid me that amount (any damage over $500 has to be reported).

Hope things work out in your favor.

[Fishyfanatic]

Working in the insurance business, I can feel your pain. I think it is also a crock that if someone hits you and they don't have insurance, you have to foot the bill. You could try to go after them in small claims court but by the time you do all the work and take off from work, it would have been cheaper to just pay for it yourself. And there really isn't too much the law can do. If you were in a private lot, the police as supposed to come out and fill out a police report if the damage is in excess of $500. It is mandatory that they do beacuse the insurance company requires a police report if the damage is excess of $500. And that's not just a private lot. Public also. BUT, they can't issue tickets for a traffic incident that occurs on private property. I had a kid in High School who backed into my car and my bumper had to be replaced, along with my trunk latches and rear lights. He didn't get a ticket, but thankfully I knew him and his parents so they paid for it. It's very risky to deal with a person instead of through an insurance company. The person that hit you could just change his number and go unlisted. Not to scare you, but I see it happen on a weekly basis. I got into an accident a couple years ago with a woman who backed into me. We were waiting at a construction zone stop light and her big Dodge was ahead of the stop line. She thought the light wasn't changing because of it. Instead of looking in her side mirror and seeing my car she just put it in reverse and backed up, slamming into me. She refused to call the police, saying that the damage is minimal and they don't need to be involved (she was from out of state). I called them anyways and took down her plate info incase she decided to just leave. She stayed until they got there but she told the cop that I rearended her. It took many months to sort it out and she finally told the truth. Just imagine if I wouldn't have called the police. The damage was about $1,400.

Nowadays, if the damage is under $1,000, it is recommended to just pay for it yourself. I know, what's the point in having the insurance. It is for the big ones. My mom (insurance agent for 25 years) always says, if the house is on fire, let it burn to the ground. Wait to call the fire department. If your house is burnt to the ground, it won't hurt you as much as replacing the roof from a hail storm.

In reality, the laws that are in place just aren't sufficient. If you get caught without insurance, as long as you provide an insurance card, they won't know. And it sucks. THey should get more than a tiny ticket.

[lmw80]

aw, deli, I am so sorry. Best of luck with the insurance situation. Hopefully you got your fill for the year in one day!

[QTOFFER]

This burns me up. People who drive without licenses or insurance should have their asses hauled into jail. No exceptions! Boy, do I feel like a dope for paying for car insurance if there are no real consequences for not doing so.

Grrr. [acronym:8f5a1fd284="By the way"]BTW[/acronym:8f5a1fd284], happy birthday!

[Jchillin]

Deli-Conker, your story seems familiar to one that I had which hastened my decision about owning a car in NYC.

Also, in NYS, although Insurance Companies love to have reports, the fact is, when there are no injuries and/or crimes being committed, the police will not respond. They will make the same suggestion as you recieved. (in NYC, the police could actually spend the entire day responding to fender benders...there are that many). Since NY is under the "no-fault" guidelines, if the other driver has no insurance, you have no recourse but via the insurance company or small claims court (for claims under the deductible). What becomes of the uninsured driver? Nothing.

Whoops...almost forgot...Happy belated Birthday!

[Melody]

In VA, you are required to have at least liability on your car. Or you are breaking the law and they can fine you tons of money...
BUT
You are also required to have uninsured motorists insurance... and they charge you out the wazoo for it... Why? for the people that dont have insurance... but they are required to have it? I just dont understand it at all. The people that DONT pay make it more expensive for the honest people that DO pay.. ARGH!!!! sorry... I will get off my rant now.

Deli... Im really sorry about what has happened to you... I send you VA hugs!
[acronym:316cac2454="By the way"]BTW[/acronym:316cac2454].... Happy Birthday!! it will get better, it will get better, it WILL get better

[Steven_Askham]

Sorry it's late