am i breaking the law?

[tom223]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? penn. /// A woman backed into my car on her parking lot when i my son had my car. she didn't want to get insurance involved so i let her pay me out of pocket after giving her the lower of the 2 estimates. it was minor cosmetic damage but the parts and labor was about 1,300. so i am thinking maybe i might just keep the money and live with the cracked front end. but she is damanding a reciept saying i had plenty of time to fix it. and now accusing me of premeditating the whole thing with my son to try and get money, like we cooked up a scheme. i think she is dillisional, you back up into a parked car its your fault as far as i know. but do have the right to not fix it? she is saying that i am breaking a law quote "taking money for a specific reason and not following through on it is theft,among other things" end quote. she hit my car paid for the damage, case closed i thought, what if i want to sell the car as is or fix it myself, or just let it be, don't i have that right? and if i do, i think am getting unfairly harrassed by her. my car is worth less now, but i can live with that, i used the money for more important things at the time. so am i in any kind of violation of any laws?

 

[acmb05]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? penn. /// A woman backed into my car on her parking lot when i my son had my car. she didn't want to get insurance involved so i let her pay me out of pocket after giving her the lower of the 2 estimates. it was minor cosmetic damage but the parts and labor was about 1,300. so i am thinking maybe i might just keep the money and live with the cracked front end. but she is damanding a reciept saying i had plenty of time to fix it. and now accusing me of premeditating the whole thing with my son to try and get money, like we cooked up a scheme. i think she is dillisional, you back up into a parked car its your fault as far as i know. but do have the right to not fix it? she is saying that i am breaking a law quote "taking money for a specific reason and not following through on it is theft,among other things" end quote. she hit my car paid for the damage, case closed i thought, what if i want to sell the car as is or fix it myself, or just let it be, don't i have that right? and if i do, i think am getting unfairly harrassed by her. my car is worth less now, but i can live with that, i used the money for more important things at the time. so am i in any kind of violation of any laws?

NO. What you use the money for is none of her business.

 

[tranquility]

Ignore her. What is she going to do? However, your state may have laws regarding the reporting of accidents with a certain amount of damages. Your son may need to file a report.

 

[tom223]

NO. What you use the money for is none of her business.

thats what i thought, she paid her damages end of story, but she is trying to be the victim now, how does backing up into my new car make me a scammer ? lol she says she plans on following through with her options if i wish to fight her on this, i guess she could sue me, but for what? o well, i won't settle things out of pocket no more with anybody, the insurance company wouldn't be harrasing me and be trying to dictate how i handle my property. thanks for yopur reply.

 

[NikkiConner]

Common Courtesy Doesn't pay off

Several Years back, my brother found himself in this exact situation. Basically it comes to this. Once that check went from her hands to yours, what you do with it is your business. It's your car. You didn't file with the insurance as a courtesy to her.(Had you filed through her insurance her insurance rates would have definitely went up) She should pay you some respect for that (In my opinion) What exactly can she do about not repairing your car anyways? I mean it is YOUR car!
She caused the damage and paid for the damages she has caused. End of story.

 

[tom223]

Ignore her. What is she going to do? However, your state may have laws regarding the reporting of accidents with a certain amount of damages. Your son may need to file a report.

not sure what her next move is, but i will ignore her, if i get a letter from an attorney then i will have a problem, i can't see why should would want to waste time on this, but she isn't thinking normaly, she tried to blame my son as 50% liable for her backing into the car becase he was parked behind her while visiting, i am glad it wasn't someones child or pet, then who would she blame? she wrote me a letter saying she thinks that the two of us planned the whole incident. that is the most absurd accusation i ever recieved , my car gets hit and now i being accused of breaking laws and conspiring schemes to shake money out of her??? it's crazy!

 

[tom223]

Several Years back, my brother found himself in this exact situation. Basically it comes to this. Once that check went from her hands to yours, what you do with it is your business. It's your car. You didn't file with the insurance as a courtesy to her.(Had you filed through her insurance her insurance rates would have definitely went up) She should pay you some respect for that (In my opinion) What exactly can she do about not repairing your car anyways? I mean it is YOUR car!
She caused the damage and paid for the damages she has caused. End of story.

i won't do it again, its like when i had claims with my house with water leaks, i kept the money and did the repairs,,, no one got upset over that, what if i want to fix or sell my car as is ,, even , i should have the right to do as i wish with my property, i can live with the crack and put the money to better use, but she says i took money for s specific reason and didnt follow through and that that is theft, but it isn't her busineess how i handle my car repair. i should be able to to turn a negative into a positive with out being harrased.

 

[tom223]

thanx for your replies

I Am A Lil More At Ease Now

 

[Bird79]

I did the same thing once, a women hit my car by accident. It was minor cosmetic damage. She insisted on paying out of pocket. I got a quote of $500. A friend told me he could fix it at his shop for less then $300. I took the $300 from her by a check made out to me - probably similar to you. Things came up where I fell short on money for higher priorities and used it for those things. I never heard from the woman again and happily live with a chipped bumper. Maybe some day I'll get it fixed. i never felt like a criminal and as long as the woman who hit me feels she lived up to her responsibility - who is getting hurt?

She probably regrets settling this way and justifying her anger by entertaining the accusations towards you. If she acually goes through with an attorney, she will most likely exceed the amount she calims you owe her. If she is that demanding of a receipt, get a receipt book at staples and write one to her stating you recieved the $1300 she agreed to pay you for the damages and thank her

 

[tom223]

I did the same thing once, a women hit my car by accident. It was minor cosmetic damage. She insisted on paying out of pocket. I got a quote of $500. A friend told me he could fix it at his shop for less then $300. I took the $300 from her by a check made out to me - probably similar to you. Things came up where I fell short on money for higher priorities and used it for those things. I never heard from the woman again and happily live with a chipped bumper. Maybe some day I'll get it fixed. i never felt like a criminal and as long as the woman who hit me feels she lived up to her responsibility - who is getting hurt?

She probably regrets settling this way and justifying her anger by entertaining the accusations towards you. If she acually goes through with an attorney, she will most likely exceed the amount she calims you owe her. If she is that demanding of a receipt, get a receipt book at staples and write one to her stating you recieved the $1300 she agreed to pay you for the damages and thank her

well she sent me checks and a letter and said by signing the check it relived her of any further obligaTION, and i was ok withg that, its when my son visited her son again and she saw it wasn't repaired it obviously angered her,,,i backed up into a friend of a friend 20 years ago, it cost me $1500, but they livede with the dents and kept the cash ,, i didn't have a problem at all with that, i hit em, paid em, cased closed

 

[tranquility]

Also, you may need to notify your insurance company within a certain amount of time if you think you may use their services (like defense to a lawsuit).

 

[VeronicaLodge]

what the lady doesnt seem to understand is that whether you fix your car or not it has been devalued by her actions. she paid you for the devaluation, you can either use that money to fix your car and recoup the value or you can just take the money and leave your car at the lower value. thats up to you, she has compensated you. explain that to her.

 

[tom223]

what the lady doesnt seem to understand is that whether you fix your car or not it has been devalued by her actions. she paid you for the devaluation, you can either use that money to fix your car and recoup the value or you can just take the money and leave your car at the lower value. thats up to you, she has compensated you. explain that to her.

i tried to explain that to her, she won't except reality, in her mind, i am a scam artist and a thief. i work for a living in the trades, why would i risk my reputation and use my new car to try and make a petty profit. she is not on the right medication if u ask me.

 

[Bird79]

I know I have let people rent space in my head when they have an opinion of me which isn't true and who were also out of touch with reality. I think the reply re: the devaluation of your car because of the damage and possibly needing to consult your insurance shall you need legal representation are things I would consider if I were in your situation.

In regards to her opinion of you, if you know the truth - let her opinion fly over your head. It sounds as if her issues are all based on threats and aggressiveness to get you to give back the money. Let it be her issue. It seems your reputatation of being honest from people who already know that based on your past, wouldn't be devalued (like your car) because of her.