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Parking Lot Set Up?...please help..need advice

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reneesarts

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? California

Two days ago I was backing up from a parking space at a dept. store parking lot. I was in reverse and backing up straight out and very slowly, as there was a large van on the right side of me and I was planning on driving to the left. Before even proceeding to drive, I looked behind my shoulder and at my rear view mirror, and saw that it was clear. As I was pulling out I felt a hard tap on the back of my car so I stepped on the brakes and looking though my rear view mirror and saw a car driving forward to the spot across from me. So I then drove forward into my spot, got out of the car and went to approach the lady who got out of her car and was pointing to the right corner of her car and said, "I stopped and I was going to honk on my horn but I didn't." I asked, why didn't you? She had no reply. I honestly have no idea if she stopped or not as she just suddenly came out of nowhere. My guess it that she flew out of her spot very quickly to get so close to my car since I was the first to pull out.

Right away she wanted my insurance info, which I of course gave her and asked for hers as well. I had three people in my car and one came out and took pics of her damage. (Which was only a couple of minor scrapes). I noticed a big stripped mark on the other side of her bumper and asked her what happened there. She said, "the same thing that happened just now." I commented, "I bet you didn't honk you horn the either did you?" She said "no." I told her it looks like we both hit each other when we pulled out so were 50/50 to blame. Then some young girl who seemed to appear out of nowhere, comes up to her and says, "I saw everything," and proceeds to give her her phone number. She did not so much as gaze in my direction. I said, "that's fine, I have witnesses too. (One of my passengers turned her head from the back seat immediately upon the hit and did not see her brake lights on).

While I do have minor paint chip damage on the back fender of my car, I do not care to fix it as I only have liability for my 89' car. I am concerned that I could be blamed for what looks like a planned accident. I also don't want my perfect driving record ruined. I think she may have backed up fast enough and stopped so I would hit her. Since it was going quite slowly, the damage was very minor, (paint scrapes only).

I went home and called my AAA insurance right away and told them what happened. Since it was a weekend, I spoke with a representative not a claims adjuster. I was told that it sounded like a 50/50 accident in which case we would have to fix our own cars. She told me to not even bother worrying about it and that a claims adjuster would call me on Monday.

Today's Monday and I haven't heard from them yet. (By the way, her insurance co. is Progressive) But....I did get a message from her on my phone today. She said that she would like to work things out between us without the insurance claims and said if I wanted to I could fix her car or else give her the money to fix it. I haven't called her back as I sure don't plan on paying her for what is not mostly my fault. I think it may have been a planned set up to make some quick cash off of me.

My question is; what do I do now? Should I call her back and tell her what I think about her offer or does she plan on fixing my car too? Or...should I just deal with my claims adjuster and tell them about her phone call and my suspicions?
 


reneesarts said:
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? California

Two days ago I was backing up from a parking space at a dept. store parking lot. I was in reverse and backing up straight out and very slowly, as there was a large van on the right side of me and I was planning on driving to the left. Before even proceeding to drive, I looked behind my shoulder and at my rear view mirror, and saw that it was clear. As I was pulling out I felt a hard tap on the back of my car so I stepped on the brakes and looking though my rear view mirror and saw a car driving forward to the spot across from me. So I then drove forward into my spot, got out of the car and went to approach the lady who got out of her car and was pointing to the right corner of her car and said, "I stopped and I was going to honk on my horn but I didn't." I asked, why didn't you? She had no reply. I honestly have no idea if she stopped or not as she just suddenly came out of nowhere. My guess it that she flew out of her spot very quickly to get so close to my car since I was the first to pull out.

Right away she wanted my insurance info, which I of course gave her and asked for hers as well. I had three people in my car and one came out and took pics of her damage. (Which was only a couple of minor scrapes). I noticed a big stripped mark on the other side of her bumper and asked her what happened there. She said, "the same thing that happened just now." I commented, "I bet you didn't honk you horn the either did you?" She said "no." I told her it looks like we both hit each other when we pulled out so were 50/50 to blame. Then some young girl who seemed to appear out of nowhere, comes up to her and says, "I saw everything," and proceeds to give her her phone number. She did not so much as gaze in my direction. I said, "that's fine, I have witnesses too. (One of my passengers turned her head from the back seat immediately upon the hit and did not see her brake lights on).

While I do have minor paint chip damage on the back fender of my car, I do not care to fix it as I only have liability for my 89' car. I am concerned that I could be blamed for what looks like a planned accident. I also don't want my perfect driving record ruined. I think she may have backed up fast enough and stopped so I would hit her. Since it was going quite slowly, the damage was very minor, (paint scrapes only).

I went home and called my AAA insurance right away and told them what happened. Since it was a weekend, I spoke with a representative not a claims adjuster. I was told that it sounded like a 50/50 accident in which case we would have to fix our own cars. She told me to not even bother worrying about it and that a claims adjuster would call me on Monday.

Today's Monday and I haven't heard from them yet. (By the way, her insurance co. is Progressive) But....I did get a message from her on my phone today. She said that she would like to work things out between us without the insurance claims and said if I wanted to I could fix her car or else give her the money to fix it. I haven't called her back as I sure don't plan on paying her for what is not mostly my fault. I think it may have been a planned set up to make some quick cash off of me.

My question is; what do I do now? Should I call her back and tell her what I think about her offer or does she plan on fixing my car too? Or...should I just deal with my claims adjuster and tell them about her phone call and my suspicions?
Do not call her back. If she calls you back and you happen to answer the phone, tell her you've filed a claim with your carrier and advise her to file a claim with hers. You pay for insurance; let your insurance carrier work it out for you.

Good luck. :)
 

reneesarts

Junior Member
Thanks for reading my post

CALIFORNIA

Thanks so much for your advice. That's true, I do pay for car insurance so I should let them take care of it. The only thing I'm worried about is that I don't know who hit who...and IF it was my car that hit her's, she had to have reversed out of her spot way too quickly, without giving me any time to react by stopping myself. Could I be blamed for this if it was my car that hit hers or will the insurance companies be able to unserstand how her fast recklessness caused this accident. In other words, is the one who hit, the one to blame regardless of the circumstances?
 
reneesarts said:
CALIFORNIA

Thanks so much for your advice. That's true, I do pay for car insurance so I should let them take care of it. The only thing I'm worried about is that I don't know who hit who...and IF it was my car that hit her's, she had to have reversed out of her spot way too quickly, without giving me any time to react by stopping myself. Could I be blamed for this if it was my car that hit hers or will the insurance companies be able to unserstand how her fast recklessness caused this accident. In other words, is the one who hit, the one to blame regardless of the circumstances?
Anybody can blame anyone for anything. Your best course of action, as I've already stipulated, is to let your insurance carrier earn their premium. You've already done your part. And by all means, keep your mouth shut. The worse thing you can say is that you don't know who hit whom. Let the insurers work it out.
 

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