Passenger door dented

enkoda · 9 May 2015 at 09:17

I'm after a bit of advice as to whether this is worth pursuing or not.

Went shopping with the wife and kids at Tesco and only noticed upon returning home that there is a small dent in our passenger door (it's her car, and yes I should've spotted it straight away when getting in the passenger seat). It definitely happened in their car park and would've taken a fair bit of force to make a such a dent.

I've asked a couple of peoples opinions and naturally got two different replies, one is to let the insurance company chase Tesco for CCTV footage and trace the owner, the other is to notify the police who can obtain CCTV footage for us/insurance company.

I don't want to waste police resources with a relatively minor issue, but on the other hand I don't see why the person that did it shouldn't pay to get it repaired? And would using the insurance company constitute making a claim?

So, is it worth chasing, and what's the best way to go about it?

Howard · 9 May 2015 at 09:25

I think unless the situation is such that there was a CCTV camera pointing directly at your parking space which shows the other car driving in to yours, then you're on a hiding to nothing.

enkoda · 9 May 2015 at 09:38

It happened while we at the in-laws in Hemel, so I'm afraid I don't know. For some reason I've got it in my head that they have cameras on poles dotted around the car park, but I could be wrong...

It was the Tesco in Jarman Park if anyone can confirm?

Maccy · 9 May 2015 at 09:52

I'm surprised that it was just a dent in the door at that Tesco, that really is the back side of Hemel.

You contacted the store directly and asked?

rodenal · 9 May 2015 at 10:03

Happened to me last year where some **** drove into the front of the civic whilst it was parked in a tesco carpark, clearly damaging it then buggered off.

Got nowhere with it in the end after writing to have the cameras checked - gave up and moved on

enkoda · 9 May 2015 at 10:21

Maccy said:
I'm surprised that it was just a dent in the door at that Tesco, that really is the back side of Hemel.

You contacted the store directly and asked?

Haha! Yeah, I'm surprised they don't issue stab vests at the entrance too.

They won't release footage to us directly, implying that their cameras do cover the car park.

ADT · 9 May 2015 at 12:22

Look at it this way. Is the damage worth chasing up? Is it worth your excess and possible increase in premium for the next 5 years? What car is it? Got pictures of the dent?

If your paint is still undamaged a guy with a PDR can pull the dent out for you for a small charge these days

enkoda · 9 May 2015 at 13:21

ADT said:
Look at it this way. Is the damage worth chasing up? Is it worth your excess and possible increase in premium for the next 5 years? What car is it? Got pictures of the dent?

If your paint is still undamaged a guy with a PDR can pull the dent out for you for a small charge these days

That's the issue, we don't want to get the insurance company involved if it will have a negative impact. Getting it sorted isn't a problem, it just would have been nice to trace the idiot that did it and present them with a repair bill.

LiGhTfasT · 9 May 2015 at 13:27

They'd just deny it anyway, I'd be glad it wasn't on the quarter panel and keep an eye on ebay for a replacement.

Steve2000 · 9 May 2015 at 18:53

Howard said:
I think unless the situation is such that there was a CCTV camera pointing directly at your parking space which shows the other car driving in to yours, then you're on a hiding to nothing.

This I'm afraid.

koolpc · 9 May 2015 at 19:02

Waste of time pursuing. Suck it up and move on

ADT · 9 May 2015 at 21:25

enkoda said:
That's the issue, we don't want to get the insurance company involved if it will have a negative impact. Getting it sorted isn't a problem, it just would have been nice to trace the idiot that did it and present them with a repair bill.

I understand what you mean but it's unlikely you would catch the scum. Specially with the location of the dent you've got to be lucky that there is a camera pointing in that angle

Kuros · 9 May 2015 at 23:56

You'll also have the problem of it being able to prove that it was undamaged before you got into the car park. This will be the stumbling block, given even CCTV wouldn't be able to prove that /someone/ caused damage to it, even if it they find someone parking next to you.

lemonade · 11 May 2015 at 16:00

Top tip for parking in supermarket and retail car parks, always park as far away as possible from any other cars, because if you park close to the entrance where all the idiots park then the chances of your car getting damaged is very high. Also never park next to an MPV or SUV, as they are usually have kids who smack door open or some fat idiot who slams it open on your car so he can squeeze in and dont park next to a car with lots of dings, scuffs and such.

Howard · 11 May 2015 at 16:05

lemonade said:
Top tip for parking in supermarket and retail car parks, always park as far away as possible from any other cars, because if you park close to the entrance where all the idiots park then the chances of your car getting damaged is very high.

I always park as far away (or as high up) as I can, in empty areas. It's amusing (and baffling) watching everyone queue for all the spaces nearest the entrance when there's so many other spaces further away. Even if it's cold or wet, I don't care, I'd rather my car was unscathed. Usually it's fine but sometimes it doesn't work...:

Phemo · 11 May 2015 at 16:17

Happens to me too. I'll deliberately park away from anyone else. Even parked a little out of the way in a totally empty car park somewhere one evening. When I came back to the car there was another car parked (badly) right next to me. No doubt they did it on purpose but I just don't get why they do it.

Akagi · 11 May 2015 at 16:24

Perhaps they thought your car looked lonely Howard?

gumpy321 · 11 May 2015 at 21:12

Phemo said:
Happens to me too. I'll deliberately park away from anyone else. Even parked a little out of the way in a totally empty car park somewhere one evening. When I came back to the car there was another car parked (badly) right next to me. No doubt they did it on purpose but I just don't get why they do it.

Bad at parking in bays. They use our cars as a reference to park up. Because parking in between two white lines is hard for some.

snapdragon69 · 11 May 2015 at 21:29

I usually park at the far end of a big carpark and straddle two spaces.
Once we went to a big shopping centre and parked on the top floor and took up two spaces - it was empty. The wife took ages shopping and when we got back, the carpark was choca-block and someone put a not on my windscreen saying "What a selfish ****!" oops! :eek:

Steve2000 · 11 May 2015 at 21:33

I also don't understand this phenomenon. A few months ago I was sat in the car waiting for someone in an empty section of car park just like the photo above and some guy in a Picasso pulls up right next to me and just sits there leaning forward, mouth hanging open, staring straight ahead out the window for about 10 minutes. Then he got out and walked off. Very strange.