I just don't understand.

[blutopless2]

that sucks... unfortunately these days that is what people are like. my wife would've killed the kid and the parent if a trolley hit our polo.
i remember an incident years ago when i was leaving a shopping centre. walked past a beautifully restored 50's chev in the car park - couldn't believe anyone would actually park one at a shopping centre in the first place .. got into my car and drove back past the car only to see a little kid sitting on the bonnet of the car. slowed down as i couldn't believe what i was seeing... the woman packing her groceries into the car next to it thought it was a great place to plonk the kid whilst she emptied the trolley... next thing a loud "get the F%&K off my car" could be heard through the car park.. guy comes racing out of the shops toward the kid... mother just looked at the guy and says.. "he wasn't doing anything!!".. didn't get to hear the rest but as i drove off i could clearly see the guy giving it to both of em.
i mean jeez... if its your car and you wanna do it then fine.. but to put your kid on someone elses car???
as you say.. no respect for other peoples property.

[Tim]

The insurance company said because it wasn't done intentionally, and she most probably won't admit to it (even though myself and a friend witnessed the entire event), then they really can't get her to pay and i will have to pay the excess.I hate idiots.

Wasnt done intentionally? So? And whats to say that anyone would admit to doing damage? Id say if your policy states that if you supply details of who did the damage they will cover you then id push the issue. Either that or id be cancelling my policy with that company cos thats just pathetic.

[gpk_gti]

if your damage is less than the excess then you can still do a civil claim.go to the police..file a report then they will give you their details.then get a LETTER OF DEMAND with 14 days to pay for the damage.If payment is not forthcoming then go to your local court and you can get a court date and a judge will decide.get 3 quotes first for damage repair..

maybe pm shami our resident lawyer for some advice???

[vanilla5]

I feel your pain... people don't care anymore.

I jsut park as far away as I can at shopping centres and get some exercise. Wif'e shopping trolley has a few small dings here and there from people opening doors. It is hard with small kids though, but you have to teach them to learn and understand.

i do that as well but it still seems to attract 4wd. i can go into the shopping centre leaving the car with nothing around. the whole car park area will be clear. come back and there are 4wd on both sides. right next to the car.

i think small hatchbacks attract 4wd.

[DaveMack]

Wasnt done intentionally? So? And whats to say that anyone would admit to doing damage? Id say if your policy states that if you supply details of who did the damage they will cover you then id push the issue. Either that or id be cancelling my policy with that company cos thats just pathetic.

One word, Tim ... "Excess". The insurance company will probably say : OK ... get it fixed ... and if the bill exceeds $xxx (whatever your excess is) we'll pay that bit. Now ... I'm an old fart and my excess is still $400 ... but the cost of repairing trolley dents won't come close to that ... probably just 2 or 3 hundred. Ergo ... they're covered under your excess and no other insurance company will offer you a better deal because they all have a 'knock-for-knock' agreement which means they share client information.

Sad fact of life.

Dave

[Funkdancer]

The general public, from my experience are a bunch of idiots that have no respect for anyone, no time for anyone but themselves. Won't apologies when they have clearly done something wrong... i just don't understand.

If i damaged anything, i'd apologise, leave a message, i'd pay for anything i'd done, its common decency... i work damn hard to pay for my car, i'm i get very upset when it gets damaged.

I hate idiots.

I agree completely.

Then every few months I come across someone who is "old school", e.g. someone like yourself, and my faith in humankind is somewhat restored.

[nick1234]

Mate,

I feel sorry for you ! That sort of thing happened quite a lot to me and it resulted in me parking far away from everyone else and going shopping at off peak hours. I personally would have grabbed that kid. Parents are responsible for the acts of their children so that stupid woman should have to pay for it - in theory.

Accidents do happen and I wouldn't want to ask somebody for money because of a bloody scratch. Yet, when you get someone with that attitude you can only do the right thing, which is to make them remember and pay. I wouldn't give up pursuing her until it is sorted, otherwise they think they can continue getting away with their behaviour. I personally stopped fixing smaller things (i.e. small scratches). Let us know how you're getting on though and good luck in getting her!

[Golf Loon]

That sucks man. park in the middle of 2 spaces. i do.

[DVR68U]

there are idiots everywhere, i just try not to go to the shops lol. and the reason small cars attract 4wds is because you leave all the room so they can turn into the spot easily . you have the details of the ladys car, eye for an eye.
cheers brenton

[JustCruisn]

Read your insurance policy again.
The bit where is says you do not have to pay the excess if you can supply the name or registartion of the party responsible.
Now have this infont of you when you call your insurance co again. When they say excess is payable say 'hang on a sec, right here on my policy, section 4.1 paragraph 3, it says ... Now I've done my bit how about holding up your end of the agreement.' Remember it is not your responsibility to recover the damages, just to do what your policy says.

I've had 9 claims over 10 years, only once have i paid an excess. I still have rating 1.

[Sanka]

That sucks hard Just thinking about that makes my blood boil.

[Celestine]

I feel for you buddy. I had worse things happen to a new car before. My previous ride - a Mazda 3, which I'd had for under 48 hours was side swiped by some douchebag who couldnt park their car properly at Sunnybank (those who are in Brisbane are probably aware of how pathetic some of the drivers are there). I didnt witness it happen as I was inside having lunch with a few friends, but it amazes me how someone couldnt get into a park with more than half a car width's extra room (as I was parked right next to a pole with my mirrors in), still take out the front of my car.

Whoever did it had done a reasonable amount of damage that it required a whole new bumper and a support frame that held the bumper in place. Total damage bill due to some careless f*$kwit cost me $1700.

From that day on, I gave myself strict parking orders to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

I still find it amazing how people can feel morally alright about damaging someone else's property (due to their own carelessness) display not the slightest hint of apology or senserity about their own wrong doing and rather blame it on others.

If that same scenario had happened to me, I would have just keyed that woman's car and left. I wouldnt have felt morally wrong cause why should you care about her property when she clearly doesnt care about yours?

[poloman]

here we go... best way to avoid idiots that dont care:

Park away from where everyone else parks..

So far at my work (major shopping centre) because we look after our cars that way, 2 cars number plates have been stolen, one car totally keyed and another has had its windows smashed (break in) twice.. all in the last 3 months... You cant win..

My mum is horrible... she is getting on in age and thinks its perfectly fine to lean on cars as shes walking by... and she aint a light woman let me tell you this.. shes a typical italian woman... and i got mad at her for it... but her reply is... its ok they wont mind... stupid stupid thinking.

Meenwhile.. first day i had the car, a teenager and his gf wanted to get into my lane... but since they were besides me i had no idea they were indicating... all of a sudden... he swerves into my lane and yells out.. I NEEDED TO GET THERE YOU @#%^@#*... i race up besides him and yell at him for being a C^&t and to learn how to #@$^*&@# drive... THEN 2 days later... a mum at a computer store just reached in to grab her computer from her car... scraping her car door on mine... but she didnt care... i was livid.. said nothing because... WHAT CAN BE DONE....

Its so pathetic.... You just feel like destroying their property and then asking how they liked being the victim....

But then you would get in trouble...

Bah!

[Sharkie]

I've gotten into the habit of taking a picture of the cars parked next to me at every shopping center. I make sure it shows the space between the cars as well as their number plates and time and date.

At least the camera on my phone has some good use ....

It is a drastic step, but I will make anybody that dings my car pay ....

[gpk_gti]

now that you mention that.I do take down number plates of cars that are parked to close to me ,thats street parking.as I noticed a huge jump in people that park using the bump method.
it did help me once when a telstra van with big metal bar reversed into me and left the scene.