Can this person legally get anything from me?

December 28, 2006 6:02 PM

If someone wants money from a vehicle accident three and a half months after it happened, can they still get insurance to take care of it?

On a very rainy day in early September I bumped the rear end of a hyundai. It looked like paint damage so we agreed to not go through insurance (I'm a young driver with no history, so my premiums would skyrocket). She went to a dealership who said it was paint damage, $300 - $400. I came to her house (mansion) and dropped off a blank cheque agreeing to cover the $300-$400. She left me a message that she finally went to the dealership today and says that it's not just paint damage, it'll cost $830 (and I can come to see the bills). Nice christmas gift, eh? My instinct is to transfer $430 into my chequing account so her cheque won't bounce and this will be over with without insurance premiums, but I think she's being an absolute cretin. Does the fact that neither of us reported it to the police and it's been over 3 months since the accident mean anything? Should I tell her to cash the cheque at $350, that I'll only pay the originally agreed amount and not any more? Or should I tell her to screw off completely and transfer ALL the money out of the account? Can she still get insurance or legal action involved three and a half months after the accident? This accident still has not been reported to the police by either of us, and I have yet to reply to her message. I live in Ottawa, Canada

posted by Count to travel & transportation (19 comments total)

You gave her a blank check? What were you thinking? You're lucky she hasn't already cashed a check for whatever amount she desired. The fact that she called you and offered to show you the bills before cashing the check suggests to me that she is not "an absolute cretin." In any case, you should (1) stop payment on the outstanding check, (2) ask politely for copies of all bills, and (3) after receiving copies, request that the damage be appraised at a body shop of your choice. Once you have two different estimates, you'll be in a better position to address the situation.

Alternatively, if you want to avoid paying, or at least avoid the $830 hit, tell her that you can't agree to pay the larger amount when sufficient time has passed that you can't be sure that the damage was all caused by your accident. The dealer told her shortly after the accident that the cost would be $300-400, and that's what you agreed to pay. Her failure to have the damage timely appraised is not your fault.

Whether an insurance company will cover claims three and a half months after the accident depends on the company and the policy, but my suspicion is that it will not. Most policies contain provisions obligating the insured to promptly report accidents.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:28 PM on December 28, 2006

I forgot to note, I gave her a blank cheque from an account with only the $400 maximum amount she had agreed to take from me, so if she tried any more it would've bounced.
posted by Count at 6:37 PM on December 28, 2006

But that's YOUR check from YOUR account that would have bounced, sticking YOU with any fees/liability/etc.

Stop payment on that check immediately!
posted by stefnet at 6:40 PM on December 28, 2006

You purposefully wrote a potentially bad check and you think that's a good thing?

Just do what monju_bosatsu said.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:49 PM on December 28, 2006

I wouldn't worry about it, and I certainly wouldn't panic about the blank check. Honestly, I would just pay the whole thing.

Your insurance will cost you more than $800 between the deductible and the increased rates, and there's no reason to believe that the price is wrong. Bumper damage that looks like nothing routinely runs into the thousands to fix correctly.

Pay it off and call it a day. Anything else is going to make the mess last longer, and is extremely unlikely to save you money.
posted by Tacos Are Pretty Great at 7:14 PM on December 28, 2006

Oh, and your remark about the mansion is telling.

She can probably afford to fix it much easier than you, but you're the one who broke it. She has trusted you to pay the amount for months. Man up and make sure the check is good.

Oh, and if the extra amount will actually be harmful to you, ask her nicely if you can pay $400 now and the rest on a schedule. Anybody with money should be reasonably accommodating in such a situation, as long as you stick to the plan and don't request absurd terms.
posted by Tacos Are Pretty Great at 7:17 PM on December 28, 2006

Good call, it turns out I should have done more research into cheques before using them.
posted by Count at 7:19 PM on December 28, 2006

Apologies for snarky comment. Cancel the cheque.

IANAL, but you're still liable as there's no statutory limit on this, I think. You may be obliged to report the incident to the police.
posted by TrashyRambo at 7:24 PM on December 28, 2006

I agree with what monju and Tacos have said. I got in a similar situation where I had to pay for damage to someone's car, and I asked them to give me two estimates, and paid the body shop with the lower estimate directly with a cashier's check. However, everything unfolded in a period of two weeks or so, rather than three months.

You are better off sucking it up and paying the total yourself. (Kind of defeats the purpose of insurance, doesn't it?) Take Tacos' advice and plead poverty, apologize profusely and set up payments if you can't pay over $400 now. If the person you hit is understanding enough that she would call you before writing the blank check you gave her and can pay for it herself without hardship, she'll probably go for it, especially if it means the difference between being paid and not.

If she can't afford to front you the money, use a credit card, tap your savings, take out a loan from the bank of Mom and Dad or sell some stuff on eBay. You might think it's crappy to pay $400 more now, but in the long run, you'll feel a lot better about yourself for meeting your obligations.
posted by MegoSteve at 7:30 PM on December 28, 2006

I disagree with people telling you to buck up and and pay the full amount. As monju_bosatsu said, if the second estimate was double the first estimate, it's possible that her waiting 3 months to fix the damage made it worse. That's her fault, not yours.

If you really want to stick by your guns, I'd pay the original amount, ask for all paperwork, and proceed with caution and a good sense of humor and politeness. It may become more of a hassle than you are willing to deal with, though, and if that's the case then pay everything and remember the lesson for next time.
posted by Brittanie at 7:36 PM on December 28, 2006

It's not guaranteed that the additional damage is the result from the initial accident. Several months may have resulted in another accident, someone backing into a light-pole... etc. Additional damage to the same area would be hard to prove was additional.

Several years ago I was struck for some minor damage on both cars, it was mostly my fault as I ventured into an intersection without seeing the other car (in a blind spot). I offered to let the insurance handle it if they wanted a repair, or to go our separate ways if they considered the damage too minor to warrant a bump in premiums. They took the walk away, then several moths later I got a call asking for several hundred dollars in cash for repairs. I refused politely and never heard from them again. Talk to your insurance agent, ask them about the situation and what your liabilities are, then asses how much hassle you are willing to undergo.
posted by edgeways at 7:46 PM on December 28, 2006

Option one: Cancel the original check with the bank NOW. Send her a check for the original amount agreed to. Call her and tell her what you've done, tell her you can afford no more than that. The worst she can do is argue...judge her response to that and proceed accordingly.

Option two: Agree to the increased amount, but only if she will document her agreement to that amount with a notorized statement.

Never, never, never, give someone a blank check again!
posted by HuronBob at 7:49 PM on December 28, 2006

You could try for a second estimate though as previously mentioned. I once scratched the hell out of the side of my car. The first body shop was around 1200 dollars, the second estimate, around 350. Honestly, shop around a bit if you can take the hassle.
posted by LoriFLA at 8:17 PM on December 28, 2006

IANAL, but I believe in my state (RI), the statute of limitations on these kinds of claims is three years. You're probably well within the window to have claims filed, be sued, etc.
posted by knave at 9:56 PM on December 28, 2006

If there's no police report from the accident, she's in a terrible bargaining position. You should tell her you're perfectly willing to pay the original, agreed-upon estimate, but you can't be held responsible for what's happened since then. (Cancel the check right now to prevent her from holding you responsible anyway.)

I don't believe insurance will want any piece of this without a police report, and I doubt the police will want anything to do with it at this late date. IMHO (and clearly IANAL), you're probably doing her a favor paying the original estimate... though that is, of course, the only right thing to do.
posted by SuperNova at 1:15 AM on December 29, 2006

I do not believe you are morally or ethically obligated to pay anything over the $400. I'd cancel the blank check, send a check for $400, and explain politely that this was the amount you agreed to after a legitimate estimate.

If she balks, then point out that without a police report, she can't really prove a thing, and you are doing your best to be nice. The implied threat, since you'll have done it once, is that you'll cancel the second check and make a big hassle for her.

You have no idea what has happened with the car since then. She could very well have backed into a tree and thought that this was a convenient time to get that "little scratch" fixed at your expense. Or, she might need extra cash to pay for her mansion. Either way, not your problem.
posted by Invoke at 9:28 AM on December 29, 2006

Thanks for all the advice, I appreciate the insights and warnings.
I talked to her today, and decided to take the pussy route.
I went to her house and reviewed the entire estimate. I also took a long, careful look at the car (which looked the same as when I hit it). She had a valid explanation as to why it took so long. I also printed a note for her to sign stating that I've settled the damages.
I thought back to the time of the accident. I remembered how initially she was completely against my proposition of not calling the police. She had told me that despite the advice her friends had given her, she didn't call the police on my request. She felt sympathetic about my premiums and had student children of her own.
When I was about to pull out the note for her to sign, I decided not to give it to her. I felt that getting her to sign it would be insulting. She's actually wasted more time than me on this mess. She's also laid some major trust in me, why should she not get it in return? She's obviously felt sympathetic in the past, so she's not going to screw me over now. Ultimately, hitting her car is my responsibility. So I just manned up and wrote $830 on the cheque.
posted by Count at 1:09 PM on December 29, 2006

Thanks for posting the followup but dude, you should have had her sign the note as a way to protect both of you. Dunno how it is in Canada, but down here in California, the other party has up to 18 months (might be longer under the law) to make an insurance claim. I had to deal with something similar a few years back. I only found out when the insurance company got ahold of me to get my side of the story because the woman who I rear ended in traffic (I dented the corner of her bumper, no damage to my car) was claiming bodily injury and as a result I was having a very difficult time getting new auto insurance.

You need to cover your ass. Lawyers are evil and could bite.
posted by drstein at 6:48 PM on January 1, 2007

So I just manned up and wrote $830 on the cheque.

Awesome. I know that had to sting, but you did the right thing. If I lived near you, I would buy you a delicious fish taco, right this moment.

Just a side note, I was shocked by how low both the original and the upwards adjusted prices were. Last time I got rear-ended there was almost no visible damage and it ended up costing better than $2k to repair.
posted by Tacos Are Pretty Great at 11:05 PM on January 5, 2007