What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?undefinedWhat is the name of your state? California
Let me aplogize up front as this is rather long......
While stopped alongside a green curb in the parking lot of my daughter's school, a student (driving "Dad's" car) backed out of a parking space hitting the side of my car. A police officer who was at the school on other business wasn't able to complete an official "accident report" due to it being private property, but did cite the boy (a minor), as an unlicensed driver. He threatened to tow the kid's car but, feeling sorry for him, I said that wasn't necessary (in hindsight, my first mistake). The boy had no insurance ID card in the car so the officer called "Dad" at work, who provided him with the policy info. We then all went about our separate ways.
Later, I called the insurance co. who advised the policy had been cancelled over a year ago. I called the boy's mother who said "we have insurance on two of our cars but not on that one." She went on to say "we told him to take one of the other cars & not to drive the one w/o insurance but he didn't listen." (Wouldn't a sane parent have instead said "you have no driver's license, you can't drive ANY of the cars"?) "Mom" asked me not to report the accident under my Uninsured Motorist coverage, preferring to settle directly with me, to which I reluctantly agreed, providing everything went smoothly (my second mistake).
I obtained estimates ($2012, $1895 & $1951). She said they're all too high & they don't have that kind of money. I said "fine, I'll just go through my insurance co". She asked me to go to her brother's body shop as he would give them a deal, which I declined to do. After arguing for a bit, she finally said fine, get the car fixed & send her the bill. I said no, I would need CASH from her up front. She said no, she would only pay off a final bill, not an estimate. She doesn't trust I'd actually get the car fixed. I reminded her by law, I don't need to get my car fixed, that she's liable for damages, irregardless. She told me they just don't have that kind of money. While I can certainly sympathize, I wasn't the one who allowed my child to drive a car, knowing he didn't have a license, no insurance on the car, etc. Bottom line, they are being difficult & that's fine, I have no problem going through my own insurance to have my car repaired (it's a 2004 PT Cruiser that I've babied & have every intention of having repaired).
My question is two part, first being, is it unreasonable to contact the police & ask that they be cited for providing fraudulent insurance information to a law enforcement officer at the scene of the accident?
Without going into all the gory details of subsequent conversations with "Mom", suffice it to say as a result of her attitude, I'm "on a mission" to make sure they are punished in some way & don't wind up walking away scott-free. The rest of us pay our debts, buy insurance, don't drive w/o a license, etc., & I'm sick and tired of those who feel they are exempt from the rules & laws the majority of us abide by, as well as pay dearly for.
Due to the relatively low $ figure (in today's $'s, at least), it is highly unlikely my insurance co will do anything other than paying my claim & then sending them a demand letter. When they don't pay it, the adjuster will more than likely just close the claim.
Does anyone know if there are steps I can take to insure they don't get their license back, can't register their car(s), etc., until they reimburse the insurance co.? Can I sue them for damages myself in small claims court (knowing full well I won't receive a dime), simply to obtain a formal judgement against them? This would then allow me to basically "walk it through the system" to make sure appropriate parties/authorities (DMV, etc.) are notified and appropriate penalties and disciplinary actions are taken. Otherwise I feel certain it will "get lost in the system" by a probable lack of follow through by my insurance co. It is their attitude that has gotten my goat (my third mistake). By nature, I'm not a vengeful person & tend to let things slide but feel strongly they need to suffer some sort of consequence.
Does anyone know for certain if they will REALLY be penalized in some way if I simply sit back & let my insurance co. handle it? I don't want to file a small claims suit & wind up in trouble myself. I've checked all of the self help sites on filing small claims suits & can't find an answer.
I know, I should just let it go &, in the end, just might do that but am just curious at this point if I have any options. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Let me aplogize up front as this is rather long......
While stopped alongside a green curb in the parking lot of my daughter's school, a student (driving "Dad's" car) backed out of a parking space hitting the side of my car. A police officer who was at the school on other business wasn't able to complete an official "accident report" due to it being private property, but did cite the boy (a minor), as an unlicensed driver. He threatened to tow the kid's car but, feeling sorry for him, I said that wasn't necessary (in hindsight, my first mistake). The boy had no insurance ID card in the car so the officer called "Dad" at work, who provided him with the policy info. We then all went about our separate ways.
Later, I called the insurance co. who advised the policy had been cancelled over a year ago. I called the boy's mother who said "we have insurance on two of our cars but not on that one." She went on to say "we told him to take one of the other cars & not to drive the one w/o insurance but he didn't listen." (Wouldn't a sane parent have instead said "you have no driver's license, you can't drive ANY of the cars"?) "Mom" asked me not to report the accident under my Uninsured Motorist coverage, preferring to settle directly with me, to which I reluctantly agreed, providing everything went smoothly (my second mistake).
I obtained estimates ($2012, $1895 & $1951). She said they're all too high & they don't have that kind of money. I said "fine, I'll just go through my insurance co". She asked me to go to her brother's body shop as he would give them a deal, which I declined to do. After arguing for a bit, she finally said fine, get the car fixed & send her the bill. I said no, I would need CASH from her up front. She said no, she would only pay off a final bill, not an estimate. She doesn't trust I'd actually get the car fixed. I reminded her by law, I don't need to get my car fixed, that she's liable for damages, irregardless. She told me they just don't have that kind of money. While I can certainly sympathize, I wasn't the one who allowed my child to drive a car, knowing he didn't have a license, no insurance on the car, etc. Bottom line, they are being difficult & that's fine, I have no problem going through my own insurance to have my car repaired (it's a 2004 PT Cruiser that I've babied & have every intention of having repaired).
My question is two part, first being, is it unreasonable to contact the police & ask that they be cited for providing fraudulent insurance information to a law enforcement officer at the scene of the accident?
Without going into all the gory details of subsequent conversations with "Mom", suffice it to say as a result of her attitude, I'm "on a mission" to make sure they are punished in some way & don't wind up walking away scott-free. The rest of us pay our debts, buy insurance, don't drive w/o a license, etc., & I'm sick and tired of those who feel they are exempt from the rules & laws the majority of us abide by, as well as pay dearly for.
Due to the relatively low $ figure (in today's $'s, at least), it is highly unlikely my insurance co will do anything other than paying my claim & then sending them a demand letter. When they don't pay it, the adjuster will more than likely just close the claim.
Does anyone know if there are steps I can take to insure they don't get their license back, can't register their car(s), etc., until they reimburse the insurance co.? Can I sue them for damages myself in small claims court (knowing full well I won't receive a dime), simply to obtain a formal judgement against them? This would then allow me to basically "walk it through the system" to make sure appropriate parties/authorities (DMV, etc.) are notified and appropriate penalties and disciplinary actions are taken. Otherwise I feel certain it will "get lost in the system" by a probable lack of follow through by my insurance co. It is their attitude that has gotten my goat (my third mistake). By nature, I'm not a vengeful person & tend to let things slide but feel strongly they need to suffer some sort of consequence.
Does anyone know for certain if they will REALLY be penalized in some way if I simply sit back & let my insurance co. handle it? I don't want to file a small claims suit & wind up in trouble myself. I've checked all of the self help sites on filing small claims suits & can't find an answer.
I know, I should just let it go &, in the end, just might do that but am just curious at this point if I have any options. Thanks in advance for any advice.