Woman claims I hit her car in parking lot

[Dakota731]

Does the parking lot have a security camera? That helped my husband in a similar case.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Likely a scam. She cannot prove anything without video. I would refer her to your agent and let them deal with it. That's what they are there for.

 

[DVCcurious]

I'd tell her you've read all about this scam online and you're not falling for it. The scammers always ask low $$ amounts because they know most people will pay to avoid the hassle of defending themselves.

BTW I've hit a lot of people in parking lots and I always knew. The car slams to a stop and you hear a noise.

 

[Ranger111]

BTW I've hit a lot of people in parking lots and I always knew. The car slams to a stop and you hear a noise.

Gosh, post a public notice when you go into parking lots, please. I have never hit anyone in a parking lot....

 

[manning]

This doesn't sound right. She is saying you hit her hard enough to make a dent then you would have felt it.

Two weeks ago I was coming back from Disney and I was in the coming off the highway in the ramp going to make a right. There was a yield sign and it was a pretty busy intersection. I was waiting for a clearing and I got rear ended. It was a soft bump. When we pulled over she told me her foot slipped off the break. I didn't get a dent at all I got some of her paint that buffed out and what made the worst damage to the paint was that her license plate stock out and she didn't have a cover so the screw took off maybe a .25 inch of paint. In a parking lot I would think you are going about the same speed I don't think you will cause a bump. Did your car have some paint or anything on it? Are there cameras ? Don't call your insurance agent. I just don't believe this story.

Make sure you do a background check on her if this goes any further. My MIL got hit by someone which end up being a scammer they found out she did the same thing to 3 other people and end up getting arrested.

You may/may not have bumper damage. Bumpers now are flexible. Visual inspection may not reveal anything. Years ago the bumpers had a liquid filler that absorbed the impact. If you saw liquid you knew there was damage and the bumper needs to be repaired. Because of weight the liquid has been replaced with polypropylene foam or plastic honeycomb. A visual inspection won't reveal anything. Bumper repair is expensive. I was rear ended with no visible damage. The repair bill was $2,000 plus.

 

[perditax]

Good idea. This happened at the END OF AUGUST & we are just hearing of it now...

Scammity scam scam. Ignore.

 

[Judique]

BTW I've hit a lot of people in parking lots and I always knew. The car slams to a stop and you hear a noise.

By the way, what parking lots do you use? (I want to avoid them!) <g>.

.

 

[ellie05]

You may/may not have bumper damage. Bumpers now are flexible. Visual inspection may not reveal anything. Years ago the bumpers had a liquid filler that absorbed the impact. If you saw liquid you knew there was damage and the bumper needs to be repaired. Because of weight the liquid has been replaced with polypropylene foam or plastic honeycomb. A visual inspection won't reveal anything. Bumper repair is expensive. I was rear ended with no visible damage. The repair bill was $2,000 plus.

I don't have bumper damage they already look st it and gave me an estimate $506 for paint repair.

 

[hereyago]

Her story has more holes then Swiss cheese.

It was supposedly done in August, it is now December and she is just now reporting it?

As for the parking lot, was this at a school parking lot? If not, why is a HS resource officer contacting you? Yes, they can be real cops too, but if it wasn't at a school , why would a cop call and say they are a resource officer?, it would be a moot point,kwim?
Also, I trust no one and this may be me projecting, but do you know this was a real cop/resource officer?

She just wants some extra money for Christmas.

Have no more contact with her. I hope it wasn't the scam lady you emailed and had any hint of admitting you think you had anything to do with it.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I backed into a car trying to park. Very gently. The driver was standing there. I apologized profusely but couldn't see any damage at all. She said for 100 I'll forget about it. I said no thanks and politely gave her my insurance info and never heard from her.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I think it is a scam.
A few years back, I went to one of my grandkids' soccer game. I parked my car with an open space on one side, and when I got back to the car at the end of the game, there were two men standing by my car, and their car was in the spot beside mine. There was a big scrape on the side of their car and some damage. I also had a scrape on the side of my car, at about the same height.

They both started yelling at me that I had damaged their car, and they were calling the cops, etc. I was totally calm because I knew I had done the damage to my car on a post in an underground parking lot a few weeks earlier. They were really getting in my face and telling me I'd better give them some money now because once they got the police there it would cost me so much more. The thing was, the lawyer from the place where I worked at the time was with me when I did the damage, and his legal assistant also saw it happen (she was standing nearby waiting for us). Plus all my family had seen it. So I wasn't the least bit worried, and I said "yeah, go ahead, call the police, whatever," and got in the car and drove home. Never heard from anyone again.

 

[DVCcurious]

Gosh, post a public notice when you go into parking lots, please. I have never hit anyone in a parking lot....

Sometimes I go to the Magic Kingdom parking lot. You've been warned!

 

[Albort]

Tell them to pound sand until you are actually being sued. Its not up to you to prove you didnt hit their car, its up to them.

 

[a742246]

I own a 1995 Subaru, this never happen to me! I wonder why?????? It sounds like a hoax to me.

 

[dreiwhit]

I would ignore the person that contacted you. If they contact you again, tell them to sue you. I suspect you won't hear from that person again....

 

[Ranger111]

Personally, I would not tell them to sue me. That's just throwing down a red flag and you do not know how they are going to react.

Just say you believe they are mistaken. You do not believe you caused any damage, so you cannot pay for something you did not cause. Leave it at that.

 

[Alicefan]

Tell them there was no car in the spot in front of you when you pulled in. lol

 

[seashoreCM]

I would not tell anything. I would not tell them anything. I would not tell them to anything. Except say I did not do it.

I would do nothing until they put it in writing, and sent it via snail mail. And I would not suggest that they do that; let them think of the idea of putting it in writing all by themselves.

 

[seashoreCM]

"Two men standing by [my] car ..."

Better to gradually change your walking direction and go off and find someone, preferably a policeman, to escort you back to your car. Those two men could be unrelated robbers or muggers.

Ranger111: "Gosh, post a public notice when you go into parking lots, please. ..."

Post it where?

Upon receiving a written noitce or complaint from someone claiming he was injured or had property damaged by a car crash involvinv you, you should promptly make a report to your insurance company. Mark each page "Information Only" at the top and bottom. Include copies of what was sent to you, also marked "Information Only."

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• I'm a huge fan of dashcams and have one in my vehicle. A dashcam would have clarified whether there was an impact and how hard. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dashcam+parking Some of dashcams have the ability to record up to 7 hours after the ignition is turned off to see who bumps your vehicle. You can even get dashcams that record front and back of vehicle.
• most bumpers are designed for no damage below 5mph. Sounds like this was a hard hit.