Being Charged Too Much for Minor Accident

by Nikola

I recently hit someone's car in my driveway (which, by the way was parked illegally), and caused minor damage to the rear tail light of her '99 Saturn.

I told her to provide me with an estimate of the damages and I would take care of it. I felt that the estimate provided was too much and offered to have it fixed at a shop that belongs to a family friend, but the car owner refused.

I went on to tell her that I would agree to have the car fixed at the place she chose (the dealership), however, I would be paying by credit. She refused and demanded I pay her in cash...if not, she would report the incident to my insurance company.

I don't believe that it will cost what she says, and that she wants to pocket the extra money. Am I obligated to pay her cash, or does she have to accept the payment type I am offering, which is to pay the dealership directly by credit card?



Answer:


Hello,

You have an interesting situation. She is not obligated to take your payment, but if she takes you to court, she would look very unreasonable because you are offering to pay the dealership for the repairs and she is declining.

You are not obligated to tender payment by cash only. You are obligated to fix her car and that is what you are doing. In the case of insurance adjuster, they do give money out, but it usually is less than the estimate to avoid people wanting to not fix their cars but instead keeping the money.

In this situation, you may want to contact your insurance company. She is being unreasonable and this accident might not be your fault. She was parked illegally, which could means that you only owe a portion of the bill or nothing at all.

They will investigate and they will not let you hagging in there. She is using the fact that you want to keep this out of the insurance company to get money of you. Pay what is fair or let the insurance protect you. This is why you pay insurance for.

Good Luck,

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com