Hi all

Basically long story short i left my house today and i was hearing a rattling now whenever i hit the throttle and it sounded like it was coming from the exhaust but i just carried on and 210miles later when i was on the a1 m going past Leeds the heat shield from under the car come off behind me and hit a guys car and smashed his fog light i stopped we chatted got details ect but when i said here take my number and PayPal address get it fixed and bill it to me he said no hes ringing his insurance and claiming so my question is, is it my fault? As it was just a part the came off the car even tho i had no idea it was about to fall off i do keep the car in good condition and do monthly checks ect and it only just had a service and it wasnt picked up then

So whats the next step and am i to fault or do i wait it out and see what happens as it was only his fog light glass unit that smashed no other scratches or damage so surly it wouldn't be worth paying an excess for a £40 fog unit??

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Admit Nothing , Deny Everything , who knows it "may" have been debris on the road , you did the honourable thing giving your details but maybe the heat shield WAS on the road and the fact that it missed your car and hit the following was luck on your part but unfortunate for the car that it hit !!!!

Quickly, fire the heatshield back on

I have to admit, if the damage is literally limited to a fog light he is going a bit ott!

The sad world we live in means honesty gets you nowhere. Wait and see if your insurance get in touch, you never know he might not even phone his insurance, and anyway. For a £40 fog life he is probably putting his next years premium up by registering a claim! (Even if it is non fault it still goes against you).

I never picked the shield up again as it was like a mile down the road, had anyone else heard of the heat shield just coming off? Will it effect anything on my car now? It was only the bit above the muffler near the bumper, i haven't heard from them yet or heard from the other driver yet. If he was to get insurance involved would it effect my premiums even tho i technically didnt touch his car with mine??

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Don't worry about it, you probably won't ever know it's missing. You normally get some warning when a heatshield is falling off as it rattles about, but it does happen.

Yes your premium would likely be affected as he would make a claim against you, that said they have to prove it! You may be missing a heatshield but what evidence does he have to support that the damage on his car come from your heatshield?

It did sound rattley when i left my house but i just drove on, and no evidence apart from me saying sorry if it came off my car which he said it did will just wait and see what happens thank you :) hopefully no insurance claims are needed lol

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It did sound rattley when i left my house but i just drove on, and no evidence apart from me saying sorry if it came off my car which he said it did will just wait and see what happens thank you :) hopefully no insurance claims are needed lol

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So your saying..

He claims the part fell off your car? Presumably he was alone? You didn't see it fly off? that heatshield lying down the road might not be from your car? If you see where I'm going with this...

It might not be the right advice but I would deny it, little or no evidence to suggest it come from your car if you ask me.

I think when someone is threatening an insurance claim for something as small/simple as that, I'd also be as difficult as possible. I think if he had given you his number/paypal etc etc, then I'd be inclined to take the honest road on that side.

As you've said, if you weigh up the cost of a headlight bulb to sort out independantly or the knock on effects of an insurance claim for EVERYONE involved, only an eejit would choose the latter!

...so in that sense.. you're dealing with an eejit, might as well stoop to a level he understands..

"The driver said you admitted fault"

Where is the evidence? As Stef said, unless there was someone else with him that can corroborate his statement, he could be making all this up to 'frame' you for something you have no part in!

No he was on his own and about mid 30's but it was an old t reg Volvo it didnt look in the best condition anyway even if i had smashed the f&g light the way the car looked it was probably smashed any way. I have checked my PayPal and voice mails but nothing so im not telling anyone like insurance so will wait and pley i had no idea

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I agree matey, you should tell your insurer you saw something in the road and that you never said that the part was off your car (in fact insist that you never did) for the sake of a fog light and the argument, if he really wants to make a claim let him, but tell the insurers you saw something in the road, but you really are not too sure what it was then as you went over it, you felt a bump and the next thing you know you pulled over and this guy claims it fell off your car. If they ask if you confirmed it say "I wasnt sure if it was but as it left the underside of my vehicle as I passed it and I was a bit confused at the time, it possibly came across that way".

If I was you I would tell your insurer that this guy requested your details, and give them a heads up to what we have all advised (nod nod, wink wink) but if nothing else you dont tell them and they will take it as a sign of guilt!

T reg Volvo , if the wiper blade fell off the car the insurers would write it off saying its an uneconomical repair !!!! :D

hows this all going Dan?

He emailed me a PayPal bill for £9.99 so i paid him and forgot it nothing from insurance so im guessing he got a fog light second hand for that price

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Probably had someone tell him how it would knock on with his insurance so good result. Although if he emailed you a bill he would only get about 8 quid as the rest would be seen as a merchant sale so they would charge him the privilege lol

He emailed me a PayPal bill for £9.99 so i paid him and forgot it nothing from insurance so im guessing he got a fog light second hand for that price

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Hahahaha, what a git!

He still has 7 years to file a PI claim though, shock and whiplash n all.

Sadly true but as insurers where not involved then it's much more difficult to prove

Probably had someone tell him how it would knock on with his insurance so good result. Although if he emailed you a bill he would only get about 8 quid as the rest would be seen as a merchant sale so they would charge him the privilege lol

It's free if sent as a gift

yeah, but it depends!

If I log into paypal, click pay and choose friend or family - its free. However, if I send you a bill for £10, then that is seen as a business transaction. so I would then pay around £1 for the pleasure of sending the bill in the first place :D