Rekna

Hi,

Recently my girlfriend was backed into in a parking lot by a guy. The damages were minor but there were some scratches on her bumper. The guy said he would fix it himself because he is a painter. We got his name, number, insurance name, and policy number. In addition I took pictures of his license plates. We also got information of some witnesses who saw it. We told him we would call him after the Christmas break. Yesterday my girlfriend tried calling him and the number was not his. In addition, his name does not appear in the phone book. I tried to find his insurance company (he said it was AON insurance) but couldn't find contact numbers for them. Unfortunately my girlfriend didn't ask to see the insurance cards and he just read her the information, the same with his drivers license. I wasn't with her when she was getting this information so I didn't know she just took his word on this information. It looks like the only way we are going to track this guy down is through his plates (if they are valid). We called the police but they said they don't investigate traffic accidents and said to call our insurance company. Her insurance company will tack the plates if we file a claim, but if the plates aren't his then she gets stuck with the claim and her rates will go up. What is our best option to track this guy? Is there a free way to track a license plate to the owner of a vehicle?

Thanks

JustJess

Paging flstf!! Isn't he a cop of some sort??

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Jinn

Yea, but police really can't investigate this sort of thing. And as far as I know, him using NCIC to look up the plates would be illegal, also.

How big are the damages? I'd go with the insurance company route, unless you suspect the increase in rate would be greater than the amount you'd get from this guy.

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JustJess

Oh, I just meant that if there were a way for a civilan to look that up, he would know.

As far as your insurance co. goes, as this isn't your fault and you made a good faith effort to do it right, you should tell them the whole thing, give them the license plate number, and let 'em rip. I know that with my company, they will send me a check to cover damages and then go after the other guy with a vengeance.

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Rekna

The damages aren't major, just a few scratches on the corner of the back bumper. The cost to fix it would probably be under the deductible making it not worth it for the claim to go through on her insurance. The damages don't really bother us much but we would like to get this guy in trouble if possible. Hasn't he broken a law of some sorts?

The_Jazz

OK, as the resident insurance guy I think I need to wade in here.

First of all, your girlfriend did everything right here, unless she had the chance to take a picture of the ID card and didn't. She'd most likely have to get his permission to do that, and if he is a crook, he probably wouldn't have allowed her to do it anyway.

Second, I'm not completely convinced that this guy is a crook. It's entirely possible that she copied down the number incorrectly or he made a mistake. You need to eliminate that possibility before you guys decide to file a claim with her insurance. Fortunately, you can do that fairly easily.

AON is the 2nd largest insurance agents in the world (and they're based about 1/2 mile from here). They have offices all over the country, and my company (including me) deals with almost every office. If you'll tell me where you are (either by PM or here in the thread), I'll be happy to look up the closest office and give you some phone numbers.

When you call AON, they should be able to look up the policy number. You don't need to tell them that you think it's bogus, but be ready for the possibility. Just tell them that you were involved in a minor incident with someone who gave that policy number as proof of coverage and that you need to file a claim. If I understand the story correctly, this guy is some sort of painter, of either the house or car variety. If he's working for someone else (like MAACO for instance), you're just fine. However, if he's a house painter working for himself I can just about assure you that he's not on the up-and-up. AON's business model doesn't allow them to go after the small fry, so you're hoping for some corporation to belong to that policy number.

If AON can't help you, your girlfriend needs to report this to her insurance carrier if she wants the damage fixed. A couple of things about that, though: first, if the damage really is relatively minor, it may be best to just have her pay to fix it herself, especially if she has any sort of sizeable deductible. If she has a $500 deductible and it will cost $200 to fix, then it's not worth the trouble, especially since it could raise her rates, even if she wasn't at fault. Second, it could raise her rates, even if she wasn't at fault. Yes, I know I just repeated myself, but it's worth saying. Even if her insurance ends up tracking the guy down, they could still raise her rates. Almost every state allows that.

One last thing, if this guy is purposefully giving out incorrect information, it's insurance fraud, plain and simple. It's illegal, and he can go to jail.

Let me know how else I can help.

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Rekna

why can't they investigate and why would it be illegal to use the NCIC?

The_Jazz

It was on private property and no driving laws were broken. If it's insurance fraud, they might investigate if someone (most likely AON) makes a big stink about what happened after the fact, but they can't write a ticket for what happens on private property (unless invited to do so by the owner of the property).

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

Rekna

A grocery store parking lot is private property but does that mean I can't do anything to anyone who runs into my car in a parking lot because I don't own the parking lot?

The_Jazz

You and the police are different entities. The cops won't investigate a traffice accident on private property unless there's some sort of bodily injury. An insurance company working with/for you can investigate all they want. We're talking about different things.

If the cops decide to go after the guy for insurance fraud, that's different because a crime has been committed. Backing into a car with yours isn't necessarily a crime. Hitting someone with your car always is. If he had backed into your girlfriend, the police would have definitely investigated.

In short - property damage = no crime. Bodily injury = crime. Generally speaking. In most states. Subject to change. And I'm absolutely serious about that.

Check your PM's for some phone numbers, btw.

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

Rekna

thanks, i'll call the numbers later tonight and let you know whats going on. When the accident happened I wanted to handle it without getting anyone in trouble and not contacting his insurance but he gave a wrong phone number and his name isn't in the phone book so we are left with no other options

I called the insurance company. They said they only do business insurance in volume and they don't have the ability to track from a policy number or license plate number. They also said they believe the information given to me was false because of the way the guy acted.

So I called the DMV and they told me they cannot release the information on the vehicle but I was able to ween a few things out of them from the plates. First the plates are valid plates and belong to a truck. Also the guy gave us an incorrect name but the first name he gave us is the same (but spelled differently).

Below is a picture of the vehicle and am wondering if anyone can identify the make, model, and or year of this vehicle.



If I have this information I should be able to verify with the DMV if the plates belong to the correct vehicle.

Right now I think I only have 3 options. First would be to file a claim with our insurance and let them handle it while risking our insurance going up and us getting stuck with the deductible. Second would be to contact the police again and attempt to get them to pursue the guy for insurance fraud. 3 cut our losses and just live with the damages and let the guy get away with this.

Personally I could care less about the damages now I want the guy to get in trouble with the police.

Deltona Couple

I may be wrong, but from the looks of it, it appears to be a Ford Ranger or Chevy S-10 pickup. Older model, like I would think early 90s? Someone correct me if I am wrong.

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cj2112

The tail lights are wrong for an S-10 I'm gonna say Toyota, 4wd pick up, maybe a ford.

Brewmaniac

If the damage to her car was just scratches, I'd get some rubbing compound and see what it looks like. You might find out It's not worth all the stress and trouble trying to track him down and messing with insurance.

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Bossnass

The 4WD mudflap and the lights look like toyota (early 90's tacoma, maybe) but that is not the toyota tailgate I would expect.

Good luck. I once was backed into in a parking lot and had a lens cover broken. It wasn't a big deal, but I was an 18 year old kid in a shiny red car and he was a crusty middle aged man who tried to place the blame on me (I wasn't in the car when he backed into it) and refused to give me his information. I called the police, spent hours of my time, and eventually just went and bought the $27 dollar part. But, even in retrospect, I wouldn't have done it differently. However, I'm quite certain that he would.

BigTruck1956

i think is a early 90s 4x4 nissan, if that helps

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Deltona Couple

Bigtruck, not a Nissan. the rear fenders are totally different on the late 80's thru mid 90's Nissans.

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Destrox

Strange, body matches that of a Toyota Tacoma... but the rear bumber matches that of a early 90s GMC/S-10

I'd go with the Toyota.

Also just making sure you told them "650 VJB" Utah - right?

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lt1s10

I'm going to say Mitsubishi Mighty Max It was available in both 4WD and 2WD.

Or there may have been a Dodge (I think) pickup that shared the platform with the Mitsubishi pickup. Kinda the way the GM Colorado/Canyon is the same platform as the Isuzu I-series trucks.

Edit: Dodge Ram 50 is the one I forgot about. Without pictures of the front hard to say which truck it could be. Off hand only differences I remember are in the grill design on the exterior of the truck.