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I have a problem.

A while back, my car's front bumper was struck by an Oldsmobile that belonged to my next door neighbor when my car was parked out on the street. I think this happened in late May. (Whatever day it was that I had got my car alarm.) The guy said that he would owe me back as soon as he can. He didn't want to go through insurance. I kept reminding him about it, and he said he'd have the money by the beginning of July.

Today I finally got to talk to him and he said that he did not have the money and now he is completely broke and unemployed as he claims BUT, my friend next door (opposite side) said he's always working! WTF?! I'll get more info out of him later because I know he won't lie to me.

I also got the damage repaired due to another accident I had so basically I have a new front bumper. But since he caused an accident, he should pay up. I still have the estimate for the damge, and it is a $630 repair. But now that he doesn't have the money, what's the best way to take this? I gave him a lot of time, and he misused it and his money that he still needs to owe me.

 
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That is so sh*tty!!!
IMO I would not know what to do besides get really really pissed off.
It's because he is your neighbor I suggest you get your car and start doing donuts on his front lawn untill the stupid f*ck pays up!

 
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Great... now I have to pay for a new lawn that isn't mine...

 
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get his insurance info an report it - show his insurance co the estimate for repairs and they should reimburse you (as long as he goes along with hit - ot threaten to do the above so he pays you

 
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Well basically he ain't paying now
what makes you think insurance will pay for it???
its already been a couple of months when this occured so if SoniCcIvIc did report this the neighbor can just deny he even hit him
either way the only way to settle this is court and that is basically what you can do. But it is such a hassle!!!

 
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I guess you will need some type of plan of attack for this.

1st - You shoudl get the whole story on the guy from your neighbor and see if hes working, even if he isnt he no doubt has unemployement checks comming in.

2nd - If hes working then I would take him to the cleaners on this one and get the money he owes, plus intrest even because he lied to you. If hes not working then ask him about this and see if you can even recover some of the money he owes, make a deal with him on it somehow, because something is better than nothing.

3rd - If he refuses to co-operate working or not, I would contact yours or his insurance company and seek advice on where to go from here, he admited guilt and thats all tha matters, and if you have any witnesses that know he admited it then hes screwed.

I dont know if there are any members that work for insurance compaies or not on here but they would be able to help better. I dont know what the time limit, if any, is to file a claim for an accident.

I know what its like because I had a similar problem awhile back. A chick hit my bumper and did a good job on the paint and the platic itself, luckily she left a note and fessed up to it (It was parked while I was at work). Her parents agreed to pay whaever the cost was to repair it, so I said the hell with it and told her I wanted a new bumper, cost....$750 CDN.
Then a week later, if some of you recall I rolled my car, well then it went into the shop and some one at the shop called her and told her what happened and then she started to try and get out of it by wanting me to put it through my insurance as damage from the roll, even though there was no damage to my bumper, as my car landed on its roof and thats all. In the end she paid up and so did the insurance company, but then the money went to pay my deductable so I was no further ahead.

Well thats my LONGGG $0.02.

Enjoy.

 
Rep Power: 348

No, you can still go to his insurance dude. Just tell the guy that if he doesn't pay up you will report it to his insurance co. If he says you don't know who his insurance carrier is just tell him that if you report it to the cops then they will find out who his insurance is as well as filing charges for a hit and run since he never reported it.

I don't think its considered a hit and run but try to bluff him by saying that you talked to a lawyer and that's what he told you to do.

Good luck man!

 
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I'd try suing him in small claims, you'd control it yourself and keep it out of insurance and still have a good chance of getting the money.

 
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The People's Court!!!

 
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even tho he is ur neigbor u should have called the cops cause shiet like this can happen.. hopefully there was witnesses or he admits to it and u can take it thru small claims and insurance the sooner the better

 
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One word, KHARMA.

I realize the dude hit your car and should have paid. You took a risk and let him slide instead of reporting it. Personally, I too have been screwed, so I don't offer that anymore. You have a check on my doorstep within 48 hours or I make the call, period. And if it is too big for anyone to reasonable be able to pay, I report it immediately.

Now, your neighbor ripped you off. But it sounds like your car is already fixed from another accident. So in reality, you are out nothing.

1. You can let it go. Basically all you get out of this is being the better person and letting go of the negative issues that are holding you back.

2. You can go to small claims court and get your money. If you have reciepts and pictures, you will most likely win. If you have a witness that heard his promise, that is better too.

But either way you have to live next to this moron. What happens if you win and then a month later your car gets mysteriously keyed?

If it were me, I would walk away. Tell everyone about him sure, but this is what is called a loser deal. If you go to your insurance company, you will most likely get screwed because your car is already fixed. And it will still be a hassle as well.

I remember your accident was near the same time as mine. I reported mine and now I am suing everyone to get all my money back from having to fix my car myself. I will eventually get it back, but even doing it the legal way was still a hassle. Good luck and be safe.

 
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you have up to one year to claim for insurance - and since it was his fault it shouldn't effect your rates or anything - BUT you do need his information to give to your adjuster so they can contact his company - otherwise it will effect your rates (unless you have a claims forgiveness endorsement)

 
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Should have called the police. You can't trust anyone these days. Your best bet is small claims court like Qksilver said. It should be very easy to file and the cost should be minimal. I know in NC that the cost to file a claim is like $45. This would be your best bet for resolution and it sounds like you wouldn't have any problem winning.

 
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Well unfortunately I have NO witnesses. I have pictures of the damage on my computer, that with the estimate. The only OTHER person who saw it was a friend of the owner's car who also lives in the same house next door.

Yeah, I learned my lesson - I really liked what rickinthescv said about paying up. Sometimes I can be too nice and it may be a little too late to start biting someone's *** like a mad dog, but at any rate it looks like small claims court might be the solution. If I have to deal with my insurance company again... forget it. (Geico is composed of lazyasses...)

So I have pictures of the damage... pictures of the car... it's license plate #... and the damage estimate. Worthy enough for small claims court?

Thank you all for your support!

 
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Anyone....

 
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I would tell him that you are taking him to scc and if he still wont pay, then SUE HIS ***!!!!!!!!

 
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At the very least, when he offered to pay for it you should have made him sign an IOU. Even better would be to find a sample borrow/IOU legal document (check legal books or the web) and fill in the blanks. Get him to sign and date the fact that he will pay you the money. As long as you have his signature, date, amount, and a due date, he'd be liable for that amount. You may have to take him to small claims if he doesn't pay, but with that document in hand, it would be a 15-minute open and shut case. If he was to refuse to sign, f- him and call insurance. Technically that's what you pay them for, to get involved so you don't have to be a loan shark. Dumbass shouldn't hit parked cars anyway


Edit: You do also get what you pay for in insurance companies most of the time. It might seem to be a bargain saving a couple bucks a year, but when something happens (it always does) you could end up getting screwed over in the end. I'd take reputation over price in the insurance industry (why we bought civics over kias)

 
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its a tuffy man, you gotta live next to him for a while so....

chris

 
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I learned that the guy IS working. No wonder he couldn't look me in the eye, he was straight up lying. Evidently, he just doesn't want to live up to his repsonsibilities.

And now I have a witness, but I dunno if I can ask him to be my witness. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG] Because he's a friend to that guy but I am closer to my witness. I don't know if I should get him involved because I don't want to make him take sides when he's not involved in it from the beginning, you know?

But he did lie to me so I dunno if it would be me doing something worse than he just did.

 
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Id go with small claims court.

 
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we meet in oaklandville and f up his car

problem solved!

 
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He owns a POS Ford Escort I think... but I think it would look good on fire. Damn... well, maybe next 4th of July. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]