When somone takes out your bumper

[dave m]

This is almost worth a poll.

Some idiot at work scraped 6 square inches of paint off my colour coded rear bumper. They left yellow paint behind, and must have left a large scrape/dent in the side of their car. I work at the major hospital for Oxfordshire UK, there must be more than a thousand employees trying to park each day, it will be one of them.
Do I:
a) Put it behind me and get the paint in.
b) Use my lunch hour to stroll round the employees car parks looking for dented yellow cars.
c) Report it to security in the hope that they might be interested.

If b) any suggestions as to my next step

Dave

[Wombat]

I would definitely tell security. They see lots of cars go by.

Also, maybe report it to the police. The paint used on cars is usually manufacturer-specific, and I bet that if you file it as a hit-and-run, you can get help on finding the make (and possibly model) of car that hit you. Then the police can check for that kind of car getting repair work done.

If you're going to look for that car, you'd better do it today, since the car is unlikely to be driven to the hospital again until it is fixed.

[Alec]

Sometime ago, someone cracked my back bumper and left a note in my front window... it said "call me" with a (fake) non-existant telephone number!

[VJ]

I saw somebody scraping my bumper, yet because I couldn't cross the street (my car was on the other side of it; 4 lane, heavy traffic), I was unable to find out who
(sorry to the women out here, but it was a lady driver ; mind you, not the kind whose phonenumber you're eager to get - as far as I could tell ).
The "damage" was very light (actually, too light to get it fixed, but nevertheless quite visible), but it is something that is not done !

My dad once got lucky when someone scraped his car (in front of our house) : there was a note with a phonenumber. He called and the guy came over : "I thought it was your car, but I was too afraid to ring the doorbell. " ). (damage was quite heavy : new front sidequard, repair of the hood, new headlight, ...)


@davem: I would also notify security !


Jörg

[Fat Tone]

Definately tell security and make the walk. Hospitals also have thousands of other visiting so be quick. If you find them, do b again. If it isn't staff then call the Police.

Wombat - that level of Police interest is the stuff of fiction these days. I once had golf clubs stolen from the back of my estate car. They eventually came to note the details, but weren't interested in finger printing or examining the car in any way. At least I did ok on the insurance.

Good luck Dave.

Tony.

[dave m]

I only discovered the damage at the end of the day when I went to go home, by which time they were long gone. However it was a staff car park so it must have been an employee. I'm going to have a wander around at lunchtime.

Dave

[[GDI]Raptor]

Well, what do your insurance company say? If it was an employee, you migth find him depending on the size of your workingplace!

[impact]

The trick is to wipe your paint from the car you just hit and go park somewhere else... or so I am told...

[The PIT]

Not much point telling the police they won't do anything if it's on security video and you get the number plate you may after a bit of preasure get them to do something.
I've got a nice scratch on my wing from some plonker as well. The spray can will have to come out as it's down to the metal work.

[dave m]

I found it!

Yellow Megane Coupe registration X193 WNN, with a five foot line of my blue paint running down the dent in the side of it. It's in the staff car park today but doesn't have a parking permit. I reported it to Security who don't have it on their books and neither does the parking office. According to a colleague it parks there a lot (having boxed her in once). I've left a note on it and if they don't respond the parking manager says they will clamp it.

Dave

[VJ]

Hey, congratulations !

Hope he/she has got insurance...


Jörg

[Fat Tone]

Hope he/she has got insurance...

If not, the dent could always get deeper

[dave m]

I'm hoping they'll be nice about it, otherwise I'll go to the Police and ask for their details to pass onto my insurance company.

Interesting that, having left yellow paint on my bumper, they only left it a day before bringing it in with all my blue paint on it. Not too smart I'm thinking. But probably smart enough to work out who made that dent bigger Tony so I'll resist that temptation.

Dave

[rylan]

Make sure you get the pates and VIN from that car too

And yeah, if they dissapear, you can always add to ther dent in their car.

[Bohrn]

hey congrats! yoiu got lucky. Read my post in the crime related post farther down. Cops were totally useless and incompetant in my case. Hope it all works out.

Ps, stupid people! I would KILL for a Renault Megane with the big motor and sport suspension, etc. I cannot get them here in Canada. They get one and frig it up! People like that should have to drive mundane transportation, and nice people who apreciate it should get the killer rides!