Vehicle incident, what to do?

I came to work in the morning and parked my truck. When I returned to my truck at lunch there was a note on the windshield saying I had hit someones car. At that time I got out of my truck and noticed my front bumper was touching the bumper of the car in front of me. I contacted the person. He came out and said he had pictures. I said that it looks like the front two screws on my license plate put two 1/8th inch scratches on his bumper. He said he was going to get an estimate and that I can either pay him or contact my insurance. The next day I got a bill for $500 plus a 2-3 day car rental. No police report was filed and he's claiming it is definitely my fault. What should I do?
Additional Details
Thanks everyone. I think the best thing to do is contact my insurance and let the adjusters battle it out because he seems like a person that I don't want to deal with directly even though I am a little worried about my premiums.

It was a 2006 ford explorer and I was amazed at how quickly he got a quote (under 24 hours). They are saying they have to remove the whole bumper and this and that...blah, blah, blah. I was looking forward to a nice weekend too!

tracybranham

Is he saying he has pictures of you hitting his car???? If so I would not do anything until he shows you those and has defenite proof..Sounds like a scam to me!! I would most defenitely think that if you hit his car you would have known it, was his car there when you parked yours? Sounds to me like he backed into your car...in that case it is his own fault, and without a police report you can most certainly fight it, but I dont know if you would need a lawyer, by the time you pay for all of that it may be worth just fixing, If it were me, I wouldnt pay for the repairs because it sounds way to fishy...You could probably fight it on your own...Maybe call your insurance and just ask them what they think, but if you file a claim they will jack up your rates, My insurance provider just told me that most all companies raised their rates 16% for new customers, so they are gonna try and get the rate increase from you the first chance they get..so be careful!! Im curious to know what you end up doing...email me if you can and let me know.. Good luck!! Dont let em scam ya....:o)
Oh and another thing, I just had someone rear end me, and I dont believe that the damage you are describing is 500 dollars, I have a brand new car and the whole bumper and absorber has to be relaced and it is only 800 dollars and can be done in 1 day, so this guy is saying this is a 3 day job and wants rental car money, thats bull crap!! He legally has to get at least 3 estimates, he can however take it whereever he wants to get the repairs done, but if it comes down to it, the best thing to do is turn it over to the insurance and have their adjusters handle it so you dont get screwed by him..2 scratches can no way cost that much let alone 3 days to repair!! Im mad about it and dont even know you...haha

Sara

I think you should ask him to make a police report, and if he declines tell him you will start investigating it and take him to court. There may be security cameras outside where you went to lunch or even just have your car looked at.. they may be able to tell if you were the hitter or hit ie. Ive been in a situation like this and people like to lie and just try to get their money.. If he doesnt want the police report, you can suspect that he is lying. If he does.. tell the police what you know.. They will be the ones to decide who takes the blame. Its up to you though, Good Luck.

kiki

A) It's just a scratch
B) get in touch with your insurance asap.
C) He is up tight and an idiot
D) if your insurance can't help you don't pay a penny!!!
What a hassle of a scratch from a numberplate.
Does he has any witnesses?

picasso

If he doesn't have witnesses, chances are he couldn't prove you did it in court. Was there a car there when you parked? Is it possible he is just trying to get money from you by backing into your car and saying you did it? If it was me, I would call my insurance company first. Ask them what to do. Tell them you don' think you did it and let them decide what to do. I would think about filing a police report about it also. That will show you don't think you did it and you are concerned about him defrauding the insurance company. If you talk to him again, the only thing I would say to him is that it is 7 years in jail for defrauding the insurance company. Anything past that, let your insurance company or the police work it out for you.

Good Luck!!

kelly_f_1999

tell him to talk with your insurance company and say nothing more he could have hit you in the parking lot just as easy and put the blame on you dont you think you call your insurance company and say some guy say i hit him in a parking lot but i dont think i did i dont remember any car being there when i parked mine and let them work it out dont pay the guy anything unless you know you done it and if you know you did just tell your insurance company never pay out cash.. you know today way things are he could have drove in to you just as well dont you think right

shjf47

Are there any security camares in the parking lot? What is to say he didn't back into your car? Do not pay him, turn it in to your insurance agent. That is what you have insurance for. The bumper should NOT need to be removed to repair the damage.

bigbaddermofo

Call the insurance company. That is what you pay them for. They will take care of it. This is a small claim for them, and they will just pay it. They won't even investigate anything.

2Westies

Notify your insurance carrier. Unfortunately body work is super expensive - someone sideswiped my car in a parking lot. I reported a hit and run to my carrier, thought no big deal not too much damage, the bill was over $4,000. Let the insurance companies deal with it and the owner of the car you supposedly hit.

Dr. Jim

hmmm u can take it to court

and do it and idk who will win

50/50 there

and he might be lying hard to tell

hmmmmmm

but how would he know u hit him
and if u supposily did
wouldnt u have moved it

so it sounds like he like let the break go
and hit ur car
but ur car was close

if then
he has to pay for his own

idk much
but sounds lil fishy to me

talk to ur lawyer and see what he suggest

but lawyer time and money and court cost and money
if that goes over 500 just pay the man if u believe honstily
it is ur fault

or go to court and beat him

but i hate ppl sueing for wrong reasons

but idk those are ur opinions

for a lil scretch 500+ is a lil too much

what kind of car was it?
and who was the man, any relation? work etc.?

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