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Called the police, they said there is nothing they can do. This is considered a civil dispute. SMH I really don't know what to do. I did nothing wrong, got my car damaged, the tow guy is not trying to accept responsibility, refuses to give me his car insurance. So I have nothing to work with. I created a claim with my insurance, and I guess they are going to try go after him to get his information. But what if he just dodges their calls or doesn't give up his information? Man I'm just really bummed about this whole situation. I feel like there's nothing I can do to get this resolved
Wait, you have a recording of him threatening to "beat your ***," and the police can't do anything?
Unless this guy was a real fly-by-night he should have insurance that will pay to have it fixed. Take it to a reputable body shop that YOU choose. Shouldn't cost you anything under these circumstances. +996 on using flatbed in the future. I've always insisted and AAA never questions it.
Whoever you've talked to at the Police is too lazy to do their job. This is NOT a civil matter. He damaged your car on the road when he installed the magnetic light and then refuses to hand over the insurance info. The incident happened on the road right-of-way where the police has full jurisdiction. This is a hit and run and you need to talk to another officer and explain to them just like I did here. Go to the police station and talk to an officer there. It is no different than if he pulled up to tow you and accidentally side swiped your car. This is the same thing as that. Bring the recorded conversation with you and have the officer listen to it as well. The tow truck driver is playing a game with you and he has done this many times before. Don't let him intimate you. I bet he has insurance too. If not business insurance then he must have a vehicle insurance on the tow truck.
Here is what I would do: (1) Take the $100, because in doing so he is admitting liability; (2) Take your car to a high end paint shop and get an estimate; (3) Call your insurance company, explain what happened, give them the estimate and make a claim, and put the $100 towards the repair. Let the insurance company take over from there. If they want to pursue him, let them do it. Life is short and this is causing you too much stress. It can be repaired and then you move on. I have bigger marks on my car just from road debris and life/time/miles. Settle it up where you are in charge of the repair=less stress/more control over the situation.
Here is what I would do: (1) Take the $100, because in doing so he is admitting liability; (2) Take your car to a high end paint shop and get an estimate; (3) Call your insurance company, explain what happened, give them the estimate and make a claim, and put the $100 towards the repair. Let the insurance company take over from there. If they want to pursue him, let them do it. Life is short and this is causing you too much stress. It can be repaired and then you move on. I have bigger marks on my car just from road debris and life/time/miles. Settle it up where you are in charge of the repair=less stress/more control over the situation.
This is really rational advice. You can't let your future happiness be defined by how this works out; it's just not worth it. Take the $100 and get the scratches fixed, and never think about it again. Otherwise your blood pressure's going to go up every time you look at that scratch as you think about how you got screwed. I've had stuff like this happen to me and it's infuriating because it's not your fault. But I guess it's best to just put it behind you.
Hell I have bigger scratches than that on my car and if somebody'd give me $100 I'd throw a tube of touchup paint and a little color sanding at it and be pretty happy
You guys are right. I was just caught up in wanting justice very badly because he is such a scumbag. My insurance contacted him today, on a recorded conversation on my insurances end, in which he responded that he needs us to send him a copy of the tow receipt to refresh his memory. Because he claims he doesn't remember who I am and he denied taking/towing me 1hr and 20 minutes to the mechanic shop 3 days ago. And this is after my insurance told him they already spoke to the shop owner who confirmed that you towed my car to his shop -_-
If it makes you guys understand why I am so frustrated I don't know why I originally wrote he offered $100, he said he would only give me $50 to go get it done with his friend. If he offered 100 I would have not taken it as such a slap in the face.
I found a lot of his information though such as his USDOT (Department of Transportation) number to be registered to tow, his government name, his home address, pretty much everything except his insurance information haha.
thank you all for all the input and support though. definitely helping me slowly get over this ****ty situation. i'll probably make a few more phone calls to some different departments on monday but if they can't give me his insurance info theres really not much I can do. I'm not too familiar with small claims court so I'd rather not have to go there. anything court related just sounds expensive plus do you have to lawyer up?
here's some pics just to keep you all entertained haha. I honestly didn't think this thread was going to be as lively as it has.
I work for an insurance company and I agree, you files a claim, let them handle it. If you end up getting it repaired through your insurance, you most likely have small accident forgiveness (anything less than $500) and it would not be an at fault claim. And who knows, they might be able to recoup the money through subrogation. Good luck and if you have any insurance questions let me know, happy to help!