Contractor damaged my parked car: who helps?

Summary

If a works crew or their kit damages your parked car, who helps is your insurer and the contractor, not a parking appeal body. Photograph the car, the kit that hit it, and any reference numbers on the vehicle or the permit board. Tell your insurer straight away even if you hope not to claim. Write to the contractor and ask for their public liability insurer. If they all point at each other, a written claim for the repair cost, then a small claim, is the civil path in England and Wales. This is not a hit and run by an unknown driver, and it is not a garage that damaged the car during a service. Those are different doors.

Key information

• Do not admit fault in writing while you are still gathering the facts. Do report the incident to your own insurer. Many policies require that, even when you want the other side to pay.
• Comprehensive cover can get the car repaired. You may pay the excess and you may lose a no claims discount if your insurer cannot recover the money. You can still ask the other side for uninsured losses such as the excess and reasonable travel while the car is off the road. Keep those costs modest and keep receipts.
• Third party only cover does not pay for your own car. The claim then sits with the contractor or their insurer.
• A council, a utility, and a subcontractor can each say the other was on site. Ask each, in writing, who was responsible for that job on that date. Name the location and the time. Attach photos.
• The police will not usually assess a civil repair dispute. Call them if someone is injured, if the scene is unsafe, or if you need an incident log because a driver left and you cannot identify them. For a known contractor who is arguing about a sign or a barrier, the claim is civil.
• your insurer: If you have comprehensive insurance, the insurer can arrange repair and then try to recover from the contractor’s insurer. They will not promise that your no claims discount is safe. They will not run a court case about a sum that is only your excess unless that is part of the policy. Read the Citizens Advice claim steps before you choose between claiming and paying the garage yourself.
• Citizens Advice: Advisers will help you order the letters: contractor, their insurer, your insurer, then a letter before claim if nobody pays. They can explain making a small claim and the fee risk. They will not send the letter for you, value the dent, or tell you that you will win because three firms denied it.
• Your insurer: Records the incident and can repair under comprehensive cover, then seek recovery They will not: Does not have to protect a no claims discount if they cannot recover. Reach: The claims number on the policy.
• Contractor and their insurer: Can accept the repair cost through public liability They will not: Does not have to agree just because you wrote once. Reach: The address on the works board or their complaints page.
• Citizens Advice: Orders the letters and explains small claims fees They will not: Does not sue for you. Reach: Small claims guide.
• Court (small claim): Decides a money claim for repair costs where the free letters fail They will not: Does not send bailiffs to a utility because you are angry, and does not handle a personal injury claim on the money only form. Reach: GOV.UK make a court claim for money.

Practical guidance

• Photos, a short timeline, and two repair estimates if you can get them without spending more than the damage is worth.
• Your insurer, the same day, even as a notification.
• Contractor named on the vehicle, the permit, or the letter you already have. Ask for the liability insurer and a claim reference.
• Letter before claim if they deny responsibility: what happened, the repair figure, 14 days to reply, and that you are willing to use mediation. Citizens Advice sets out what that letter should contain.
• Civil Money Claims in England and Wales for a repair invoice you can already state as a figure, usually where you expect to recover no more than £10,000. Do not start a claim for injury on that same form. Injury has a different track.

Related topics

More in this area

• Vehicle insurance – making a claim if you’re in an accident
• Vehicle insurance – making a claim if your car or its contents are stolen
• Getting vehicle insurance
• Vehicle insurance if the accident wasn't your fault
• What Is A Notice Of Intended Prosecution?