My Car Was Damaged While Parked
You came back to damage and no note. Here is what to do and whether there is a claim.
Report it and look for cameras immediately. If the other vehicle can be identified, this becomes an ordinary non-fault claim.
If it cannot, you are into the untraced driver route or your own comprehensive cover. Either way, speed decides it - footage disappears within days.
What to do first
In this order, and today rather than tomorrow.
Photograph everything
The damage close up, the wider scene, where you were parked, and any paint transfer or debris.
Ask about cameras straight away
Car park CCTV, nearby shops, homes with doorbell cameras, and any dashcams in parked cars. Ask in writing.
Report it
To the police if there is a note-free hit and run, and to your own insurer regardless of whether you intend to claim.
Car park CCTV is often kept for days, not weeks. If there is any chance a camera saw it, ask today. This is the single most time-critical thing you can do.
If nobody can be identified
You have two routes. The Motor Insurers’ Bureau untraced drivers scheme, which requires a police report and has strict conditions. Or a claim on your own comprehensive policy, which means paying your excess and potentially affecting your no-claims.
Neither is ideal, which is exactly why chasing the footage in the first 48 hours is worth the effort.
Happened today?
The footage is the whole claim. Tell us where it happened and we will tell you what to chase.
Common questions
Yes. A police report is required for an untraced driver claim, and it costs nothing to make one.
Often only a few days, sometimes up to thirty. Request it in writing immediately.
If you claim on your own policy and nobody is identified, usually yes. That is why identifying the other vehicle matters so much.
Both usually have CCTV. Ask the site manager in writing the same day and follow it up.
That makes it a straightforward non-fault claim. Get in touch with the details and we will take it from there.
Terms and conditions apply to all services described on this page. Free recovery, storage and replacement vehicles are provided on the basis that the charges are recovered from the at-fault party’s insurer. We will explain the terms in plain English before anything is arranged.
Before we act for you we are required to verify your identity and to carry out fraud and anti-money laundering checks. This may include checks with credit reference and fraud prevention agencies, which will leave a record on your file.
Where fraud is suspected, information may be shared with fraud prevention agencies, insurers and law enforcement. Providing false or misleading information in support of a claim may mean your claim is refused, and can be a criminal offence.