minor accident-what to do???

the bank holiday w/e, a van reversed into my parked car. The drivers window and wing mirror was smashed and there's also a dent in the door - cost of repairs €750.
The guy who reversed into me accepted all responsibility and said he'd pay for it. But after 4 days of ringing this guy to tell him the cost, I finally got through to him. He said 700 was ridiculous and wanted to bring the car away and fix it himself!!!! I said no, told him that 2 garages were quoting in/around the same price. He was supposed to deliver the money to the garage today who have started work on the car but as I suspected the guy has'nt show up, and I don't think he will either. So I've asked the gargae just to do the bare minimum for the time being i.e. fix the glass and the mirror = €300-350.

What can I do? What is the best way of chasing this guy.....through my insurance compnay or will that cost me my no-claims bonus?
Through the law, but is it worth it for such a small sum (especially as I think this guy can't afford to pay and that the van he had was borrowed for the w/e and is not actually his).
This is looking like i'm going to get stuck with the cost and might have no come back!!!!

I'm assuming you have his insurance details, in which case I'd give him one last chance, and then go to the insurance company.

tiger said:

I'm assuming you have his insurance details, in which case I'd give him one last chance, and then go to the insurance company.

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I don't have his insurance details, just a phone no., address and the van reg. I have found out that the van is not registered in his name and I'm not sure he was insured to drive it as when I mentioned us resolving this through insurance companies on the phone last week, he did'nt reply.

If i go to the gardai, can they tell me the vans insurer? And do i then write to the insurer in question, leaving my insurance out of it?

Try the small claims court.
Did a google search and got the following

Unfortunately, this is not a consumer/retailer issue and consequently, it is outside the remit of the Small Claims Court.

Marion

This may be stating the obvious, but why didn't you get his insurance details when the incident happened. You can always get details from his windscreen disc.

RainyDay said:

This may be stating the obvious, but why didn't you get his insurance details when the incident happened. You can always get details from his windscreen disc.

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because this is the 1st time this has ever happened to me. it was 8am on a sunday of a bank holiday when i was woken up, and my head was'nt the best.
But surely the fact that i have the reg means i can trace the insurer....if i go to the gardai and report this, they then look into this....yes? And they can find out the insurer....

anyone ever been in this situation. Personally i think the guy cant afford to pay me, so can he get off scot free....????

Once he's insured, you claim off his insurance. If he is not insured, I guess it gets pretty messy. Do you know where he keeps the van? If so, drop by and get the policy details from the windscreen disc.

Unfortunately, this is not a consumer/retailer issue and consequently, it is outside the remit of the Small Claims Court.

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Under the rules section of the

Rules

Claims can be made for faulty goods or bad workmanship. Claims can also be made for minor damage to property.

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I'm sure this would cover the OP's problem provided of course he can find the vehicle driver/owner

asdfg, Marion is correct. From the top of your link:

You, the "consumer" must have bought goods or services (or the service) for private use from someone selling them in the course of business.

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Presumably damages can only be claimed if they result from the faulty good/poor service.

RainyDay said:

Once he's insured, you claim off his insurance. If he is not insured, I guess it gets pretty messy. Do you know where he keeps the van? If so, drop by and get the policy details from the windscreen disc.

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i have found out through various sources that:
a/ the van is'nt registered in his name
b/ the address he gave me might not be his own
and from a/ and b/, I now know that registered owner of the van does not even reside at the address supplied.

So I'm now assuming that the guy borrowed the van for a w/e away. He probably had no insurance.

Surely this kind of thing happens a fair bit and there must be some agreed approach on how to deal with this.
I'm reporting the incident to the guards today and going to start chasing down the registered owner of the van.

There is a group called the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland who deal with claims where the driver is uninsured/unknown etc.The first thing they will ask you is if you have reported this to the Gardai and if so,name the Garda.
If you report this to the Gardai,make sure you get the name of the Garda that you met and ring him/her in a few days for an update.

Presumably damages can only be claimed if they result from the faulty good/poor service

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Good point. Didn't think of that

There is a group called the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland who deal with claims where the driver is uninsured/unknown

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AFAIK, the MIBI only covers damage to Third Parties (non property damage) in the event of an uninsured / untraceable driver. It does not cover damage to property (vehicles).

well it's gone to the Gardai now. I rang them this morning and reported it. They've left a message on the guys phone to contact them 24 hours. If nothing happens, they will then chase the owner of the van.

A lot of hassle and grief for a reasonably small amount of money!!!!

was that a landline or mobile number he gave you ?

jhegarty said:

was that a landline or mobile number he gave you ?

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mobile. but it's his voice when it comes to the voicemail and i have spoken to him on it on 3 spearate occassions when he would answer it.