if you get to your car, parked in a park or in a public area, and realize that you have been hitAt the very least, it spoils your day. And you will, of course, start to calculate the cost you will have with the repair. In most cases the offender does not leave a note with the contact number, which creates a feeling of injustice and powerlessness. After verifying that the car parked next to you (or close to it) has no marks that could indicate that you are responsible, you start to analyze your budget and see if your insurance (if it is against own damage) will cover the expense.In fact, there are some procedures you should follow that can save you from having to bear the cost of the repair. Even if in the end the expense will actually be yours. The first thing to do is do not immediately remove the car from the place where it is parked.If they left you a contact before moving your car, call the number they left. If the number is in fact the one who caused the damage, you are in luck, agree on how the problem will be solved. But prepare yourself: the number could be fake. The person in charge may have left a contact just because he noticed that there were witnesses and to avoid being identified he tried to pass the image of being a correct person.
2. Call the authorities
Call the local authorities. Their presence is important for the documentation and evidence of the facts. When the police arrive report what happened providing them with the information that you have, in the meantime, collected
3. Take photographs of the damage
as we mentioned do not immediately remove the car from the place where you parked. Even if you have identified who hit your car, the damage, take pictures of the damage. Try to make them as detailed as possible. including a photograph from the exact spot where you were standing.
4. Collect the relevant data
Register all data that may be relevant for claiming compensation for damages or to inform your insurance company.Take a note of:day and time you parked;Day and time when you were checked with the data;Location of the vehicle;Identification of surrounding cars;Keep (or take a photo) of the ticket car park (if applicable).
5. Look for images of the vehicle that crashed into your car
If you are in a car park
If you parked in a car park you might be in luck. You parks have surveillance cameras and esats may have recorded the accident. Although identification is still not possible, as the car is not visible in the images, witnesses can be seen. It will always be an additional help.Attention, the images are just inandments to the authorities. Once the vehicle has been identified,claim your insurance with its identification.
If you’re on the public road
It may be more difficult to get images, but there are now cameras on the street that may have filmed what happened. once again the authorities play a key role since only they can have access to these images.
Only the images requested by court are means of proof
Pursuant to article 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code, only “photographic, cinematographic, phonographic or electronic reproductions and, in general, any mechanical reproductions are only valid as evidence of the facts or things reproduced if they are not illegal”. , under the criminal law”.
6. Try to find witnesses
Certainly, requests to identify witnesses to accidents have appeared on social media. In fact, they are a good help. You can try the same.Put a request for information about what happened on your social networks and ask your friends to disclose. Look for the Facebook group associated with the area where the incident occurred and ask for help there.
7. Has your car been hit in a shopping center parking lot?
If everything took place in a park managed by a management entity, even if the park is free, know that you are protected by the Consumer Protection Act. Therefore, contact the park management entity to find out if they have any insurance that covers the situation. If they don’t cooperate, they can go to a Consumer Conflict Arbitration Center and claim their rights.
8. Activate your insurance
You have one last step left, claim your insurance. But here, your decision to proceed or not depends on several factors. If there is a possibility of identifying the vehicle that hit your car, you must proceed with the participation to your insurance as the repair of damages will be borne by the latter. The same should be done if, even without the possibility of identifying the other vehicle, your car is parked in a private parking lot, since the managing entity must have insurance for these situations. After participation to insurer will send an expert to the scene and analyze your damages also asking the authorities who were at the scene for the car they carried out. If there is no chance of identifying the other vehicle and the car is parked on the public road, the situation is different. If your insurance is only against third parties then you will have to bear the cost of the repair so there is no benefit in participating in your insurance. the same happens if you have your own damage insurance (commonly called damages against all risks), and the value of the damage repair is lower than the deductible (if any) or if it does not compensate for the increase in the insurance you will have. : Car insurance: Set your priorities to reach the ideal
9. Can I use the Automobile Guarantee Fund?
If you were unable to identify the other vehicle and are thinking of resorting to the Automobile Guarantee Fund (FGA), in this case, it will not be possible.In fact, you cannot resort to the FGA as it aims to compensate victims of road accidents, when the person responsible is unknown or does not have insurance. hit your car when it was parked which is not considered a car accident. Therefore, the Automobile Guarantee Fund will not compensate you. Read also: Car without insurance? Do you know what can happen to you?