I wouldn't trust any opinions you get here, ttodd. Call your insurance agents directly. What may or may not be true for me is not likely to be true for you.

I thought your son was making payments to the man with the damaged car.

I can't see how your auto insurance would come into play here at all, as you say. Since the incident didn't happen on your property, I'm not even sure about your homeowners covering it. Could you just call them and ask - or do you think that would somehow cause them to flag your account and implement a possible rate increase? I am so leery about even calling my insurance company to ask a question. It seems like they all take any opportunity to put one in a "higher risk" category and thus suck more money from us.

This guy's daughter sounds like she has a screw loose. At any rate, she's certainly not very neighborly.

Locally someone walked into the newspaper office and punched the editor of our paper. It went to court and the man who punched the editor was being represented by his HOMEOWNER'S insurance. That blew my mind. I read it twice. Call your HO agent.

It's actually none of the daughter's business whether or not you file with your insurance. You're paying for the damage your son caused to the car, and it doesn't matter one bit where the money comes from. If she asks you about it again, I'd just say that whether or not you get reimbursed by your insurance company is between you and your insurance company and has nothing to do with her, and focus on figuring out the repair cost.

I would not file this with your insurance company, and I wouldn't even call to ask about it. It's not likely to be covered since it was deliberate (even it was just foolishly horsing around!), and it sounds like it wouldn't be much over the deductible anyway. It would just affect your claim history for no good reason.

Shermann - he & we made 1 payment so far (check so that it could be tracked) and now suddenly the dauhgter appeared out of nowhere.

There are still some decent people in the world - her father def. seems to be one and I'm lucky enough to be married to another who believes in good old fashioned honesty, living up to your word, working hard and being a good neighbor.

I wasn't going to deal w/ her so I just shut the door after she was done talking a mile a minute. I refused to get the info for her until I had more information but told her to give me her number.

Jen - I am sort of leary about calling our homeowners just to ask because they jacked our rates up so much when our front porch was hit last Spring and demolished. They then sued the insurance of the driver and even though they got the money our rates didn't go down.

No - she's not very neighborly and people like her are always right (she was so busy telling the other girl what she had to do) that it's pointless talking to them becuase they never let you get a word in edgewise. Frankly w/ folks like that I don't try - I just sort of zone out and then ask them if they're done and leave once the drone is over :O).

ttodd- Could you can come up with the entire sum to pay the neighbor in full? I would do that in lieu of getting insurance companies involved. I can't remember the total sum you agreed to pay, but your homeowner's policy probably has a fairly high deductible as well.

I agree about not calling insurance company. You are paying and that is all she needs to know. I feel sorry for her father that she has POA.

I agree with silvercomet. If you can afford to pay this on your own you should not bring your insurance into it at all. I don't remember how much damage there was - was it more than your deductible? I would definitely be worried about my insurance rates going up or even insurance being cancelled over something like this.

I don't know how much the damage was or even if your homeowner's insurance would consider it. But what I do know, you never "nickel and dime" your insurance for a small claim. You want this homeowner's policy to pay (God forbid) when you have a significant claim.

It's cheaper to pay out of pocket sometimes than to put a claim against your insurance company. I know 2 different people that put in for "small" claims, one for $5,000 and the other for $20,000. Both received their cancellation notices before their claims were eventually paid (and neither ever had a claim before!).

I just don't want you to go through your homeowner's insurance and lose your coverage because this woman thinks you have "other money" to put her hands on.

Ttodd, I wonder if the daughter is my son's girlfriends mother. I'm pretty sure they have relatives in Philly. It sounds like something she would do after what they did to my neighbor. Did you happen to get her 1st name? Does it start with an A?

My advice - he has car insurance & he should file the claim under his policy. The damage is to his vehicle. Isn't that why we have coverage?

I said this before in the other post, I would have wanted my own estimate for the damage my son caused.. without the extra stuff there. I would have wanted him to take it to a shop of my choosing so that I could get an unbiased opinion.

His daughter is sue happy. $10 says she'll take you to small claims court.

... he has car insurance & he should file the claim under his policy. The damage is to his vehicle. Isn't that why we have coverage?

Yeah, you'd think that's what we pay those high premiums for - but the problem with that approach is that whenever an insurance company must subrogate a claim, they in all likelihood are going to raise the rates of the insured, simply because they have to recoup their costs of pursuing the third party (ttodd). Since the insured bears no responsibility for the damage, he shouldn't be in the position of having his rates raised by filing a claim through his insurer.

I don't think POA means she can negate a deal (contract) that you struck with the father. POA authorizes her to act on his behalf in a legal or business matter. The person (her father) authorizing the POA is still the principal or the one in control.

Tell her to jump in the lake and continue with the contract you have with the father.

I can't see why the owner of the car should contact his car insurance policy for payment. Then he runs the risk of having his rates increased and he didn't do anything wrong.

And you do not have to claim this on your policy. If you can just pay it full that would be the easiest. Just make sure the owner of the car signs off that he has accepted payment in full. His PIA daughter just might say that the repair was higher than originally quoted.

Gotta disagree with roselvr here. The injured party should always be able to go to the shop of his/her choice. I can't imagine letting the person who caused the damage dictate to me where I should take my car or whether I should make a claim to my insurance company.

It sounds to me as if you have come to a reasonable, sane agreement with your neighbor. The heck with anyone else (ie. his daughter).

ttodd, has he cashed the check you wrote?

Gotta disagree with roselvr here. The injured party should always be able to go to the shop of his/her choice. I can't imagine letting the person who caused the damage dictate to me where I should take my car or whether I should make a claim to my insurance company.

What I actually said was I would have wanted my own estimate for the damage my son caused.. without the extra stuff there. I would have wanted him to take it to a shop of my choosing so that I could get an unbiased opinion.

I would want it taken to a place I picked to get my own opinion on the estimate so that I get to ask questions for what I'm paying for. His original estimate included things that were not damaged by her son - rear bumper IIRC. Her original post Kid Damaged Car...Bogus Items On Estimate

They came to an agreement & now the daughter is sticking her nose where she shouldn't. She's wanting ttodd to contact her insurance; who will probably tell her that he needs to contact his.

She's now saying that He's elderly and said that we should do what she asks since she has POA and is sorry. so to me it sounds like it's going to get ugly. Even though ttodd & the man had a deal & he accepted a payment, it sounds like he's now going to do what the daughter says.

My insurance company does not raise rates with claims; or hasn't so far.

My DH was at the park with the kids and he hit a baseball over the fence. It hit a car driving by and smashed the windshield (fortunately no one was injured). Our automobile insurance paid the claim, not our HOI.

We've also made claims against our auto policy for comprehensive issues, such as when some punk smashed a rock thru my car window, and when some other punks smashed windows on all the cars on our block and stole stereos, etc. Our rates never went up, and the claims were subrogated to the responsible party. I know our insurance co was able to collect from the punk with the rock (the cops found him the next day).

So perhaps that is the way to go? Then you will be dealing with his insurance company directly, not the PITA daughter. And his insurance co might not agree to the inflated estimate, either...but pay only for the actual damage.

In any event, call the 800 number for your auto insurance co and give 'em a hypothetical. Or check to see if they have a FAQ section on their website.

I have called Geico to ask a general question without giving my policy number. This sounds like a question they would easily answer without the policy number. Give your ins a try.

Little tidbit to pass along, something I was not aware of. My sister had a pipe burst in her cement foundation. House is still under 10yr structure warranty. She filed claim with HOI. She had to pay the whole bill upfront to plumber because insurance will only reimburse her what she paid minus her deductible. They told her that they would subrogate against the builder for the amount they are paying on the claim. Being in insurance we both realized that if they recover their portion they should ask for her deductible also. They said they will, but only after she reminded them. Something to keep this in.

Can I be crude here and ask just how much this little dent-repair is estimated to be?

Good gravy!! It's not as though your kid whacked his car with a baseball bat and broke every window, slashed the tires, set the upholstery on fire and put sugar in the gas tank, right? I would think that they should be filing a claim with their auto insurance. They in turn would come after you for the cash. Since he does not even want to have the dent fixed, I seriously doubt he'd even CALL his insurance company for fear of them jacking up his rates. In that event, you would get off w/o paying anything at all.

I'm actually wondering if you might do better in small claims court, IDK. At least there you could flash your photo of the dent and explain that the other damage was not your son's doing. You'd also be able to explain how you and the man worked out a payment plan that was satisfactory to all until his crazy daughter got herself involved.

Has he cashed the first check? If so, that would legally indicate that the agreement you had was acceptable to both parties. I don't think his DD (dreadful daughter) would be able to prove otherwise.

What a PITA. I can understand your desire to leave this neighborhood!

You all have been very enlightening - thank you! You have given me many ideas and suggestions and I really appreciate it.

The estimate ranges were $800-$1000 but the one estimate (oddly enough the lower one) is the one that had all kinds of other crazy stuff on it like the rear bumper and side view mirror. The father told DH that he was going to go w/ the lower estimate and heck we were fine w/ that. Like I told DH I'd be more than happy to buy him a bumper and mirror if we are paying out of pocket and it's $200 dollars cheaper!

I wish she would just go back to her neighborhood and stay out of ours!

Re what Ideefixe wrote about going on the Internet and being able to find almost anyone. That is shockingly easy. Go to www.spokeo.com. Type your name in the search window and then click on the link to Bio. Up will come your name, address, a googlemap to place your residence, your family details, your approximate age, and other details about tastes, hobbies, etc. Some of the details will be wrong. But anyone who knows your name can find out exactly where you live, and not only that, but also the average household income of your area.

I read about this over on the KT, checked it out, and was stunned.

Why would you be searching the forums to identify anyone? There is a point to having a "screen" name, etc.

I did go to the site posted and it was very inaccurate. Of course, I am not signing up for a year's service as I have no reason to hunt anyone down.

Just sayin.

I agree work, I heard about said site on FB and checked it out. It's only gleaned info that is easily obtained by public records such as published phone numbers, or real estate records, info you can obtain for free.

As far as 'interests'...those can come from the random things you buy...such as if you ever bought a pair of socks at a sporting goods store and your phone number was used, then you are 'tagged' as being an outdoor enthusiast. It's just a teaser to get you to buy their public records search services. ALL the info on those sites is readily available by anyone wanting to do a geneology search. Heck, bill collectors can get more info on deadbeats than those sites provide.

Someone doesn't even need to be on the net to be identified...I was easily able to Google both my elderly Grandmothers and get a lot of their current info, and neither has ever turned on a computer.

I use a lot of public records searches for work. I can find out where people live, check their tax roles and find where they live, how much they pay in property taxes, easily surmise income based on that...then see aerial photos, and street level zooms of their homes. If the car is in the driveway, then I can see that and it's not too hard of a cross sectioning by DMV records to find out all that too. We love our technology, yes, but it's awfully Big Brother.

This is where a po box comes in handy. I went to spokeo.com and neither my husband or myself are listed.

And Ttodd, I'm not surprised at inaccurate info on a site like that.

tina

I don't see where anything ttodd has said here would have a negative impact on any potential litigation. I think it's a rather broad jump to say that the man's daughter is reading all about it here, and that even if that were happening, I don't see how anything ttodd has said could somehow be compromising her position. I'm not quite following why "looking her up" online is helpful. Looks more like a "look what I can do" scare tactic, and I'm not sure what the point is.

I agree with AuntJen. I don't think Ttodd has said anything that could harm her, even in litagation. Her intention has always been to do the right thing.

As far as my name and address being on the internet, so what? I'm in the phone book too. Our business is listed in Dun and Bradstreet. We have a Facebook presence and website presence. My email address is my name. This site is the *only* place I don't use my real name. Even my Ebay name is real.

Nothing has happened to me and I've been here since 1994.

I think you should just try to pay the guy the entire amount if at all possible. He is being very nice by taking the lower bid and he will probably lose the use of his car for a few days while its in the shop being fixed. If he wanted to, he could probably ask you to cover the charge of a rental car for his use during this time. I would consider myself lucky that he isn't doing that and just pay him if you can.

You know, I'm having a hard time figuring out how a six-year old could throw a rock hard enough to put a dent in a car. He must be one huge, strong kid to be able to throw a rock that big, that hard, even if he's almost 7! Are you sure he did it? Maybe he just got lucky and hit a previous dent and thinks he did it!

I went to the wesite listed above, typed my name in, and it didn't come up, but there were others. I've been surfing the net for 19 years too.

I typed in my email address and all that came up was that I'm a female and 82 years old. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think almost everybody is 80 on that one site LOL! Even my younger sister. Jeesh - I wonder how old that makes me?

It was a substantial size rock. It couldn't have been easy for him but he did it.

If I could pay it all in one shot I would in a heartbeat!

Gail, she is paying the whole amount. It makes no difference that it is paid in installments.

tina

Ttodd, just make sure you keep everything documented.

I misspoke TinaM - I mean the entire amount right now. And it does matter in a way because the gentleman is doing her a favor by allowing the payments to be made in installments. Some people wouldn't be so kind.

I knew what you meant Gail, you didn't misspeak (is that a word LOL). Yes, he is being very kind, but this was all agreed upon by both parties.

And Ttodd, I know you are documenting your payments by check, but do you have a written agreement with the neighbor? Forgive me if you've posted that and I missed it. Although, I don't suppose it matters now, as long as he is taking/cashing the checks.

tina

Yes, tina misspeak is a word, as is misspoke. LOL.

Thanks Gail, it just sounds funny!

tina