“Potentially” scratched a car in parking lot

[ctdub]

I got back from a week vacation last night and there’s a note on my car accusing me of bumping my front license plate into someone’s bumper (who was apparently parked in front of me) and causing paint damage. They said they took pictures of damage and my license plate and want me to call them.

If I did bump their car and scratched it I didn’t know. We parked unloaded kids, suitcases and got on shuttle. There was definitely no impact... it’s been a week since, but my parking warning sensors would have been going off and I don’t remember that either.

Saying that, if it happened I’ll make it right either by paying to get it fixed or running it through my insurance. I just don’t want to get scammed by someone looking for an easy target.

I’ve called the parking lot manager and left a message to see if this person filed an incident report with the lot. Haven’t heard back yet.

Debating on whether I should contact this guy directly and ask for the pictures or just hand it off to my insurance company. It can’t be much damage, so I’d hate to file a claim, but if the guy is totally unreasonable I don’t want him to have my contact info.

I’d also like to make sure his travel timeline matches up that he didn’t bump is car into my plate.

Any thoughts on how I should handle this?

 

[osu_orangestreak]

Call and see if they have security cameras and how long they keep the video.

I myself would just ignore the guy and see if he does anything about it.

 

[PDT816]

It is a common scam scenario. If you don't think you hit the person, you most likely didn't.

 

[100TonsofOrangeFury]

Would not contact if you're certain it's bogus. He can't prove jack crap.

 

[SquinkY5786]

Tough shit man. That’s just part of it. Unless you park 1 mile away constantly your car is going to get scratched and dinged.

 

[ctdub]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess at this point I’m going to wait and see if the parking spot manager returns my call. I’ll probably just let it go for now and chalk it up to a scam...

 

[ctdub]

The Parking Spot manager called and said they don’t have cameras and no one filed a report with the office. He said typically someone would make a report to the office.

 

[SquinkY5786]

Yep then tough titty

 

[100TonsofOrangeFury]

The Parking Spot manager called and said they don’t have cameras and no one filed a report with the office. He said typically someone would make a report to the office.

SCAM LIKELY

 

[MegaPoke]

If they didn’t go through the right steps, they are lying.

 

[wyomingosualum]

A variation of this scam is when the douchebags drive around parking lots and look for cars which have been parked just a little too far forward. In other words, the front of the innocent person’s car is a little bit over the line and has encroached on the other parking space. Now the douchebag parks his car in that parking space and taps into the other car, causing “damage”.

Your options are:
A. Ignore
B. Call the number back and play along just to see what his move is goin to be
C. Post his number so we can all start spamming him after we block our caller ID so he can’t see our numbers.

Keep us posted!

 

[FMPoke]

"Paint damage" to the bumper? Was there any paint on your car? If you hit him hard enough to do serious damage you would have known it. I would ignore it unless they contact you directly and if they do turn it over to your insurance company and let them deal with it. Make sure you tell the insurance company you don't believe the claim is real.

My guess is its a scam and they are fishing. If you ignore them you will never here another word.

 

[ctdub]

No paint on my car or license plate. Even if there was as wyomingosualum pointed out they could have staged a photo and hit my car. So hopefully this just goes away. Glad I didn’t call the guy.

 

[wyomingosualum]

No paint on my car or license plate. Even if there was as wyomingosualum pointed out they could have staged a photo and hit my car. So hopefully this just goes away. Glad I didn’t call the guy.

Part of you wants to post the number, doesn’t it?

 

[ctdub]

Part of you wants to post the number, doesn’t it?

Haha. I appreciate it, but it’s not really that tempting. If I’m actually act fault that would just make me look worse. If not and the guy is psychotic has my license plate info and people start messing with him he could probably find my address and I wouldn’t want to open that can of worms either. Sounds entertaining, but not at my family’s expense.

 

[wyomingosualum]

Haha. I appreciate it, but it’s not really that tempting. If I’m actually act fault that would just make me look worse. If not and the guy is psychotic has my license plate info and people start messing with him he could probably find my address and I wouldn’t want to open that can of worms either. Sounds entertaining, but not at my family’s expense.

I sorta applaud your maturity, but all I’m asking for is the chance to ask him if he needs an extended warranty for his vehicle!