What to do if your car is hit in a parking lot?

A car is a valuable property, the risk of damage to which increases with the increase in the total number of cars. Not only can your vehicle be damaged during a trip - cars can even be scratched while parked. Any body defects must be eliminated immediately so that the car does not deteriorate over time. These are additional financial investments, unplanned and most often unwanted. How to get compensation for repair costs if your car is scratched in a parking lot? To do this, you need to know how to behave in a specific situation.

Call DPS

Traffic police officers record accidents that occur on the road, roadside and parking lot. The traffic police should be called when scratches occur while at least one vehicle is moving. Otherwise, after assessing the situation, they will leave without drawing up a protocol. You don’t have to call the traffic police if minor damage was sustained and the person responsible for the damage to the car in the parking lot is ready to resolve the conflict without involving traffic police officers.

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If the damage to the car in the parking area was caused by third parties - intruders or children, then it would be more correct to call a local police officer who will deal with this issue.

If the offender escaped

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If the defendant scratched the car in the yard and drove away without leaving contact information, it will be difficult to find him and issue a certificate, but it is quite possible.

Finding the culprit

Often the victim is faced with the question of where to go if the car is scratched in the yard, but the offender is not there. To find the culprit, contact the highway patrol service. The damage is recorded with a camera. The traffic police must record the accident, then the case is transferred to the search department.

Helping the investigation can speed up the search process when you scratched your car in the yard. When drawing up a protocol, all the smallest details are important (what cars were nearby, whether the DVR was turned on, whether the offender left a note). In addition, many parking lots have CCTV cameras. You can ask management to copy the video material and help the investigation.

Statute of limitations

If there is no information about the culprit of the incident, it is almost impossible to figure him out. After 90 days, the search for the offender will be stopped. It will be possible to compensate for damage if you have CASCO or MTPL insurance and evidence of property damage.

Procedure

The conflict can be resolved without involving outsiders if the person responsible for the scratch waited and is satisfied with the amount of compensation. In this case, it is not even necessary to draw up a protocol. Also, with the consent of the guilty party and the presence of a valid MTPL policy for both drivers, you can do without involving a traffic police squad and file an accident yourself.

Otherwise you need:

Call the DPS squad.
Call the insurance company (the victim always calls), report the fact of damage, and clarify the list of documents required to obtain compensation.
Take photographs or videotapes of all details related to the accident: the location of vehicles in the parking lot, scratches, etc.
Write down the details of the culprit: registration number of the car, contact details of the owner.
Contact the insurance company with a copy of the protocol.

But the culprit does not always wait patiently for the owner of the damaged car in the parking area.

Decision according to the situation

The simplest option is when the culprit has realized the situation, decided to see the victim and is trying to resolve the issue peacefully. Then you can draw up a European protocol. Such a protocol can be drawn up by two participants in the incident, without traffic police officers, if 2 cars were damaged in the accident, their damage is no more than 100,000 rubles (and in the capitals of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the amount is increased to 400,000 rubles and a DVR with a GPS sensor is required ) there were no injuries in the accident, and the drivers came to an amicable agreement, and each of them has a civil liability insurance policy.

Forms of such protocols are issued by the insurance company when drawing up the contract. If an agreement is not reached, then state inspectors should be called to the scene of the accident, fill out the appropriate protocol, correctly indicating the location of the accident, the number of cars involved in the accident, and take photographs showing the places where the cars were damaged.

IMPORTANT !!! All completed documents and photographs must be submitted to the insurance company office within 5 working days.

If the culprit drove away, abandoning the car that had suffered an accident, it is necessary to conduct a thorough inspection of the entire car, in case they tried to rob the car and caused further damage inside the car. If this fact is confirmed, you should call, in addition to the state inspection, police officers who will be able to record the damage and robbery of the car. After drawing up the protocol, it is necessary to submit an application to search for the culprit.

ATTENTION !!! If a car is scratched by another car, such damage to the vehicle is recorded as a traffic accident, for registration of which a traffic police inspector must be called to the location.

When drawing up a protocol, it is important to remember:

Under no circumstances should you remove (move) the car, even to some quieter corner.
It is not advisable to talk about minor damage and minor damage.
When receiving documents - traffic police certificates, you must check the correctness of the dates and the location of the incident.
When an insured event occurs, re-read the insurance contract itself and clarify within what time frame the collected package of documents should be brought to the insurance company.
prepare copies of all documents and have them certified.

In cases where the culprit leaves the scene of the incident, the search for him stops after three months. They will only be able to find the vehicle, but no one can be brought to justice.

Scratched by an unknown person

If there are scratches on the car, and the culprit has disappeared, then you first need to determine whether the car was damaged as a result of an accident or other impact. If the second participant in the accident fled, they call a traffic police squad, in the second - a local police officer. Until their arrival, you can start an independent investigation: inspect the damage and the scene of the incident for traces of the “guilty” car.

You can also collect information that will help prove the violation and identify the culprit . Where to look for evidence of guilt in a scratch:

recordings from DVRs of cars parked nearby;
CCTV cameras in paid parking;
External surveillance cameras near the store, bank, at the entrance.

Neighbors and residents of nearby houses can share information. To find witnesses to a scratch on a car, you need to post advertisements asking eyewitnesses of the incident to respond. You can visit nearby service stations to find out if they have been contacted to repair cars with typical damage.

Having collected the necessary information, recording the contacts of witnesses, taking photographs of the scene of the incident, transfer all the information received to the arriving traffic police or police officers. If you find yourself in such a situation, before leaving the scene of an accident, remember that leaving the scene of the accident is classified as an administrative violation and is punishable by a fine or deprivation of rights for a certain period .

What to do, only under OSAGO

If the vehicle is insured by compulsory motor liability insurance, if damage is detected, the presence of both those responsible for the accident is necessary to register an insured event. The insurance itself implies state protection for victims of road accidents, and the fact that the person responsible for the accident pays for the repair of the vehicle, and in the absence of such responsibility, there will simply be no compensation for damage.

An unknown driver damaged my car and drove away, I have compulsory motor liability insurance, what should I do? You will have to repair your favorite car at your own expense. In order to move the process forward, you can submit an application to search for the culprit, or the owner of the vehicle himself should make efforts to find the culprit, go around all the neighbors or people who were in the yard at that time, you should pay attention to the cars parked nearby, perhaps Some of them have a video recorder that could record everything that happened.

ATTENTION !!! It is necessary to pay attention to the CCTV cameras of neighboring buildings and offices. Perhaps in this way it will be possible to collect materials to speed up the search for the person responsible for the incident. By handing over the materials to the investigator, you can hope to receive insurance compensation.

Under no circumstances should you leave the scene of the collision, and even if you return, there will be changes in the location of the vehicles involved in the accident. The escape may be interpreted as an attempt to hide some unseemly circumstances of this event. For escaping from the scene of a traffic accident, administrative and criminal penalties are provided. This could be 15 days of detention, or deprivation of a driver's license for up to one and a half years.

The severity of the punishment depends on the extent of damage to the car. The statute of limitations in such cases is 3 months, unless there was damage to the health of the people who took part in the collision. The right to file a claim in court for damages is guaranteed to the injured party for two years. If the victim’s health is harmed, then there is no statute of limitations.

IMPORTANT !!! But as for the time during which the driver must wait for the arrival of state inspectors, there are no exact time frames. But, having called a traffic police representative and waited three hours, you can call back again and leave the scene of the collision if you can’t wait any longer. What is regulated by Art. 27 clause 5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

If the person responsible for the accident waited for you to arrive, you should inform the inspectorate and wait for their employee to arrive. Take photographs of your car, or shoot a video on your phone. It is imperative to record the condition of your offender’s car so that the letters and numbers of the license plate are clearly legible; do not forget to write down the surname and initials, contact numbers, and his address.

In paid parking

Small scratches in a parking lot can be caused by accident, and a novice driver might not notice that he hit someone else's car. If you have CASCO insurance, you need to contact the insurance company and follow the instructions received. You must contact us immediately after discovering a defect.

If you do not have such insurance, you need to write an application addressed to the director of this parking lot. Surveillance cameras are installed in guarded paid parking lots, the recordings from which will help to find the culprit of the scratch on the car and resolve the conflict peacefully or through the courts.

Paid parking does not guarantee the safety of the car - often the contract stipulates that it only provides a place to park the car. If the document and rules indicate responsibility for storing the car, then you can file a complaint with the management of the parking lot. Is it not responding? Then you will have to go to court.

Liability under Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

What is the practical liability for such offenses?

Such offenses can end in different ways. Very often, the initiation of a criminal or administrative case in these situations is refused. Most often, for one simple reason: due to the fact that the person who committed the offense was under 16 years of age. From this point on, it is possible to initiate an administrative or criminal case under Article 167 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. She also has point two, there is responsibility from the age of 14.

The severity of punishment for this crime is qualified by this article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. If this damage is significant damage, then the punishment ranges from a fine to imprisonment for a period of 2 years. Bringing the culprit under the Administrative Code (COAP) provides for a fine of 300 to 500 rubles.

A car door was scratched in a parking lot

The case of a scratched door in a parking lot does not qualify as an accident, so it is better to resolve the conflict on the spot. If the culprit refuses to compensate for the damage for any reason (does not consider it correct or does not agree with the amount), then you must:

Call the local police officer and, if you have a CASCO policy, a representative of the insurance company.
While waiting, write down the number plate of the culprit's car and take photographs of the damaged car from different sides or film it on a video camera.
Submit all collected information with a statement of damage to the police, where the identity of the culprit will be established.
Based on the information received, write a statement of claim and submit it to the magistrate’s court to initiate a case for compensation for material damage.

If there were insults or psychological pressure from the perpetrator, you can include a clause on compensation for moral damage.

Procedure for contacting an insurance company

In case of any incident with an insured car, for example: a bumper with CASCO is scratched, minor damage to the windshield is received in the presence of an insurance contract, the owner is obliged to notify his insurer through available communication channels (the terms and methods are specified in the contract). After taking measures to record the incident by the authorized bodies, the policyholder is obliged to agree on the time and procedure for providing the damaged car to the insurance company specialist, as well as the list of necessary documents for payment of compensation. Typically it turns off:

policyholder's identity card;
driver's license of the person driving the vehicle at the time of the incident;
vehicle registration documents;
a valid CASCO policy;
a certificate from the traffic police or another document confirming the damage (protocol, resolution, determination).

After writing an application and providing the above documents, the insurer makes a decision on the basis of a valid CASCO agreement on compensation for repairs to the insured car bumper or other damage.

Insurance case

Serious damage, the repair of which the culprit is not going to compensate, is a reason to contact the insurance company. In this case, it is necessary to register the accident and, within a certain time established by the contract, contact the insurance company.

OSAGO

The MTPL policy guarantees compensation for the costs of repairing the car of a participant in the conflict (victim). To receive compensation you must:

Obtain from the person responsible for the scratch on the car the necessary information about the series and number of his MTPL policy and the insurance organization.
Fill out an accident report.
File an accident in accordance with the requirements of the Russian Federation Traffic Regulations.
Report the incident to the insurance company.

If documentation of an accident is completed without traffic police officers, then the notification form is filled out in 2 copies and sent by the drivers of the vehicles involved in the accident to insurance organizations within 5 days. The victim also attaches to the documents a statement of direct compensation for damages. In addition, at the request of the insurance organization, you will need to provide your cars within 5 days for an independent technical examination. Within 15 days from the date of the accident (excluding non-working holidays), you cannot begin to repair the vehicle, otherwise the insurer may refuse to compensate for the damage.

CASCO

To obtain compensation for damage under CASCO, you must first make sure that the case of a car being scratched in the parking lot is covered by insurance (they are specified in the contract). There are 3 possible options:

Registration of a CASCO insurance case without calling the traffic police.

This can be done if it is difficult to formally qualify the case as an accident: there are minor scratches on the car. The contract may include certain types of damage, for which insurance coverage does not require a certificate from the traffic police, as well as the number of payments under such conditions. To receive compensation, contact only the insurance company.

Registration of CASCO insurance for an accident.

If the incident occurred as a result of an accident, you first need to contact the traffic police. After inspecting the scene of the incident and filling out the necessary documentation, they confirm the occurrence of the insured event and issue the necessary certificates, including information about the incident and its participants.

Next, submit an application to the insurance company, attaching to it the received documents confirming the fact of the accident, passport, license and documents for the car, within the time period specified in the contract. Having assessed the damage, the insurance company makes a payment in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Taking out insurance with the involvement of the police.

Scratches on the car were caused by an intruder - you need to call the police. On the same day you must contact the CASCO insurance company. Employees identify the case as an administrative violation. It is important that the protocol contains a detailed description of the damage caused, and also indicates that the damage was caused by a third party. After this, a criminal case is initiated with a certain period of investigation - a month. If the culprit is not found, the case will be closed. Having received the decision to close the case from the police department, contact the insurance company for compensation or a referral for repairs.

Algorithm of actions if the defendant is on site

If the defendant did not escape during the accident, this will mitigate the consequences.
You don’t have to start searching for the offender and wait for results. Who should you call if your car is scratched in the yard? First of all, traffic police officers. When an accident is detected, the offender and the victim must:

call the traffic police and record an accident;
take photographs of the vehicles involved in the accident.

After this, traffic police officers will advise you on how and where to register the incident. The driver is directed to the nearest traffic police post.

The highway patrol is required to document the incident and issue a certificate. It states the following points:

the address where the accident occurred;
time and date;
passport details, driver's license and insurance information;
detailed information about the car;
a note indicating whether the driver was intoxicated;
what damage is there on the car?

The certificate is drawn up and issued to participants in a road accident immediately after completion. If traffic police officers cannot issue you a document immediately, you need to contact the department in person to receive it.

Traffic police officers must issue a certificate. Refusal is considered unlawful. The owner of the car is obliged to contact the traffic police with a complaint against the employees. The certificate is an important document required by the car owner when receiving insurance payments or recovering damages.
What else to read:
My car was scratched in the yard, what should I do?
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How to get money instead of repairs under compulsory motor liability insurance: a detailed review

If the defendant and the owner of the damaged car do not have any claims, it is not necessary to report to the traffic police. You just need to contact the nearest traffic police station and issue a certificate. All other damage compensation actions are determined by the presence or absence of an insurance policy from the car owners. This is possible, for example, if a neighbor scratched his car in the yard and you are ready to resolve everything peacefully.

Noticed late

If damage to the car caused in the parking lot is not immediately discovered, you can count on compensation for an accident if:

The car was scratched, but the car remained in the parking lot. The fact is that, according to traffic regulations, the driver is obliged to inspect the vehicle before getting behind the wheel. Therefore, traffic police officers may refuse to file a case if the car was already driving after scratches appeared.
A certificate from the traffic police is not required to obtain insurance. In this case, you need to contact the insurance company and report the damage.

You can also contact your local police officer for help getting insurance. If you do not have insurance and the person responsible for the accident is not found, you will have to repair the vehicle body at your own expense.

Evidence of harm

This means that very often the refusal to initiate a criminal case on this fact occurs due to the lack of corpus delicti. This case occurs if there is evidence of damage to the victim’s property in excess of 5,000 rubles. But at the same time, its significance for the victim, taking into account his property and financial situation, has not been proven. Very often there is no evidence base. That is, victims need to secure as much evidence as possible:

This may be recordings from video cameras of administrative buildings that are located nearby;

Recordings from the DVRs of neighboring cars that were standing nearby at that moment or were approaching at that moment;

You need to talk about this with your work colleagues if at that time the car was parked in the place where the victim works;

Talk to neighbors if this is a residential building where the victim lives;

You can also place an advertisement at the entrances of a residential building or administrative building. In order for eyewitnesses of this incident to respond and give testimony about what they saw;

Or add to the materials just these video recordings that were discussed earlier.

Features of actions

hit another car while driving - call the traffic police;
intentionally caused damage - call the local police officer;
in any case, inform the insurance company;
The damaged car must remain in its place until the police arrive.

Correct action as a result of a scratch on the car is a guarantee of receiving compensation for repair costs. To avoid getting into such situations, you need to park in a paid parking lot, where responsibility for the safety of the car is provided, and not park your car too close to others.

Nuances

To quickly and efficiently resolve issues related to your car getting scratches in a parking lot, you need to take into account some nuances:

Do not leave the scene of the accident under any circumstances if you want to receive compensation payments;
call the traffic police whenever you touch a second vehicle;
return back as soon as possible if you had to leave the scene of the accident without noticing the scratch;
try to negotiate with the culprit yourself - most often this method turns out to be the most effective.

It is also important that if at the time of the collision none of the cars were damaged, then the accident will not be recognized. The parties will have to leave because no damage has been done.

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