Car accident - what can I do at this point?

[PenguinWaiters]

Sorry, this is long. I am looking for advice about what I should do at this point. Thanks for reading! (I even used punctuation and paragraphs for you )

Two weeks ago my DH called me while I was out of town. His mom was driving our car with my DS in it and was in an accident. Apparently a truck was making a three point turn and hit the drivers side mirror. The police were called and took a report. Determined the other driver was at fault. My FIL arrived on the scene and got contact info for the other driver. What happened after that is a bit hazy to me as of course I got the whole story second-hand

My DH picked up his mom and our DS and took them to our house. Both were fine. My FIL took our car to an auto body shop and got an estimate of $192to fix (I'm not sure this is enough to cover mirror as well as paint scrapes - does it sound like it?).

FIL then tracked down the other driver and gave him the total (or a copy of the estimate, I have no idea). Apparently this other guy wanted to pay us out of pocket and NOT contact his insurance. He claimed he would get in some kind of trouble if his insurace was contacted (lose his job or something). My FIL agreed to this (again I was out of state and had NO say in how this went down) and this driver was to send us a check by the end of last week.

My DH said he called our insurance and was told that since the amount was below our deductable that they would not be involved anyway. Later when I asked my DH what we were supposed to do if this guy screws us DH said that the insurace company rep said they would help us later and that the fact that we made this "deal" would not affect that. I have my doubts...

Well, no check yet. When I asked DH what to do he said his dad had been in touch with the other driver again (!) and that we would get a check this week. I said that his dad was to do NO other negotiations with this guy, especially without talking to us (ME!) first.

So, my question is - are we just out of luck? Do we have any recourse if this guy never comes through or if he sends us a rubber check? This feels totally mishandled to me but maybe I am off base? Any info you have would be great. Thanks!

 

[Arielle22]

Contact the other insurance company and file a claim if your FIL got the information. Get a copy of the police report to prove the accident happened as your MIL says it did.

Make sure to explain that the driver admitted fault and was going to pay out of pocket but reneged.

If it was a work truck you could also call the business and explain it to the manager/owner. If you tell them you are filing a claim then they might simply pay you.

 

[robinb]

I too had an accident where the person said she would pay me directly and then did not. I finally sic'd my insurance company on her and she still owes me some of my deductible.

If you turn this into your insurance, will it count against you? It may not be worth it for a mere $192.

 

[kathie859]

Do you have a written estimate of repairs? (Not DFIL's verbal)

If it's truly just $192, I'd contact the driver once again (and OP, YOU need to be the caller it seems or your DH) and say "Billie Bob, or whatever his name is, you have until Friday to send us the money for our car repair. If you don't, we'll be forced to contact your company for compensation." And then do exactly that.

I would not involve my insurance company for this small amount.