I Just Got the Call!!!

I just got off the phone with the Insurance Agent giving me the OK to get my car fixed. After the man rear ended me we had communicated about repairing my car. He asked me to get a couple of quotes. When I called him last Friday to give him the bad news I was only able to leave a message. I told him that it was approximately $1,000 in damage and that if he needed to go through his insurance, I would understand. And to please call me back, or I will continue on with the insurance company... He never called me and the weekend passed. I got a call Monday morning from this man's sister. He was in the hospital and they noticed my number on his cell phone a couple of times. She wanted to know who I was and why he was calling me. When I told her that He rear ended me last week while driving his mom's car and we were trying to make arrangements to get my car fixed she got really quiet. She then told me he has a drug and alcohol problem and attempted suicide over the weekend and is in the hospital, unconscious. Her mother had just gotten home and she asked her if she know that he had gotten into an accident with her car. The mom hadn't a clue.


I called the insurance company with the information he gave me and placed a claim against his mother’s car and insurance policy. They contacted the policy holder, she new nothing about anything and looked at her car, which received no damage, and said her car hasn't been in an accident.

When the insurance adjuster called me back she had a close version to the story I had been told. Apparently he decided not to tell his mommy that he borrowed her car and bumped into me and to get out of the situation he drunk himself into a stupor, called the cops on himself and was placed in rehab and will be unreachable for 90 days. Because no one could confirm my claims the insurance company was bound to wait until he could be contacted. They told the mother that if she is trying to say that he didn't have permission and access to drive the car, she would have to file a police report against her son. He did have access to drive the car and she didn't want to press charges... The agent left me a message letting me know that on Friday the mother would attempt to meet with him and get him to sign a statement so that I could move forward and fix my car.

I called her back with hopes for redemption. No one has called me a liar, but the entire situation is very fishy!!! I told this helpful woman that I have a message on my answering machine from the day after the accident. He called to again apologize, to make sure I still had his phone number (which matched the # on the insurance policy) and that he would make sure to get my car repaired. After she listened to the message and made her own recording she was excited that this might just work. After she finished up the recording for her file she told me that she had never experienced anything like this, with any claim, ever.

The message he left on my answering machine was viable for admission of guilt and I followed up the glorious call from the insurance company with the auto body shop and car rental place to drop my car off for repairs next week!!!

I guess I learned my lesson.  I will always contact the police to make sure an accident is not just a She said, He said accusation!  Dan was right, I was wrong.