Insurance Fraud

[T3SLA_S]

So I had a minor (and when I say minor....almost unnoticeable) collision with my Tesla S. Was simultaneously backing while another vehicle was backing in a parking lot (subway and no cameras, facing collision area). I stopped just in time and unfortunately he did not. The impact was so soft I almost didn't feel it other than i was observing the backup cam. I pulled forward and looked for damage and did not initially see any. I took a second look and there was a slight (super slight) ripple in the plastic near the right rear sensor in the bumper. The other vehicle was a GMC Tahoe type. No damage other that preexisting to his bumper in areas that were no where near the impact area on my car. The other guy was totally apologetic. We exchanged info and he wished to keep it private. Nothing shady looking about the guy. As I could not see the damage in certain lights I figured the cost to fix would maybe be $300. And since he was super cool about it I figured I would not screw him with a full bumper replacement. Accidents happen.

While attempting to get quotes a few days pass and I receive a letter from his insurance carrier claiming a loss. I'm like WTF and furious at this point. I call him and he's evasive. I contact his insurance and they claim $807 in damages to his bumper and that I hit him. Unknown exactly where he is claiming the damage is but its impossible as his bumper his higher than my damage and its a chrome steal bumper.

I took pics during the original event with phone but since there was no damage from the collision my pics were limited. I later located his vehicle at his work since his DL address was outdated. Positioned my vehicle behind his and snapped photos. The only thing that lines up remotely close is his trailer receptacle (the pavement may have been slightly uneven at the collision scene). It looks like the ripple may have been caused by the structure underneath the bumper skin as the skin was pressed into the under structure by something hard (like metal). I took a handful of photos and left.

My concern is the insurance companies will find the collision to be a 50/50 at fault and just move on and do nothing about the insurance fraud because they don't wish to invest the time (money) into his false claim on the damages which might also illustrate he's lying about who's fault it was.

I was thinking about avoiding my insurance and suing in small claims court for a full bumper replacement ($3000) and maybe "Treble Damages". Triple that amount ($9000) due to the fraud aspect.

Anyone with experience on this???

Thanks in advance.

Assume everyone (no matter how nice or unassuming) will screw you at a later date and take necessary precautions to avoid being taken advantage of.

 

[djplong]

I had some experience in a similar situation.

I rear-ended a Dodge Caravan - barely - with the corner of my wife's little Pontiac LeMans (the GM Korean import, not the muscle car) when it decided to stop at the end of an off/on-ramp. I was *almost* able to evade her.

The corner of her bumper broke the lens of my right headlight (bulb still worked) and put a 1/8" 'pucker' of a mark on the lip of the metal where it met the headlight lens.

I later got a call from my insurance company saying she was claiming over $5000 in damages. I said "Well, you can judge by the damage on my car - come send your guy" - and they looked at the dimple in the metal. the insurance adjuster told me this was most likely the other driver trying to get my insurance company to pay for pre-existing damage (which could explain the sudden stop).

I never heard from my insurance company about any final resolution but I didn't hear from the other insurance company AT ALL concerning this. I'm guessing the company lawyers got together, saw the microscopic damage to my car and told the other driver to get stuffed.