So I went to a friend's wedding this weekend in Orangville, and took my car. As we were preparing to leave for the wedding, a lady loading her kid into the aspen parked beside me put her door into my car, denting it.
And I was standing right there when she did it.
Now, problem is that they are from Texas, the car rented from Rochester... the family is the cousin of the bride's parents, so I was able to catch them at the reception to talk about them paying for the damage.
However, the talk didn't go well... I'd hate to call it "typical american attitude", but I know a few people that would call it just that.
Anyways, they weren't very cooperative, so I called the cops, and was told there's not much they can do since it's mostly a civil matter... and that I should talk to them to discuss it, however, they didn't stick around to chat, and while the bride's parents are good people, I'm doubtful of getting this resolved to my liking.
Anyhoo.. so the short of it is this... if the rental agency won't pay up, and the people won't pay up, is there any legal action I can take that would get me reimbursed?
Was wondering if it would be possible to just invoice them, and then send it to collection if they don't pay up...
I dunno... I don't have money to continually fix things other people do to my car, and this time I caught them in the act and have witnesses, I have no intention of letting them off the hook... but if anyone has some practical advice, I'd love to hear it!
thanks..
After talking with them and not getting far with the conversation I would have kicked in the door of their rental. I am sure that the rental company would have had a hayday with them due to damages. Sucks that they were ignorant to you. I would have taken their plate # and had your insurance company go after them for the damages. But now what can you do? Not much I don't think.
Hard to fight someone thats in another contry thats what they probably thought...I woulda just kicked in their door...but then again thats not really solving the problem.
Good friggin luck.
You can serve them papers in a civil matter, they won't show, and a judgement will be placed in your favour.
Where does that get you? Nowhere.
I think you need to seek council, and it unfortunately isn't here on FC.net.
Their insurance policy would/should cover them in a rental vehicle. Did you notice the rental company sticker/whatever on it? I'd give them a ring in the morning.
Since you already have their name, thats a bonus. Do you know what city they live in? If you can't get any information about them, give me those two pieces, and I'll fill in the blanks for you tomorrow if you want to phone them up.
Did the police write up a report at all?
Why the hell did they rent a car from Rochester? Thats sort of out of the way.
You wound me with your comment too. :P
I'm really interested in hearing about your "talk" when you mentioned it. Pretty lame that they weren't going to pay up. But, do realize they ARE from Texas, which should speak volumes.
Chances are you can pay about $150 to a place like Dent Wizard get the dent out, which will be cheaper than your day off work, going to file a Small Claims suit, and then taking another day off to present your case against someone you will have little chance of recovering anything from.
Unless you get them "to do the right thing" you've got little recourse.
Okay here is a legal answer and a life answer:
Legal answer is that if you have enough information to ID the defendants you can in fact file a SCC in Ontario. Then serve the other party, who, because they live in the US will get 45 days to respond.
45 days after serving them the plaintiff's claim, you can apply to the SCC for a default judgment, which you will be granted automatically should the other side fail to file a defense. Once judgment is granted you can then seek to enforce it assuming that the defendants live in a jurisdiction that will recognize an Ontario SCC judgment. Enforcement can include attempts to garnish wages, seize bank accounts (I don't know how effective a judgment debtor exam would be in this case)
Life answer is that you've been screwed, get the dent fixed yourself and move on with your life...
NefCanuck
I just skipped to the life answer ;)
sucks man. maybe you can talk to the bride's parents or something and try to get the family to put the heat on them.
Id be talking to the bride and her parents and consulting a lawyer and if that wouldnt be resolved I would have been taking a fit. and im only driving a Focus not a mustang.
Hate people bangin doors they piss me off and how they dont care and just shut there door and be on there way like it never happend.
don't waste your time or money. Just give up!!!
Its really hard to get money out of ppl from another country. Just try calling the rental agency and tell them they hit you and drove away, maybe they will pay for it, if not. just let it go.
well, after not getting far with them talking to them directly, I did file a police report, and the cop talked to them and the bride's parents who happened to be there (I'd say I'm ok friends of the family.. I did do a reading at the wedding.
So the cop did also give me a copy of their info, their address, the rental agency, etc.
I figured that since they weren't going to be reasonable with me that I should go ahead and get someone else to do the talking for me.
And I know there's not much I'm going to get out of them. but I'm torn between two options...
1) let it go -- yeah, I'm lazy, and hopefully it won't cost too much to fix... the paint is fairly undamaged as the freshly waxed car allowed their door to slide along it smoothly as it bent in the metal
2) take a bit of my time to inconvenience the s*** out of them. They honestly don't think they've done anything wrong and don't seem capable of empathizing with my situation, so I'd love to just teach them a lesson...
I dunno.. this sucks... I don't have the money to continually fix other people's fuckups... I caught them in the act, they decided to be ignorant pricks about it and I'd love to put the screws to them, if only to ruin their day like they ruined mine..
Talk to your insurance company (not the broker, the company itself), see what they say. Don't make a claim (duh)....but they should be able to advise you where you stand for free. They MUST have dealt with 'over-the-border' disputes before, and will have some experience about what to do. You can also trust them to steer you right. Worth a try before doing anything else, no?
Don't suck it up and spend the cash yourself. They're clearly at fault.
Option #2 is the clear path to follow. I'd make their lives as miserable as possible until they cough up the dough. ESPECIALLY since they weren't being reasonable.
darkpuppet,Jul 9 2007, 06:59 AM Wrote:2) take a bit of my time to inconvenience the s*** out of them. They honestly don't think they've done anything wrong and don't seem capable of empathizing with my situation, so I'd love to just teach them a lesson...
I dunno.. this sucks... I don't have the money to continually fix other people's f***ups... I caught them in the act, they decided to be ignorant pricks about it and I'd love to put the screws to them, if only to ruin their day like they ruined mine..
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If that's what you wanna do DP, PM me and I'll give you my office # and we can go through the steps needed to file a SCC claim. You'll spend about $175-$200 but you at the least can, if their jurisdiction recognizes the judgement, hit their credit rating with a clue by four.
NefCanuck
Frankly, I'm kinda leaning towards this approach vvv myself but it could simply be the indignation talking.
Having said that, what rental agency is it and do they have a Canadian operation?
If it were me, and it truly was about getting reimbursed, I'd be going after them or at least making them co-defendants.
For whatever the amount is, and in light of the police report, they might simply pay up or in the event you take them to court they might not defend, and if they defend they could lose.
Additionally, I'm sure they have portions of their rental contract that deals with things like this (407 charges etc) ... and they have the contact info and credit card number of the Texans (or an insurance policy) to take care of the expense.
Good luck.
torradan,Jul 9 2007, 08:51 AM Wrote:Don't suck it up and spend the cash yourself. They're clearly at fault.
Option #2 is the clear path to follow. I'd make their lives as miserable as possible until they cough up the dough. ESPECIALLY since they weren't being reasonable.
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My vote's on make them wish they had given you the cash right then and there. American OR Canadian, asshats need to suffer. :angry:
I'm sorry to hear about your car, dude. I'd be ballistic still about it if it was me.
keep hassling dont let them forget , make calls , multiple ones , call all family numbers you can dig up .
Focus man, Focus.,Jul 8 2007, 09:08 PM Wrote:After talking with them and not getting far with the conversation I would have kicked in the door of their rental.
That's what I did in the past, and I feel pretty good to this day about it :)
Which rental company was it, Steve?