Someone hit my parked car: what to do in London
If someone hit your parked car and left a note, contact them, confirm their insurance details and claim against their insurer, so nothing goes on your own policy. If there's no note, photograph the damage, look for witnesses and camera footage, and report it to the police within 24 hours. For small dents and scuffs, get a repair price before you decide anything: if the driver can't be found, paying for the repair yourself may cost less than claiming on your own insurance.
Parking on a London street means tight gaps, vans squeezing past and cars nose to tail on both sides. Sooner or later, plenty of people walk out to a scraped door or a cracked bumper they didn't do.
Someone hit my parked car and left a note: what next?
Photograph the note and keep it. Then contact the person the same day, while it's fresh for both of you. Ask for their full name, address, registration and the name of their insurer, and get it in a text or an email so you have it in writing.
Not every note is genuine. Occasionally someone leaves one for the benefit of anyone watching, with a wrong number or no real details on it. If the number doesn't connect, or they stop replying, treat it as if there was no note at all.
Before anything else gets moved or cleaned, photograph the damage close up and from a few steps back, with your number plate in some of the shots. Note the date, the time you found it and exactly where the car was parked.
Once the other driver has confirmed it with their insurer, it's a claim against them, not you. Ring us at Newbridge Accident Repair Centre before you contact your own insurer, and we can run it as a non-fault accident claim. You pay no excess, your no claims bonus is left alone, and you get a similar car to use while yours is fixed, at no charge.
Some drivers offer cash instead of going through insurance. For a small scuff that can be fine, but get a written repair estimate first so you both know the figure, and agree the payment in writing before any work starts.
No note on the windscreen? Start with the car and the street
Look closely at the damage. Paint transferred onto your car can tell you the colour of the other vehicle, and the height of the damage can suggest whether it was a car or something taller, like a van. Check the road and the kerb for broken bits of light, mirror glass or trim, and keep them. Parts often carry markings that can help identify the make.
Work out the window: when you parked, and when you found it. That's the period you'll be asking people about.
Witnesses, doorbell cameras and dashcam footage
On a residential street there's a decent chance a camera saw something.
- Knock on doors near where you were parked. Video doorbells and home security cameras often point straight at the road.
- Ask neighbours whose cars were parked nearby whether they have a dashcam with a parking mode.
- Check for shops, cafés or garages with cameras facing the pavement.
- Ask the same day. Cameras record over older footage, some within a few days.
Some people are happy to send you the clip. Others would rather not hand footage to a stranger, which is fair, so ask them to save it for the police instead.
A post in a local neighbourhood group or app, giving the street and the time window, can turn up a witness. Stick to the facts, though. Don't post someone's registration and accuse them in public.
Telling the police
If the driver didn't leave their details, report it to the police within 24 hours. In London that's the Metropolitan Police, online or on 101. Give them the location, the time window, a description of the damage, any registration you have, and tell them if there's footage. Keep the reference number, as your insurer will ask for it.
The law puts a duty on the driver who hit your car, too. They should have stopped and, if they couldn't find you, reported it to the police themselves. If you've got their registration, the police can follow it up.
Is it worth claiming for small damage?
That depends on what you know about the other driver.
If you know who did it and they're insured, claim against them. It shouldn't cost you anything, and your own policy stays out of it.
If nobody can be traced and you're fully comp, you can claim on your own policy, but you'll pay your excess, and many insurers will count a claim with an untraced driver against your no claims bonus. For a scuffed bumper or a small dent, the repair may not cost much more than the excess, so get a price before you decide. Many policies still expect you to report any incident, even one you pay for yourself, and a report on its own isn't a claim.
Third party only? Then your insurer won't cover your own car at all. Our guide to uninsured and hit-and-run drivers explains where the Motor Insurers' Bureau fits in.
Getting it fixed at our Sydenham site
Newbridge took over the Sydenham site in 2012, and it's been our London bodyshop since. It's at 60 Kangley Bridge Road, London SE26 5BA, just off Southend Lane (A2218) near Bell Green and close to Lower Sydenham station. It has held the BSI Kitemark for Vehicle Damage Repair since 2012.
Scrapes, scuffs, dents and bumper damage from parked-car knocks are covered by our minor car repairs service. From Forest Hill we're about 1.5 miles via Perry Vale and Perry Rise, from Catford about 2 miles down the A212, and from Beckenham about 2 miles. We've written separate pages for drivers coming from each: Forest Hill car body repairs, Catford car body repairs and our body shop for Beckenham.
For a price, send a few photos through our quote form, or call our Sydenham bodyshop on 020 8659 2221. We do mobile estimates too, if it's hard to bring the car in. You can also read our Sydenham Google reviews before you book.
Questions
01Is it illegal to hit a parked car and drive off?
Yes. A driver who damages a parked car has to stop. If they can't find the owner to give their name, address and registration, they must report it to the police as soon as they can, and within 24 hours. Driving off without doing either is an offence, which is one reason it's worth reporting even minor damage when no details were left.
02Is leaving a note enough if I hit a parked car?
Not on its own, in our view. A note is the decent thing to do, but the safe course is to leave one and also report the accident to the police within 24 hours, because the law expects you to give your details to the owner or report it. Put your name, phone number and registration on the note, and photograph it before you leave.
03Can I claim if my car was hit while parked outside my house?
Yes. It makes no difference whether the car was outside your house, in a residents' bay or in a car park. If the other driver is identified and insured, you claim against their insurer. If they can't be traced, you'd be claiming on your own policy, so compare the repair price with your excess before deciding which way to go.
04Can you repair a scraped door without painting the whole door?
Often, yes. Small scrapes and scuffs can usually be smart repaired, which keeps the paintwork to the damaged area and blends it into the paint around it. Longer scrapes, damage running across two panels, or a dent with a crease in it usually mean painting the panel and blending into the panels next to it. Send us photos and we'll tell you which.
05What if I only found the damage days later?
Report it anyway, and give the police the widest time window you can. Camera footage may already have been recorded over, but ask the neighbours anyway, because some systems keep recordings longer than others. Photograph the damage straight away. A claim is harder without a witness or footage, but a police reference still helps if you go through your insurer.