Small fender bender. Need some advice. Or just want to vent.

[Ryan]

Quick back ground. I am in Hawaii, the accident was in Hawaii and the person that hit my car is back in Washington state.

I was hit by a car a few weeks ago. Small fender bender. But still a few hundred buck. Hopefully I can explain this clearly. I was hit by a rent a car. The guy who rented the car did not take the insurance on the car. He does not have his own insurance. Another person was driving the rent a car. They were both from Washington and were leaving that night. I called the police and they took down the information. The guy who was driving said he would pay for the damages. I got an estimate. Also got an estimate for a rental for the the time it was in the shop. I faxed him the estimate with the rental fee. He said it was too high and I was trying to rip him off. I has basic no fault so I cant fix it myself. Guess I'm just so angry right now I cant think of the right thing to do. Any advice or Legal advice. It's only a thousand dollars or so....so not sure what I can do....lawyers will probably charge that much to look at this small case. I feel like I am going to get the short end of the stick.

 

[WH1_T-Type]

Take him to small claims court in Hawaii. No lawers. If he doesn't show, you present your case to the judge...win...he has a judgement against him. Any time he tries to file taxes, get a job, or anything legal, that will pop up and he will have to pay.

 

[toofastforyou]

I feel like I am going to get the short end of the stick.

Well maybe not... check with the rent-a-car company...even if the driver did not take insurance (which is not your problem but theirs), they might be legally forced to compensate you for the damages since it was their car which was involved...There must be a legal way to settle this which shouldn't be at your expense since you're the victim...But being from Canada, I'm not familiar with the what the US law will allow you to do...
Good luck,

Claude. :smile:

 

[INEEDAGN]

That really sucks, but one of the two avenues mentioned above should net you some results. Ther must be SOME way to legally get what is owed to you.

good luck

 

[wile87]

just because a judgement is filed does not mean they will take anything from him automatically.

 

[no-nos]

oddly enough i know a guy who had his income tax return taken from him because he had a judgement against him. so i know that it does happen, i would agree take it to small claims court ande file for more than the $1k he owes you, if correct you can claim as high as $5000. it's not just the $1k for damages it's the aggravation, time from work , personal time and expenses.
i know it may sound mean but this guy could have done the right thing, i would hit him for the max, let the judge decide otherwise. good luck, and do take him to small claims, and as they told you the car rental company might be liable, after all it is their car, check the laws and do what you gotta do!

 

[tommynos]

I say act like its your money your spending,get the lowest estimate and find a car to borrow and then show him that estimate...Some people dont care when its other peoples money and know its not there issue and dont bother trying to get the best deal...

 

[Ryan]

If a judge rules in my behalf. Will that have any weight if he is in another state?

One thing that suck. The drive did not have a license. Info I have is his address on the ID and his Cell. If I file, I don't have any hard proof that this is the guy he says he is. No drivers license number....no insurance info. The address could be old. I did a search on his name in his town....there are a bunch of people with the same name in Cle Elum WA.

 

[The Radius Kid]

If a judge rules in my behalf. Will that have any weight if he is in another state?

One thing that suck. The drive did not have a license. Info I have is his address on the ID and his Cell. If I file, I don't have any hard proof that this is the guy he says he is. No drivers license number....no insurance info. The address could be old. I did a search on his name in his town....there are a bunch of people with the same name in Cle Elum WA.

I think Claude is right.
The rental company is on the hook here....they rented it to an uninsured driver and didn't force him to take out their insurance.
I would start by talking to your local PD about it.

 

[turbofish38]

Seems to me in No Fault states that the loser of the lawsuit has to pay both the lawyers and the court costs. Lived in FL to long I guess. I'd do the lawyer thing. First visit should be free. If you win than the lawyer is going to get his money anyway they can. Which means you are going to get your money.


Okay the driver didn't have a DL? How the heck did he get off the Islands with out a traffic ticket? Man, I bet Five-Oh is going to have a warrant for his arrest in about 30 days. As was pointed out. He ain't going to be able to do chit with a judgement on his credit score.

 

[OJ505]

Speaking from experiance ,the rental company is liable, but here is the catch,if it is one of the large rental companies , ie enterprise etc... ,they are self insured and your @ there mercy. I suggest contacting you insurance commisioner of your state , there usually a lot of help.

 

[Ryan]

UPDATE:

Dollars insurance agency sent me a letter denying my claim. They got a statement from the other driver. The other driver changed his story. Now he is saying that I hit his car. They say since it's his word against mine they are dropping the claim. So he hits my car. Has no insurance of his own. Just lies about it and gets away clean. WTF.

 

[Terry_H]

UPDATE:

Dollars insurance agency sent me a letter denying my claim. They got a statement from the other driver. The other driver changed his story. Now he is saying that I hit his car. They say since it's his word against mine they are dropping the claim. So he hits my car. Has no insurance of his own. Just lies about it and gets away clean. WTF.

Of course they deny the claim, no surprise there. Didn't you mention earlier about a police report? Did the other driver make a statement to police? Talk to the officer that responded. No witnesses?

Dollar seems to have no problem contacting him.

You may have to threaten suit and pay an attorney to write a letter to Dollar. Small claims is still your word against his and you need some kind of evidence in your favor. Your best bet in small claims court may be against Dollar and not the moron in question. Last I heard proof of insurance is mandatory in most states and they illegally rented a car

No DL or insurance and Dollar rents him a car? I believe they broke some rules there. Many credit card companies will insure the drivers of rentals. Hard to rent a car without a card or it used to be.

 

[aminga]

UPDATE:

Dollars insurance agency sent me a letter denying my claim. They got a statement from the other driver. The other driver changed his story. Now he is saying that I hit his car. They say since it's his word against mine they are dropping the claim. So he hits my car. Has no insurance of his own. Just lies about it and gets away clean. WTF.

In Post 1 it says The police were called is there a Police report ?

What does it say as to fault?

 

[Ryan]

I have a police report but it just has each others contact info. Damn worthless. It just says an accident happened. No witnesses.....just my wife. I'll try the credit card route. Thanks