As I parked next to a woman's truck, she abandoned her shopping cart in my diagonal parking spot inches from my door and got in her truck to leave. Opening my door enough to emerge bumped her plastic cart into her OEM side step beneath her REAR door, without damage. Six weeks later her insurance company billed me $750 for new right and left side steps and threatened to forward the claim to a collection agency.
Issues compounding her comparative liability (Washington state):
Her cart is the sine qua non of the incident.
Photos of the alleged dent show it to be:
* sanded in a previous repair attempt,
* below the FRONT door four feet from the cart contact point,
* inconsistent with the cart's profile or soft plastic construction, and
* economically insignificant on a five-year-old truck.
The cart wouldn't even have touched their side step but for their truck being jacked up beyond legal limits, placing Ford's cushioned protective belt line too high to do its job.
The repair ESTIMATE (no repair or other economic loss is claimed) is for both left and right side steps (they're available from Ford individually).
Their police report and insurance claim contradict the facts.
1. Ignoring the cart contact point issue, what's our comparative liability -- what's a fair counteroffer?
2. Would paying the insurer's out-of-pocket $250 shut them up …
3. or merely expose me to liability for the insured's deductible?
4. Would notifying my insurer and letting them fight this cost me brownie points with my insurer?
5. Can the insurer forward a disputed, non-adjudicated claim to a collection agency, and can that damage our 46-year-perfect credit history?
6. Is the insurer likely to go away if we have an attorney prepare and send our dispute letter elaborating the comparative liability points above? (The cost is irrelevant; we don't like extortion.)
Issues compounding her comparative liability (Washington state):
Her cart is the sine qua non of the incident.
Photos of the alleged dent show it to be:
* sanded in a previous repair attempt,
* below the FRONT door four feet from the cart contact point,
* inconsistent with the cart's profile or soft plastic construction, and
* economically insignificant on a five-year-old truck.
The cart wouldn't even have touched their side step but for their truck being jacked up beyond legal limits, placing Ford's cushioned protective belt line too high to do its job.
The repair ESTIMATE (no repair or other economic loss is claimed) is for both left and right side steps (they're available from Ford individually).
Their police report and insurance claim contradict the facts.
1. Ignoring the cart contact point issue, what's our comparative liability -- what's a fair counteroffer?
2. Would paying the insurer's out-of-pocket $250 shut them up …
3. or merely expose me to liability for the insured's deductible?
4. Would notifying my insurer and letting them fight this cost me brownie points with my insurer?
5. Can the insurer forward a disputed, non-adjudicated claim to a collection agency, and can that damage our 46-year-perfect credit history?
6. Is the insurer likely to go away if we have an attorney prepare and send our dispute letter elaborating the comparative liability points above? (The cost is irrelevant; we don't like extortion.)