[Howie666]

I have had an experience from the other side as it were. I was pulling out of a petrol station on the Garstang Road one Sunday afternoon, I thought I was sticking too far out into the traffic so, having checked my mirrors I reversed slowly to await a gap. The woman in the Nissan Quashquai (or whatever the damn thing was called) had pulled her car diagonally across the rear of my car, with her driver's door at a 45 degree angle to my nearside bumper and what must have been about an inch away from it.
My bumper scraped the lower portion of her door (I was going very slowly!) so she reversed, I reversed and we had a look at the 'damage'. A scuff on her door, a scuff on my bumper, no dents or dings, a bit of paint transfer. Scratches.
I did everything wrong. I admitted it was my fault and I didn't take any pictures of her door.
I suggested she take the car to my bodyshop guy (he does a lot of insurance work) I told my bodyshop guy about the damage. He said it was a common repair and would cost about £100. She didn't. She took it to a 'registered' Nissan repair shop in Lytham. Their 'experts' (stopping myself from swearing here) said I had damaged the side impact beam in the door. I know where the side impact beam is in those cars. About 6 inches above where I scraped the door skin!
They claimed it needed a new door (b******t) and the old bitch went on to claim a hire car for 21 days following their car being left for repair!
In the end the hit on my insurance company was around £2700. I asked what the effect would be on my renewal and I was told it would be about 10% on top of last year. Last year was about £530 fully comp so I thought it would be ok. The renewal came in at nearly £900! I went on the comparison sites and ended up with £565 on Compare the Meerkat with protected no claims, everything declared and no limit on my mileage. Adrian Flux said they couldn't get near that so I said a sad goodbye to them. But before I did that I sent a detailed letter to my insurers saying that from what my wife and I witnessed the damage was nowhere near as bad as the claimants said it was. I will definitely be shopping around for my next renewal!