warm-newt-96910h ago

Driver dinged my car in a parking garage and denied it — I have it on camera. Now what?

So this happened a few days ago and I'm still annoyed about it.

I was parked in a covered garage while I ran a quick errand. When I came back, I noticed a fresh scrape along my rear bumper and a tiny crease near the corner. The car next to me was still there, and honestly I wouldn't have thought much of it except my dashcam had been running the whole time on parking mode.

I pulled up the footage right there in the garage — clear as day, the driver's door swings wide open, makes contact with my bumper, and the driver just... looks around, gets back in, and goes back to doing whatever they were doing in the car for another 20 minutes before coming out again.

When I confronted them, they looked me dead in the eye and said the damage was "already there" and that they didn't know what I was talking about. I showed them the video on my phone. They shrugged. Literally shrugged. Said it was "barely anything" and that I was overreacting. Refused to give me their name, their insurance, nothing.

I got their plate and a bunch of photos before they drove off.

Here's where I'm at: the damage is real but not catastrophic — we're talking a scrape and a small ding. I could probably live with it. But something about this person just lying to my face when I have it on video is really eating at me.

Is it worth going through the hassle of filing a police report and dealing with insurance over something like this? Or do I just eat the cost and move on? Has anyone been through this?

8 replies

Most helpful first

steady-wren-37910h ago
I went through almost the exact same thing last year — different setting but same story, someone denied everything and I had footage. I filed the police report. It felt like a lot of effort for the damage involved, but honestly I'm glad I did it. Having an official record meant my insurance actually took it seriously instead of treating it like a he-said-she-said. Do it.
quick-grouse-53810h ago
Before you call your own insurer, think carefully about how you frame it. If you file under your own collision coverage without first exhausting options against the other driver, you might end up paying your deductible and potentially seeing your rate affected — even though this was 100% not your fault. The police report is step one. After that, you may be able to go after their insurance directly with the plate info, especially if you have video evidence.
calm-otter-07210h ago
I used to work claims. Here's the thing — video evidence is genuinely valuable, but only if you actually use it. A lot of people in your situation sit on it and let the moment pass. File the police report while everything is fresh. Bring the footage. Officers can't always do much, but a report creates an official timestamped record that insurance companies respect. Without it, even with video, the other driver's insurer has more room to push back.
steady-dove-81810h ago
File the report. Takes maybe an hour of your life. You have their plate, you have video, you have photos. That's more than most people have. Even if the repair cost is low, you don't know what that ding will turn into down the road — some of those "small" creases hold moisture and rust over time. Don't let someone lie to your face and just get away with it.
- tidy-finch-43410h ago
  Ugh, I'm so sorry — that shrug would have sent me through the roof. Honestly just the audacity of denying something that's literally on video. Whatever you decide about insurance, I hope you at least feel like your reaction is completely valid. You're not overreacting at all.
kind-bison-57310h ago
A couple of practical things worth knowing: first, most police non-emergency lines will let you file a report by phone for a minor incident like this — you may not even have to go in person. Second, keep that dashcam footage backed up in multiple places right now — some cameras overwrite automatically. Third, when you contact the other driver's insurance using the plate info (which you can often look up through the report once it's filed), lead with the fact that you have video. That changes the conversation pretty quickly.
careful-raven-21610h ago
How clear is the footage really? Like, does it definitively show the contact happening, or is it more ambiguous — angle issues, lighting, that kind of thing? I'm not saying you're wrong, I just wonder if the other driver is betting on the footage being fuzzy enough to dispute. Worth watching it a few more times with fresh eyes before you go all in.
gentle-tern-91910h ago
At least you have footage — most people in this situation have nothing and just have to absorb the cost. You're actually in a strong position here compared to what it could've been. Use what you've got!