Rental van driver sideswiped me then gave me a fake phone number — what do I do??

Oh man this is almost exactly what happened to me two years ago. Different situation but same playbook — guy acts cooperative at the scene, turns out the number is garbage. What saved me was that I had his insurance card info AND his plate. You can file a claim directly with HIS insurance without ever going through yours. I did that and never even had to involve my own carrier. Your rates shouldn't go up if you're not filing on your own policy.

Your mom's fear about rates is understandable but it's also exactly what insurance companies count on — people being too scared to use the coverage they pay for. If you file against the OTHER guy's insurance, that's a third-party claim. Your insurer isn't necessarily even in the loop unless you rope them in. Don't let that fear let this dude off the hook.

I used to work claims and I want to flag something: rental vans through commercial companies often have their own insurance that's separate from the driver's personal policy. When you say you grabbed his insurance card, do you know if it was a personal policy or the rental company's commercial coverage? That matters a lot for who you're filing against. Either way, you have a plate number — that's traceable. A quick call to your state DMV or even a police report can help establish identity if he fed you fake contact info.

A few things worth doing right now if you haven't already:

1. File a police report — even if it's been a few days, you can often still do this. The fake number alone could be relevant. 2. Write down everything the witness told you and make sure you still have her contact info saved somewhere safe. 3. Document the damage thoroughly — photos, a repair estimate from a body shop, all of it.

None of this costs money and it preserves your options. The plate number is huge — that vehicle is registered somewhere.

Not legal advice, but: a witness who will confirm the other driver crossed into your lane is genuinely valuable. A lot of people assume "he said / she said" means nothing can be done, but corroborating witness testimony changes that equation significantly. The fake number situation could also matter — depending on your state, providing false information after an accident can have its own legal consequences for him. Worth at least a free consultation with a PI attorney to understand your options before you decide to just absorb this.

I just want to ask — are you physically okay? Even low-speed side impacts can cause soft tissue stuff that doesn't show up right away. Neck, shoulder tension, headaches that you chalk up to stress. If anything feels off in the next week or two, please get checked out. I've seen people brush it off and regret it later.

File a police report today. Bring the photos, the witness's info, and the insurance card. The fake number is actually useful — mention that specifically because it shows he was trying to dodge accountability. Then call the number on that insurance card directly and open a third-party claim. Stop waiting for him to do the right thing. He's already shown you he won't.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. The fact that he turned on that witness is infuriating — she didn't have to say anything and she still tried to help you. I really hope you kept her number safe. People like that are rare and she could genuinely make a difference here. Don't give up on this.

Quick question — when you grabbed his insurance card, did you photograph it or just write down the info? And was the van actually in his name or was it rented through a company? I ask because "rental van" and "his insurance" might be two totally different things and it changes who you'd even be filing against.