Wind damage...

[Jge64]

You always do what is most convenient for you at the time. Yes, it may be a good idea to be honest, but you run into the issue of the guy not believing your story anyway. Karma is best preserved by analyzing your options based on potential pay-offs, before committing to a course of action. All that "you gotta be nice to others" stuff is just window dressing for fools who operate based on emotions. If you are a millionaire and you want to make a donation to feed the poor, that's a different story because you would be doing the right thing and you would be in control of your actions. When you are riding a scoot and putting your precious assets at the mercy of karma, this is a different situation.

ridiculous, stupid post......it's all about ethics, not finances....

[homie]

Oh no!... shhhhhhhhh this is heading for D&B

[WhiteNoise]

Yes, ...."lead us not into temptation...."

[Simon0867]

Ok, an update.

Left the note and the owner called me back this evening, sounds a friendly guy, took a "these things happen" approach. Thanked me for leaving the note so I'm glad I did it.

He uses a garage near where we live and they do panel beating/replacement. He is going to get a quote. My excess is £350 so if it is under that then it makes no sense to go through my insurance.

If this is sorted between ourselves then do I just call my insurance and tell them to cancel the incident, they have no details of the car I hit.
If I can do this does it still affect my premium when it comes to renewal ?

Any advice would be much appreciated,

Thanks to all

[Bash On!]

Dunno about Scotland, but here in the US you can't "cancel" an incident. Once an accident is reported, it's on your record. In fact, some insurance companies would note if you even called asking a hypothetical question about your coverage. OTOH, my insurance doesn't ding the policy holder until the payout reaches a certain amount.

[Safety Man]

The OP is not even guilty of anything. No huge damage occurred and no one was injured because of this act of God scenario. Ethics can certainly kick in at a certain point (because it will make YOU feel better at the end to fess up to any wrongdoing). The important distinction to make here is that you cannot allow emotions to take over your actions. That would be irresponsible. It is obvious that you treat others the way they deserve to be treated--that's a value that does not get compromised--BUT your values have to be in-touch with reality of the situation by putting your God-given head to use in order to sort through the potential outcomes. You can move forward by knowing that you did the right thing for the affected person (and for yourself) ONLY once you have calculated the outcomes and decided that the decision is rational and is not going to affect you in an unnecessary way. The bottom line is that you put your self-interest ahead of all things, which includes considerations of ethics.

This is just my opinion, and, obviously, I could be very wrong here because you have to consider procedural factors specific to insurance claims in the OP's country, as some have raised up. If the situation occurred here in the U.S., no way in hell I would be fessing up to something I did not do and could be held liable for. For all the forum head hunters, I love helping people out. In fact I have previously deployed to Afghanistan twice with the U.S. Army, and it was amazing to see the positive transformation in the people's lives (especially children's lives) from horrible (when we got there) to somewhat better (when we left). I really enjoy my current occupation, which is, as my title implies, is safety management--a position where genuine care for others is required.

Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge".

Happy Veterans' Day to other vets out there! God Bless!

[JohnL]

Old Fart 1:1 Insurance assessors and bibles do not mix.

If they had any sense of justice they wouldn't be in the job.

[kramnala58]

... The bottom line is that you put your self-interest ahead of all things, which includes considerations of ethics ...

In my opinion, this is why much of the world is in the condition it is. Do I always put the interests of others ahead of my own? No, I am human and I fail. But I certainly hope I do not always consider my own self-interest ahead of all things. What a sad world this would be if we all did that.

To your credit, whether you realize or not, you seem to have not lived up to your own words. By serving your country, it appears you put the interests of others ahead of your own. Thank you for serving.

Simon0867 - In my opinion, you did the right thing. Your decision to contact your insurance company may come back to bite you, but I am confident you did the best and right thing by letting the other person know what happened.

[Simon0867]

Just an update for all kind enough to reply to my post.

The cost to repair the MG was £300, a hefty sum but apparently removing the damaged body panel is labour intensive. Spoke to both the owner and the garage boss who explained the process. Not much I could do so I've settled up with the garage so the work can proceed.

I'm hoping to get permission from our Housing Association to fit a metal support bar into the ground alongside where I park my bike so I can attach it fully during spells of very windy weather. It's a job I can do myself if I have to and doesn't interfere with the car parking spaces so it should be OK.

Phoned my insurance company to let them know the matter had been settled privately. They will have to keep the claim open for 6 months in case the car owner decides to pursue it further. After 6 months it is considered closed.

Thanks again for everyones advice and support.

[Blazinby]

Hey Simon0867,

first off let me say you did the right thing, it may have cost you £300 but your integrity is intact and that is priceless.

I don't really go for any of that religious stuff but I do believe in people,

one day that s**t will come back around

[djcat]

I use this cover on my scooter: http://www.oxford-shop.co.uk/item3717.htm

We had a hell of a stormy weather in the Netherlands for the last weeks and I can proudly report that the cover stayed on and the scooter stayed upright :-) That cover is very heavy and can be closed with a strap down under so instead of acting as a sail it diverted the wind around as the wind pushed it together. Clever system, that little strap.