A car is scratched in the yard

A car is a valuable property, the risk of damage to which increases with the increase in the total number of cars. Not only can your vehicle be damaged during a trip - cars can even be scratched while parked. Any body defects must be eliminated immediately so that the car does not deteriorate over time. These are additional financial investments, unplanned and most often unwanted. How to get compensation for repair costs if your car is scratched in a parking lot? To do this, you need to know how to behave in a specific situation.

Call DPS

Traffic police officers record accidents that occur on the road, roadside and parking lot. The traffic police should be called when scratches occur while at least one vehicle is moving. Otherwise, after assessing the situation, they will leave without drawing up a protocol. You don’t have to call the traffic police if minor damage was sustained and the person responsible for the damage to the car in the parking lot is ready to resolve the conflict without involving traffic police officers.

Attention! If you have any questions, you can chat for free with a lawyer at the bottom of the screen or call Moscow; Saint Petersburg; Free call for all of Russia.

If the damage to the car in the parking area was caused by third parties - intruders or children, then it would be more correct to call a local police officer who will deal with this issue.

If you didn’t scratch it with a nail, you can get insurance under MTPL

If the scratch on your car was not made by a nail, but it is clearly visible that the car was hit by another vehicle, then this case can be classified as a traffic accident. If there is damage to the car, it must be photographed. It is also better to take a photo of the scene of the incident. According to existing insurance legislation, you can draw up a European protocol. If the car has suffered more serious damage, we recommend calling a traffic police officer so that he can draw up a report. And of course, you need to try to find video cameras that could record the incident.

I would like to note that it will be much easier for a lawyer to work with such an incident if there is more evidence. We recommend that if you constantly park your car in the same place, buy a video camera that will monitor the condition of your car not only during the day, but also at night.

A statement to the police must be written referring to Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Next, the police are obliged to conduct an investigation and, based on its results, either initiate a criminal case or refuse to initiate a criminal case. We also note that CASCO insurance sometimes provides for compensation for damage from the unlawful actions of third parties. You need to make sure that this clause is present in your policy.

Procedure

The conflict can be resolved without involving outsiders if the person responsible for the scratch waited and is satisfied with the amount of compensation. In this case, it is not even necessary to draw up a protocol. Also, with the consent of the guilty party and the presence of a valid MTPL policy for both drivers, you can do without involving a traffic police squad and file an accident yourself.

Otherwise you need:

Call the DPS squad.
Call the insurance company (the victim always calls), report the fact of damage, and clarify the list of documents required to obtain compensation.
Take photographs or videotapes of all details related to the accident: the location of vehicles in the parking lot, scratches, etc.
Write down the details of the culprit: registration number of the car, contact details of the owner.
Contact the insurance company with a copy of the protocol.

But the culprit does not always wait patiently for the owner of the damaged car in the parking area.

Damaged a car in the yard of the house. A little about the laws

Every culprit in a traffic accident should remember that under no circumstances should you run away from the scene of the crime, even if it’s just scratches. Many manage to resolve the issue amicably by personally paying monetary compensation to the car owner.

This was possible until a compulsory insurance policy (MTPL) was introduced, which undertakes to pay for such problems. Therefore, even if the damage caused to the car is relatively small, it is still better to report the problem to the traffic police station.

Situations vary. An unfortunate accident may occur and you will be the cause of damaged equipment and the bad mood of its owner. If you scratch your car in the yard and don’t know what to do, there is only one rule: don’t panic! The first step is to call the traffic police.

It is ideal if you know who the owner of the affected car is. You shouldn’t run away from responsibility, it’s fraught with trouble. As far as compensation is concerned, this issue is exclusively dealt with by the injured party. The culprit of the incident appears in the accident report.

Scratched by an unknown person

If there are scratches on the car, and the culprit has disappeared, then you first need to determine whether the car was damaged as a result of an accident or other impact. If the second participant in the accident fled, they call a traffic police squad, in the second - a local police officer. Until their arrival, you can start an independent investigation: inspect the damage and the scene of the incident for traces of the “guilty” car.

You can also collect information that will help prove the violation and identify the culprit . Where to look for evidence of guilt in a scratch:

recordings from DVRs of cars parked nearby;
CCTV cameras in paid parking;
External surveillance cameras near the store, bank, at the entrance.

Neighbors and residents of nearby houses can share information. To find witnesses to a scratch on a car, you need to post advertisements asking eyewitnesses of the incident to respond. You can visit nearby service stations to find out if they have been contacted to repair cars with typical damage.

Having collected the necessary information, recording the contacts of witnesses, taking photographs of the scene of the incident, transfer all the information received to the arriving traffic police or police officers. If you find yourself in such a situation, before leaving the scene of an accident, remember that leaving the scene of the accident is classified as an administrative violation and is punishable by a fine or deprivation of rights for a certain period .

Option 1 is optimistic: the person responsible for the accident did not leave

If the culprit of the incident waited for you or left his contacts, everything is simple:

It is necessary to find out whether he has a valid MTPL agreement, assess the extent of damage to the vehicle and decide: call the traffic police or use the simplified procedure for registering an accident - the Europrotocol.

A simplified procedure for recording road accidents in 2021 is possible in the following cases:

There was a collision of only two cars.
No people were hurt.
There is no dispute between the participants in the incident about what kind of damage the victim’s car received.
The estimated amount of compensation is no more than 100,000 rubles.

If all these 4 points are met, then it is enough to fill out the accident notification form on paper. It is filled out by both parties: 1 copy for the culprit, and the second for the victim. A diagram of the accident is drawn on the back of the form. RSA recommends taking a photo of the scene, but it is not required.

Photos from the scene of the accident are required if you decide not to call the traffic police, and the person responsible for the accident does not agree with the circumstances of the incident or the damage caused to the car is more than 100,000 rubles. Then you need to not only take a photo or video, but also register the incident using the Assistant application. OSAGO (We wrote detailed instructions when it is necessary to use the application in this article.) In any case, the photo should show:

The location of the accident is buildings, structures, and other identifying features. It’s good if the smartphone you’re using to take pictures detects your location and displays it in the pictures.
Car number, photo VIN - numbers.
It is necessary to take a close-up photograph of the damaged parts.

At the same time, a paper accident notification must also be completed and submitted to your insurance company within 5 days. Both the culprit and the victim need to do this.

In addition to the notification form, the victim must write an application for compensation. This procedure is carried out at the insurer's office. In addition to the specified papers, the driver applying for payment will be asked to:

Driver's license;
A valid MTPL agreement;
Documents for the car (STS or PTS);
Passport.

Then a date will be set for vehicle inspection and an examination to calculate the cost of repairs.

In paid parking

Small scratches in a parking lot can be caused by accident, and a novice driver might not notice that he hit someone else's car. If you have CASCO insurance, you need to contact the insurance company and follow the instructions received. You must contact us immediately after discovering a defect.

If you do not have such insurance, you need to write an application addressed to the director of this parking lot. Surveillance cameras are installed in guarded paid parking lots, the recordings from which will help to find the culprit of the scratch on the car and resolve the conflict peacefully or through the courts.

Paid parking does not guarantee the safety of the car - often the contract stipulates that it only provides a place to park the car. If the document and rules indicate responsibility for storing the car, then you can file a complaint with the management of the parking lot. Is it not responding? Then you will have to go to court.

They fled the scene of the accident. What does this mean?

If trouble occurs, you can negotiate compensation for damages in person, without resorting to the help of law enforcement agencies. If the party who suffered damage demands a fabulous amount of compensation, you can go to court.

In a situation where you have been illegally and unfairly accused of causing damage to someone else’s car, you should not show aggression or argue with the offender. It is worth calmly recommending that he write a statement to the relevant authorities for further resolution of the conflict. This way you will protect yourself and prove to others that you are innocent.

Situations in which those responsible for the problem avoid responsibility by fleeing the scene are not uncommon.

In such cases, they face one of two punishment options:

1. 15 days of administrative arrest.

2. Deprivation of a driver’s license for one and a half years.

Even in a situation where the driver goes to the nearest traffic police post for help himself, leaving the scene of the accident, the law prescribes the payment of a fine and further proceedings, even criminal liability, if there are victims. Only serious road accidents can be considered a loophole in this situation, as a result of which there are injured people requiring emergency medical care. You simply must take all measures to save their lives.

If you or your car was scratched in the yard, for example, while rushing somewhere very urgently, you need to try to negotiate with the owner personally.

A car door was scratched in a parking lot

The case of a scratched door in a parking lot does not qualify as an accident, so it is better to resolve the conflict on the spot. If the culprit refuses to compensate for the damage for any reason (does not consider it correct or does not agree with the amount), then you must:

Call the local police officer and, if you have a CASCO policy, a representative of the insurance company.
While waiting, write down the number plate of the culprit's car and take photographs of the damaged car from different sides or film it on a video camera.
Submit all collected information with a statement of damage to the police, where the identity of the culprit will be established.
Based on the information received, write a statement of claim and submit it to the magistrate’s court to initiate a case for compensation for material damage.

If there were insults or psychological pressure from the perpetrator, you can include a clause on compensation for moral damage.

Scratched the car in the yard, OSAGO

Let's look at the situation: if a car was scratched in the yard and disappeared, will OSAGO pay? Can insurance cover such losses?

These losses can only be covered by voluntary insurance. CASCO and OSAGO only insures the liability of third parties to the victim. But it does not apply to these legal relations. For more information on the topic of insurance of these types, you can see the materials in the “Insurance and Insurance Law” section of our website. And very often, when a criminal case is initiated, the persons guilty of committing this crime voluntarily compensate the injured person for damage. They also compensate for moral damages. And this is a mitigating circumstance when sentencing by the court.

Insurance case

Serious damage, the repair of which the culprit is not going to compensate, is a reason to contact the insurance company. In this case, it is necessary to register the accident and, within a certain time established by the contract, contact the insurance company.

OSAGO

The MTPL policy guarantees compensation for the costs of repairing the car of a participant in the conflict (victim). To receive compensation you must:

Obtain from the person responsible for the scratch on the car the necessary information about the series and number of his MTPL policy and the insurance organization.
Fill out an accident report.
File an accident in accordance with the requirements of the Russian Federation Traffic Regulations.
Report the incident to the insurance company.

If documentation of an accident is completed without traffic police officers, then the notification form is filled out in 2 copies and sent by the drivers of the vehicles involved in the accident to insurance organizations within 5 days. The victim also attaches to the documents a statement of direct compensation for damages. In addition, at the request of the insurance organization, you will need to provide your cars within 5 days for an independent technical examination. Within 15 days from the date of the accident (excluding non-working holidays), you cannot begin to repair the vehicle, otherwise the insurer may refuse to compensate for the damage.

CASCO

To obtain compensation for damage under CASCO, you must first make sure that the case of a car being scratched in the parking lot is covered by insurance (they are specified in the contract). There are 3 possible options:

Registration of a CASCO insurance case without calling the traffic police.

This can be done if it is difficult to formally qualify the case as an accident: there are minor scratches on the car. The contract may include certain types of damage, for which insurance coverage does not require a certificate from the traffic police, as well as the number of payments under such conditions. To receive compensation, contact only the insurance company.

Registration of CASCO insurance for an accident.

If the incident occurred as a result of an accident, you first need to contact the traffic police. After inspecting the scene of the incident and filling out the necessary documentation, they confirm the occurrence of the insured event and issue the necessary certificates, including information about the incident and its participants.

Next, submit an application to the insurance company, attaching to it the received documents confirming the fact of the accident, passport, license and documents for the car, within the time period specified in the contract. Having assessed the damage, the insurance company makes a payment in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Taking out insurance with the involvement of the police.

Scratches on the car were caused by an intruder - you need to call the police. On the same day you must contact the CASCO insurance company. Employees identify the case as an administrative violation. It is important that the protocol contains a detailed description of the damage caused, and also indicates that the damage was caused by a third party. After this, a criminal case is initiated with a certain period of investigation - a month. If the culprit is not found, the case will be closed. Having received the decision to close the case from the police department, contact the insurance company for compensation or a referral for repairs.

Our lawyers know the answer to your question

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All actions in such cases are the same:

We call the local police officer to the scene of the incident.
We photograph damaged areas of the body.
We draw up a report or certificate of damage.

If minor children are found guilty of causing damage, after presenting evidence of the damage caused, responsibility and monetary payments lie with their parents.

Preventative security measures are the simplest but most effective security methods.

Most importantly, follow the parking rules:

Leave your car only in paid guarded parking lots, they are fenced and illuminated, almost each one has video cameras for additional control. On some, both entry and exit are sometimes recorded.
If there is no paid parking, try to park the car so that it does not interfere with the free passage of other cars, does not block the road for other cars, and is not very close to other cars so that you can easily open the door.
If you stay in the building for a long time, leave your phone number on the glass inside the car or under the wipers.
If there are any doubts about safety, be sure to purchase a DVR and turn it on.

IMPORTANT !!! While getting out of the car, we accidentally hit the doors of a car standing next to us. Damage caused by negligence by a third party cannot be registered as an accident, precisely because of the participation of third parties in the accident. Therefore, you should not run away from the scene. It is advisable to reach an agreement with the victim peacefully. If such a clause is included in your insurance, you should call an insurance agent.

We saw what CASCO should do late, after some time had passed. There will be no problems if you do not need to present a certificate from the traffic police; you must follow the same inspection procedure, record it in a photo or video, and submit documents within the deadlines established by the contract to the insurance company. If a certificate is required and the car is standing still, without moving, you must call a traffic police officer and then everything will proceed in the approved manner.

We draw up a certificate or report on the condition of the car, take photos or videos of damage to the car, make copies and certify them, and present all documents and their copies to the insurance company within the period specified in the insurance contract.

Noticed late

If damage to the car caused in the parking lot is not immediately discovered, you can count on compensation for an accident if:

The car was scratched, but the car remained in the parking lot. The fact is that, according to traffic regulations, the driver is obliged to inspect the vehicle before getting behind the wheel. Therefore, traffic police officers may refuse to file a case if the car was already driving after scratches appeared.
A certificate from the traffic police is not required to obtain insurance. In this case, you need to contact the insurance company and report the damage.

You can also contact your local police officer for help getting insurance. If you do not have insurance and the person responsible for the accident is not found, you will have to repair the vehicle body at your own expense.

Nuances

To quickly and efficiently resolve issues related to your car getting scratches in a parking lot, you need to take into account some nuances:

Do not leave the scene of the accident under any circumstances if you want to receive compensation payments;
call the traffic police whenever you touch a second vehicle;
return back as soon as possible if you had to leave the scene of the accident without noticing the scratch;
try to negotiate with the culprit yourself - most often this method turns out to be the most effective.

It is also important that if at the time of the collision none of the cars were damaged, then the accident will not be recognized. The parties will have to leave because no damage has been done.

Features of actions

hit another car while driving - call the traffic police;
intentionally caused damage - call the local police officer;
in any case, inform the insurance company;
The damaged car must remain in its place until the police arrive.

Correct action as a result of a scratch on the car is a guarantee of receiving compensation for repair costs. To avoid getting into such situations, you need to park in a paid parking lot, where responsibility for the safety of the car is provided, and not park your car too close to others.

In what cases is DPS called?

In practice, several situations of damage to a car parked in the parking lot may develop. Registration of an accident by traffic police officers occurs when at least one vehicle is moving. For example, the driver of a neighboring car touched a car in a parking lot while entering or exiting. If the damage is minor and the culprit is willing to resolve the situation without involving traffic police inspectors, you do not have to contact the traffic police.

To receive compensation under compulsory motor liability insurance (the amount of damage up to 100 thousand rubles), a European protocol is drawn up, that is, the participants independently record the traffic accident. If the documents are completed correctly, the victim has the right to compensation for damages under insurance. Due to insufficient legal awareness of how the European protocol is drawn up, both parties prefer to resolve the issue in the presence of a traffic police inspector.

From June 2021, it is permissible to draw up this type of protocol in case of existing disagreements. To do this, one of the cars must be equipped with a special GLONASS device or the driver must have the “DTP.Europrotocol” mobile application installed. The system itself sends data to the AIS OSAGO. If one of the conditions is missing, calling a traffic police inspector is mandatory. Also, a representative of the traffic police is required to draw up a report if the amount of damage exceeds one hundred thousand rubles.

Advice! When drawing up a European protocol, you should not forget to install an alarm and a special sign at the scene of the incident.

If you are caught after fleeing the scene of an accident

The main rule for everyone is that ignorance of the laws does not help to avoid punishment for what they have done. A striking example of this: inexperienced drivers who do not know all the rules of the road and, due to lack of driving experience, can make mistakes, trying to avoid them, run away from the scene of an accident.

And if, after fleeing, you end up in an accident, the best outcome for you will be a fine and deprivation of your license. Worst case – go to jail!

If you just accidentally scratched your car in the yard, what should you do? The most correct option would be to honestly admit that you did not notice it or were driving the car only for a short time. Of course, this will not save you from a fine, but, in any case, your conscience will be clear.