Watched a woman push a shopping trolley into my car

[Vince Green]

today in Asda car park saw a woman bash a trolley into my front wing

 I was walking right behind her. She left a dent and chipped the paint

I spoke to her but she wouldn't answer. Head down no eye contact 

threw her shopping and her son into her car and drove off.

As a man you have to be so careful these day dealing with a woman on her own in a car park.

I got a photo but I don't suppose there is anything I can do

[Newbie to this]

Did you get her reg, report it to the police

[old'un]

More than likely the supermarket as signs saying ‘park at your own risk’ with regards the woman who damaged your car I think that because it was on private land it becomes a civil case.

[Vince Green]

31 minutes ago, Newbie to this said:

Did you get her reg, report it to the police

Complete waste of time. Police round here don't even come round if your house gets burgled

I don't need a computer generated crime number 

Edited August 14, 2022 by Vince Green

[toontastic]

3 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

Complete waste of time. Police round here don't even come round if your house gets burgled

I don't need a computer generated crime number 

I don't see how it would even be a police matter. Unless she did it deliberately. But I think as it's accidental and on private property it's something that would need sorting by the parties involved. 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

I'm sure the Police will not be interested other than logging the incident and issuing a number.

If you report it to your insurance company, they will want witness corroboration.

If they then bother to do anything it will require you to pay an excess and will no doubt raise your renewal premium.

[mel b3]

I don't know if this is of any use . I witnessed someone hit an empty car( twice) , with their car , and drive away ( on a motorway services) . I reported it to the police , and they dealt with it . This happened over 5 years ago.

If someone damages your property,  then they're liable for the cost of the repairs . It just depends if you can be bothered with the hassle. 

 

 

[Weihrauch17]

57 minutes ago, Newbie to this said:

Did you get her reg, report it to the police

The Police aren't interested in car theft and burglary, they certainly won't be interested in Criminal Damage on private land.   

[enfieldspares]

1 hour ago, old'un said:

More than likely the supermarket as signs saying ‘park at your own risk’ with regards the woman who damaged your car I think that because it was on private land it becomes a civil case.

If i murder someone on my back garden, which is "private land" does that make it only a civil case? If someone comes onto my friend's farm and takes a hammer to his tractor cab windows does that make it a civil case? Of course not. And the offence needs EITHER intent or recklesness I'd contact the police as, often, there may be previous form and/or the son may be on an arrest warrant and etc.. Criminal damage is criminal damage. Now the reality is the police will give you a crime number and you can then contact your insurers. If the insurers can't trace the woman any repairs will, unfortunately, come out of you pocket. 

Edited August 14, 2022 by enfieldspares

[samboy]

I would have pushed my trolley into her car and took it from there.

[old'un]

2 hours ago, enfieldspares said:

If i murder someone on my back garden, which is "private land" does that make it only a civil case? If someone comes onto my friend's farm and takes a hammer to his tractor cab windows does that make it a civil case? Of course not. And the offence needs EITHER intent or recklesness I'd contact the police as, often, there may be previous form and/or the son may be on an arrest warrant and etc.. Criminal damage is criminal damage. Now the reality is the police will give you a crime number and you can then contact your insurers. If the insurers can't trace the woman any repairs will, unfortunately, come out of you pocket. 

The police will only get involved if its criminal damage, that is…..when someone unlawfully, and intentionally or recklessly, damages or destroys property belonging to another person.

 

Now all you got to-do is prove it was intentional ….best of luck mate.

[discobob]

You can get the owners details from DVLA - Including address - there is a form to fill out. Once got you can submit a claim through the small claims court. As you have a photo I would imagine you have a good case.

 

[enfieldspares]

11 hours ago, old'un said:

The police will only get involved if its criminal damage, that is…..when someone unlawfully, and intentionally or recklessly, damages or destroys property belonging to another person.

 

Now all you got to-do is prove it was intentional ….best of luck mate.

No. Not correct. The offence says intentionally OR recklessly. If there was recklessness then all three elements of the offence damaging property belonging to another is proved.

So a person who can't drive and so loses control when reversing a car into another car could be held as reckless even though they never intended to hit the other car. In that they didn't know how to drive and so was reckless.

Recklessness could be proved if the trolley was so loaded that the person pushing it couldn't see what was in front, or was intoxicated or was not looking where they were going such as being occupied with her child. The size of the dent may help prove that. 

Now it won't be easy to prove unless there is video evidence but be clear that intent does not have to be present to prove the offence. If the person was reckless that will suffice.

The current best example would those setting fire to heathland with disposable barbecues that they'd not properly extinguished in the extremely dry conditions of this present heatwave.

[old'un]

10 minutes ago, enfieldspares said:

No. Not correct. The offence says intentionally OR recklessly. If there was recklessness then all three elements of the offence damaging property belonging to another is proved.

So a person who can't drive and so loses control when reversing a car into another car could be held as reckless even though they never intended to hit the other car. In that they didn't know how to drive and so was reckless.

Recklessness could be proved if the trolley was so loaded that the person pushing it couldn't see what was in front, or was intoxicated or was not looking where they were going such as being occupied with her child. The size of the dent may help prove that. 

Now it won't be easy to prove unless there is video evidence but be clear that intent does not have to be present to prove the offence. If the person was reckless that will suffice.

The current best example would those setting fire to heathland with disposable barbecues that they'd not properly extinguished in the extremely dry conditions of this present heatwave.

Well I thought that's what I had said? So you are saying the police would have attended and bought criminal proceedings against the women?

[Rem260]

Unless you have independent evidence ie witness or cctv. Then this is a non starter.  If she refused to engage with you at the time then she will more than likely state it wasn't her if pressed by a police officer. But if you don't try you'll never know. I would go to the station to report it rather than phone. You may get a sympathetic officer who will go the extra bit. It will only cost you your time. However as I stated unless she admits it your on a loser.

Edited August 15, 2022 by Rem260

[Dave at kelton]

3 hours ago, discobob said:

You can get the owners details from DVLA - Including address - there is a form to fill out. Once got you can submit a claim through the small claims court. As you have a photo I would imagine you have a good case.

 

This!

[Walker570]

They will probably arrest you for harrasing a female.

Did you get the reg number??????

[enfieldspares]

16 hours ago, old'un said:

Now all you got to-do is prove it was intentional ….best of luck mate.

As a follow up I'd agree that the OP may be on an uphill struggle. Especially since the old R v Cadwell "test" fell. However there is no need to have "intent" present. That it was reckless will alone suffice. This is the current "test":

A person is reckless as to whether property (belonging to another) is destroyed or damaged where:

"A person acts recklessly within the meaning of section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 with respect to -

(i) a circumstance when he is aware of a risk that it exists or will exist;

(ii) a result when he is aware of a risk that it will occur;

and it is, in the circumstances known to him, unreasonable to take the risk."

Wikipedia isn't always a friend but here's a link. I think that OLD'UN is on the mark when he says it'll be difficult:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_G

But...a lot depends IMHO on the woman involved. For it may be that the police are looking for a reason to involve themselves with her, it may be she is banned from driving, has an outstanding arrest warrant, failure to surrender to bail and many many other things that the OP won't know but the police will and will be very thankful for the vehicle registration number...which I guess the OP has checked if it is "road legal" for MoT and tax?

 

Edited August 15, 2022 by enfieldspares

[marsh man]

Not really up to all this legal jangle but I will tell you my situation I had when I clipped a car with my bumper on a retail car park , it done very little damage and was mainly just a dirt mark , with all the different cameras about I thought I better report it to the owner rather than just drive off , after waiting about 20 mins and not having a pen to leave a note with my details on I had to go , l looked up the situation on the lap top and I believe you had to report the offence even if it was on a public car park within seven days of it happening .

So later on during the day I popped in the police station and told them the situation , they said if the person get in touch we will give them your details and if they don't get in touch you will be in the clear after I believe was 100 days , I might be wrong in the amount of time , but I did get a letter from Norfolk police after a while to say this case is now closed as nobody had made any inquiries .

[Rem260]

20 hours ago, marsh man said:

Not really up to all this legal jangle but I will tell you my situation I had when I clipped a car with my bumper on a retail car park , it done very little damage and was mainly just a dirt mark , with all the different cameras about I thought I better report it to the owner rather than just drive off.

So had there been no cameras. You would have just driven off. Nice!!

[marsh man]

2 hours ago, Rem260 said:

So had there been no cameras. You would have just driven off. Nice!!

I was decent enough to report it to the police and like I said it wasn't much more than a dirt mark , as it turned out the owner if he or she had noticed it didn't think it was worth reporting .

All I hope if somebody had clipped my motor on a private car park it would be by someone like you and not like the woman who pushed a trolley into the ops motor and then walked off , chances that happening would be very rare to say the least .

[bruno22rf]

She must be local, put the pic on facebook and explain that she damaged your car then drove away, sure as eggs is eggs someone will grass her up and give you her address, various options then open up.

Edited August 16, 2022 by bruno22rf

[London Best]

Twenty years ago I was sitting in my car, a two year old Discovery, in a supermarket car park waiting for Mrs LB to re-appear. The woman driver of the shed parked next to me returned to her car and flung the door open against my door. The window was down and I said, “Oi, watch what you’re doing!” She said, “Oh, sorry.” To which I replied, “Sorry’s not good enough, is it?” She drove off not giving a ****.

[old man]

On 14/08/2022 at 19:38, samboy said:

I would have pushed my trolley into her car and took it from there.

And you would have lost your ticket as a minimum.

 

On 14/08/2022 at 17:50, Vince Green said:

today in Asda car park saw a woman bash a trolley into my front wing

 I was walking right behind her. She left a dent and chipped the paint

I spoke to her but she wouldn't answer. Head down no eye contact 

threw her shopping and her son into her car and drove off.

As a man you have to be so careful these day dealing with a woman on her own in a car park.

I got a photo but I don't suppose there is anything I can do

Asda may well have CCTV footage of this?

Small claims court then?

[Poor Shot]

No help to the OP but this is the exact reason that if you care for your vehicle then you should always park at the far end of the car park. 

The lazy and the scum tend to congregate near to the entrance to the shops. I just prefer to walk that extra minute or two and let them battle it out amongst themselves.

Not always viable when the shops are jam packed but adopting that helps to keep your motor free from scum marks.