Picture says it all

Also havent posted on here in a couple of months, what have i missed?

Parabolics???? :D

That'll buff out lol lol

Hah first in :D

so wat happen??? u hit sum 1 or sum one back into u

so wat happen??? u hit sum 1 or sum one back into u

Or did a tree jump out into the road with no warning?

Doesn't look like you "missed" anything.

arnt those bumpers all plastic, bit of patience and a heat gun should make that a lot better :D

Also havent posted on here in a couple of months, what have i missed?

A gas shortage and a flock of seagulls. That's about it.

Ok heres the full story...in short

I hit a dog.

Now before you go 'oh you awfull person', it was at night, over a hill, on a corner, the dog ran across, and had no leash on it.

I love dogs (have one myself) so obviously was pretty upset.

The problem now, is that the owners of the dog are refusing to pay. Go Figure. Damages come out at just over $1,400. The right headlight and indicator dont work etc. I did nothing wrong but drive on that road...And now im up for $1,400 which I have to chase up and may not ever see again.

My car is only 3rd party insured so unfortunetly my insurance company can't do squat, its upto me, them and the courts. They have already told us to contact their solicitor, indicating that they wanted to fight it. Who goes and hires a solicitor over a dog is any ones guess but eh. I have to now send a letter of demand etc. So yeah, the lesson is.....Don't drive.

Rules of owning a puppy dog :D

http://www.barkbusters.com.au/usefulinfo.htm

'Another consideration is your liability if your dog is hit by a car. Any damage caused to the car generally has to be met by the dog's owners. It is therefore best to confine your dog and exercise it with regular walks. If your dog is unruly and barks a lot, you may be liable for noise pollution.'

So in view of this, I would fight it. If their dog was in their yard where it should have been, you would not have hit it. Simple.

They have already told us to contact their solicitor, indicating that they wanted to fight it.
Address all correspondence to the dog owners. Your communication are with the owners. The owners can reply via their solicitor if they so choose but the cost would soon convince them otherwise. I think in any case you'll have to fix your car yourself first and pursue the owners to recover as this legal process can be drawn out awhile.

Yep thats what we are doing. My dad is going to cover the repairs for now, and then we go after our money back.

Definately fight it mate. The owners of the dog are required by law to keep it fenced in. Hence they're liable to pay for your damages.

Yep thats what we are doing. My dad is going to cover the repairs for now, and then we go after our money back.careful about fixing it first, they may try to make it look like you just damaged it alot more of your car yourself and happened to hit there dog, now charging them for everything, if you get my drift. Good luck mate, sucks though, wish some owners would look after there pets better. My dog only got out once, because we were doing upgrades to the fence at the front and it seemed to have broke out from the area out the back came out to the front gate and got through. We almost got blamed for our dog biting this guy, but our dog wouldnt bite a person unless it had a good reason. Found out later the guy had a dog and they started fiting so he stuck his hand between them :nuts: he then became rather quiet as he didnt wanmt to look like an idiot putting his hand into a dogfight, bit late. lol

Yep thats what we are doing. My dad is going to cover the repairs for now, and then we go after our money back.

Don't forget to get at least 3 written quotes before you go on with the repairs.

At least 3? Pffft. Just finding 3 smash repairs around here is pointless. I got a quote and thats that.

that damage looks freakishly similar to the damage i did to my TE by hitting a tree, the only difference being that i didnt smash the headlight.

i paid to get the quarter panel repaired and repainted (about 250) and got a new bumper (130) painted by him as well (150). Also the side indicators are only like $30 from www.ozeparts.com.au


But if you are going to get someone else to pay, bugger choosing the cheap option! :P

At least 3? Pffft. Just finding 3 smash repairs around here is pointless. I got a quote and thats that.


hmm.. :doubt: go out of your way to get 3. if you have less than three and it goes to court they could say that there is no way there was that much damage, and then they could get away and you get in trouble. the idea of getting 3 is so that you have more than one professional who has agreed to the price of the damage within a few hundred dollars.

I think its simpler than that but, they were at fault, my car was fked up. I have a couple of photos of it, a witness who was in the car with me at the time etc. I dont have TIME to go out of MY way to get 3 quotes just for these wankers. I work full time, I need my car fixed ASAP seing as the indicator doesnt work and the headlight is busted, its the only car I have and its dangerous to drive it like it is so my best bet is to just get it fixed. If they dispute the damage I will have photos to prove it etc.

I just find it so frustrating that the legal system is bending over to help these people. The mere fact that they could get off on the whole 'you didnt get 3 quotes' thing is ***** rediculous. I am FED up with ignorant wankers that cannot take responsibility for their own actions. Walking THREE DOGS AT NIGHT not on a leash, WTF did they expect?
Not happy

I think its simpler than that but, they were at fault, my car was fked up. I have a couple of photos of it, a witness who was in the car with me at the time etc. I dont have TIME to go out of MY way to get 3 quotes just for these wankers. I work full time, I need my car fixed ASAP seing as the indicator doesnt work and the headlight is busted, its the only car I have and its dangerous to drive it like it is so my best bet is to just get it fixed. If they dispute the damage I will have photos to prove it etc.

I just find it so frustrating that the legal system is bending over to help these people. The mere fact that they could get off on the whole 'you didnt get 3 quotes' thing is ***** rediculous. I am FED up with ignorant wankers that cannot take responsibility for their own actions. Walking THREE DOGS AT NIGHT not on a leash, WTF did they expect?
Not happy
i agree, but the court may not unfortunately :cry:

so did the dog live anyhow? <-probly a really dumb question no one wants to hear but hey

Sorry to hear about your car, mate.

Hitting an animal is really upsetting under any circumstances.

Except if it was a cat, then real tough guys could come and post here and say things like, "oh if it was cat who carez? id drive back and reverse over it again huhuhuhuhu i ****ing hate cats"

:rant:

i agree, but the court may not unfortunately :cry:

so did the dog live anyhow? <-probly a really dumb question no one wants to hear but hey

Not a dumb question, cos at the end of the day, although it caused the damage, it wasn't really the dog's fault. You should ALWAYS have your dog on a leash.

The dog died. And no, I don't blame the dog at ALL, i feel sorry that it had such stupid owners. They were actually walking 3 dogs that night, NONE on a leash. And while the comotion was going on after 1 dog got hit, the other 2 were runing around on the road as well. It was a couple that owned the dog, when i got out of the car i ran up and had my mobile on me, asked if they wanted me to call anyone and she said 'OMG CALL 000"
:doubt: I mean sure she was upset and distressed etc, and so was I, but I knew better than to waste time calling 000 for a dog.

But yeah I called them back a week or so after the incident to discuss my car and the quote i had gotten. The women flat out refused to comment and just said 'We can't deal with this right now, its like loosing a child. Talk to our solicitor"

So obviously they are being very unhelpfull.

Oh and yeah 1 week ago I sent an offical letter of demand. So far havent heard a peep from them. Its clear that they won't take responsibility for their actions. Their lack of care resulted in a dogs death and damage to my car, and they just cant accept it.

Oh and yeah im getting the car fixed today woo!

Except im going to be $1,500 out of pocket until I see the money from these people which might not ever happen.

Have you spoken to their solicitor?
He should know more than anyone that you can and will get your money.

*EDIT*
Just read that website, dogs should be on a leash at all times, now they know why. Only allowed in designated non leash areas, i highly doubt a road is one of them :doubt: . Go for it mate, i feel sorry for the poor dog, not the owners, it's their fault, dont let them forget it.

That'll buff out lol lol

Hah first in :D
damn you!

Hahah I feel sorry for the people fixing it...

3rd gen front bars are pigs to get off!

My car wont be ready until friday :(

Its like Im missing my arm or something, I had to walk to work today, and some days I work furhter away so will need to train it in. Bah, see this is what annoys me about the whole situation. These idiots have not only gotten a dog killed but majorly inconvienianced (sp?) me, aside from the whole 'I feel cut about running over a dog' thing.

WHY cannot people just accept responsibility? And no I havent spoken to the solicitor yet, if they want to contact us through him, sure they can spend hundreds of dollars if they like. We got the impression that said solicitor might be a family friend. If he was any good at his job he would tell them to pay up, instead of what we believe he has been telling them to do, which is ignore us and refuse all contact. Its just bloody rude and MAN it gets me angry.

Sounds like you are definately in the right here mate.

Im no solicitor but..after working for a firm for several years they are either trying to find a loop hole to fight theyre way out of it, or they are simply bluffing about a lawyer (which obviously didnt work).
By sending them the letter of demand you have shown your intentions. The dog should've definately been put on a leash.

Aslong as you were doing nothing illegal: speeding, vehicle mods etc which they could try to bring into it. You should be fine. Don't back down but contact them as little as possible as much as you want the money for your car the letter of demand speaks for itself and they have to do something about it sooner or later.

Goodluck, hope the car looks like new when u get it back.

My worry though, is that what happens if they just ignore me? The letter of demand gave 21 days. After that I think i send a final letter giving a further 10 days.

But after that, what choices do I have? I would LOVE to avoid court because thats just a MAJOR hassale and would probably mean a day off work etc.

Was the accident reported to the police?

And shouldn't your insurance be chasing them down?

If they do nothing after the final letter (if they dont lodge an intention to defend) you can lodge a writ of summons/subpoena/warrant, through your local court. which means they need to pay you for damages or the court can take some of their belongings/possessions which they will sell and give the money they sell them for to you.

As long as you have done all this through the court, they legally have to do something about it, they cant just ignore it.

My worry though, is that what happens if they just ignore me? The letter of demand gave 21 days. After that I think i send a final letter giving a further 10 days.

But after that, what choices do I have? I would LOVE to avoid court because thats just a MAJOR hassale and would probably mean a day off work etc.

If you don't use the court they can ignore it really.

Sorry to hear about your car.

But why you didnt listen to the other 2 guys who posted and advising you to get quotes from other repairers? Obviously this was going to be a court case. In which I think they gave very good advise, and I never thought of it till they mentioned it. In fact I would have taken pictures of the accident with my camera phone if I could. You must bring this up to court using your money so that when you win (if you win) they pay for everything including court charges. See the drift? Why they wanted you to get quotes? I think it was to cover yourself at all angles to proof that you are not in the wrong and not that type of people who just:"I want my MONEY!!!". You must understand the court will also look at it as they lost the dog etc....whatever they going to play with defence.

Go find some legal advisor and see how to approach this, and then do all your proper procedure before you screw up more and get nothing in the end. You are in the right, but do it properly so that you get everything quickly and easily.

Eeeek its so much trouble.

I only got one quote because really, I needed the car fixed ASAP, I work full time, I got a quote it seemed well within the price I was expecting so i went for it. I have a nice large photo of the damage if they ever need it. You can even see a chunk of dog hair lodged in the damage. And they have given a police statement stating there dog wasnt on a lead at the time of the accident, and mine statement ties in with that. I have my mate who was in the car as another witness if needed.

Man, this is such a crappy situation.

If they have told the police it was their dog and it wasn't on a leash, it's all over. That statement is solid proof it's their fault and not yours. I agree with the others, should have gotten at least a 2nd quote as i've seen alot of people use 1 quote that was most expensive, court may think this. But good luck mate, i'd seriously get in touch with their solicitor telling them you have the police statement, photos, witness. There's no way they have a case and he SHOULD advise his clients that it's a lose lose situation and that they should just pay up to avoid court fees. you'll get your money alot quicker that way.

Yeah thanks everyone for the advice. If they refuse to contact us after the final letter I shall call their solicitor

Bhahahaha.....[face_ANGRYYYYYYY]

I love people.....wait no i dont.

Got a letter from the jerks solicitor today.


"Dear Mr [myname]

We have been consulted by Mr [jerks name] who has instructed us to respond to your letter of 29 janurary (my letter of demand) as follows:

1. Our client makes no Admissions.
2. Your were driving at in excess of the 50 kph speed limit
3. Your drove from the direction of the Oriental Hotel
4. Your failed to stop, after the accident, to render assistance, and to enable you to be subjected to a breath analysis test, if that were deemed appropriate by the Police. Your failure to stop leads to certain inferences.

In the aboce circumstances, it is our client's view that any damage caused to your veihicle is as a result of your negligence.

Further, our client is concerned that your correspondence displays no contrition in relation to your driving causing suffering, and subsequently, death, to a dog, nor does it show any empathy for the family, in respect of whom the dog was a much loved member.

etc etc


Pretty much they are now acusing me of speeding while drunk...2 things they have 100% zero evidence of. And i stoped, how else did i get their phone number to call them the next day?

1)You have a police report stating that it was THEIR dog and that THEY didn't have it on a leash.
2)No proof, even if you were speeding, the dog shouldn't be on the road.
3)You could have driven from any direction? surely no matter which way you go, there'd be a pub or some sort of alcohol dispensing place (lol). Where were you before the incident, do you have any witnesses that can testify you were not at the hotel?
4)Exactly what you said, how did you get their phone number? Write a letter back to their solicitor stating all of this, and that if your demands are not met it WILL go to court, and that he has ZERO proof of any of the above statements.
I rest my case....uhhh case closed :).

1)You have a police report stating that it was THEIR dog and that THEY didn't have it on a leash.
2)No proof, even if you were speeding, the dog shouldn't be on the road.
3)You could have driven from any direction? surely no matter which way you go, there'd be a pub or some sort of alcohol dispensing place (lol). Where were you before the incident, do you have any witnesses that can testify you were not at the hotel?
4)Exactly what you said, how did you get their phone number? Write a letter back to their solicitor stating all of this, and that if your demands are not met it WILL go to court, and that he has ZERO proof of any of the above statements.
I rest my case....uhhh case closed :).


Yep, respond to the dog owners directly, stating the above things. Also, send an identical copy to the solicitor.

Don't forget to mention you had a witness in the car who can testify to the fact that you DIDN'T have anything to drink before the accident and that your speed was fine. Unless the owners had a speed gun out, they can't prove anything in that regard.

3. Your drove from the direction of the Oriental Hotel

Theres probably a mosque in that direction, are they going to say your a terrorist (no offence to the muslims amoungst us)

There mite be churches that way too, perhaps you just came from bible class.

Maybe theres a fashion fair, are they gunna say you didnt stop because your a cross dresser.

Sounds like they are trying to bluff you, none of what they said is provable. :)

Lol yeah they are pretty much clutching at straws now. Im going to contact a solicitor and get a letter sent on my behalf. If they see a letter from MY legal rep they will probably crap themselvs and realise they have nothing to stand on. Ill have to wear the costs of the solicitors letter but its a small price to pay in comparison to $1,500

Sounds like they are trying to bluff you, none of what they said is provable. :)

Bingo,trying to scare you with a lawyer. Banking on the fact that ou don't know your legal position.

There ya go Ol' Fart, you almost redeemed yourself for the "check this out" thread :P

Lol yeah they are pretty much clutching at straws now. Im going to contact a solicitor and get a letter sent on my behalf. If they see a letter from MY legal rep they will probably crap themselvs and realise they have nothing to stand on. Ill have to wear the costs of the solicitors letter but its a small price to pay in comparison to $1,500
Wouldn't you be able to claim legal costs as well if they're proven to be at fault? be careful, because solicitors can very quickly become more expensive than what ur fighting for.

At least 3? Pffft. Just finding 3 smash repairs around here is pointless. I got a quote and thats that.

I think there is some rule that says you need to get at least 3 written quotes before you do your repairs to ensure the repairs are at reasonable cost. It is designed to stop you from ripping others off by sending your car to your relative's/mate's workshop and charge an inflated price. If you have not done that, the court might not award full compensation back to you.