Repair Advice

[CMW403]

Long story short, my girlfriend (at the time) kicked in the drivers side quarter panel of my car right beside the gas cap. This was because i was trying to leave her house... i guess she didnt want me to go? There is a large dent and a crease where the paint is cracking and falling off. Since she has no concept of responsibility, her mother agreed to pay for the damages (she also witnessed the event).

Her mother told me to go get a quote from a shop so by default I went to my friend Dave at screamin paintworks because he has always given me the lowest prices and the best quality work. The quote came out to 1400 (naturally since the whole quarter panel needs to be repainted and I have no idea how they're going to fix the crease because its not just a simple PDR job.

Dave emailed me the quote and I forwarded it to her mother. Now she thinks Dave and I are conspiring to rip her off or something insane like that. Ok, I said I would take it to two other random body shops that I have no friends at and see what the price would be. So on Thursday I'm headed down to Boyd autobody and glass as well as national collision for quotes from them. I have NO ties to either of these shops, have never even been there. I am quite confident (actually positive) that the other quotes will be more expensive than what I got from Dave.

My question is, what if she refuses to pay? Can I take her to small claims court? Her mom witnessed the entire thing happen, the problem is that I don't have a witness to the event. I just want to know my options here if she decides to go back on her word that she would fix my car. The only proof I have are text messages and emails that say she would take care of it.

Sorry for the wall of text, I just want this issue resolved ASAP so I can sell the car.

Curtis

[FraserB]

Get her to give you something in writing that it was her daughter she witnessed do this to your car.

If she trys to screw you, go fill out a police report for the vandalism, push them to press charges and then get your insurance to go after them for the cost.

If you do go through small claims, make sure to serve her at work and in front of a ton of people so they can all hear what is going on.

You can make her life pretty bad, probably more than $1400 worth.

[CMW403]

Is there a time constraint on that? It happened at the beginning of September or late August.

[shakalaka]

You have 2 years to file a civil claim before the limitation period runs out.

[CMW403]

Originally posted by shakalaka
You have 2 years to file a civil claim before the limitation period runs out.

A civil claim meaning taking her to small claims court right? Could someone run me through this scenario? I have no idea how it works.

What if I just reported the vandalism to the police and they charge her with vandalism. Does my insurance company get involved with theirs and then fix my car? Do I have to pay the deductible or does she?

Sorry for all the questions I just want to be 100% informed before I call her and lay it down.

[Jeeper1986]

dude if you have her telling you she will cover it on txt and email then write that in the police report and then tell ur insurance company, make sure that in these txtx or emails u guys had say that her daughter did the damage

[CMW403]

Alright so I filed a claim with insurance and now I'm waiting for CPS to come a take a statement from me to charge her with vandalism, possibly even assault.

The next step to actually getting my money back is taking her to small claims court. How do I start this process? Could any of you please give me some advice and possibly walk me through this? I know nothing about it other than both parties represent themselves as opposed to lawyers.

[shakalaka]

Go to Provincial Court Civil Division, since your claim is under $25,000. Tell them you want to file a Civil Claim. There is a form that will contain all the particulars of what happened, what you're asking for etc and then you need to file it with the Provincial Court. There is a fee you will have to pay. Then you need to get someone to serve the Respondent with this Claim.

They have 20 days to file a Dispute Note and if they don't respond or do anything you can note them in default (another form). This will state that the Respondent owe the Plaintiff this much money and then you can compel them to pay and so on. If they do file a Dispute Note (defence) then you just have to go from there to either try and resolve it through mediation or go to trial etc. You can probably learn about this all on the Provincial Court Civil website.

On a side note, did the mother refuse to pay? Perhaps talking to her first and saying that you're contemplating laying charges (criminal) on her daughter might be a better way to go. Of course it'll be all faster and easier for you this way too. But do you really want your ex to get criminally charged? She probably wont get charged with assault since she didn't try to actually hit you, but getting charged with mischief is a possibility. But if the mother just pays you it'll save you and them a lot of hassle.

[FraserB]

Originally posted by shakalaka
On a side note, did the mother refuse to pay? Perhaps talking to her first and saying that you're contemplating laying charges (criminal) on her daughter might be a better way to go. Of course it'll be all faster and easier for you that way. But do you really want your ex to get criminally charged? She probably wont get charged with assault since she didn't try to actually hit you, but getting charged with a mischief is a possibility. But if the mother just pays you it'll save you and them a lot of hassle.

He gave them both a chance to avoid hassle, they came back and tried to accuse him of trying to rip them off. Might teach her a good lesson on treating other people's things with respect and the mother not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Charges, a record and a civil suit seems fair.

Should he be/ can he name both the daughter and the mother in the suit to make sure there is somewhere to claim against.

[shakalaka]

I don't see how he can name the mother as a Respondent in the Claim. At the end of the day she may have volunteered to pay for her daughters stupidity, she herself doesn't owe him anything.

So it is worth considering that even if you sue and win, does you ex even have the funds to pay for it or assets you can go after? Also forgot to mention before, in your claim one of the remedies you ask for is 'Costs', along with whatever else you're claiming.

[CMW403]

Okay I guess the problem here is that I already filed a claim with my insurance company so now I am trying to find out if I am only able to sue for the deductible and then my insurance company will go after he for the rest, or if I go In tomorrow and file the claim stating I want the damages in full since she can't be "at fault" twice.

I tried to make a police report yesterday night and the cop basically said its a civil matter so the CPS can't charge her with vandalism. I thought this was weird because I explained te whole situation to three different cops that day all telling me that with the proof I have she can definitely get charged with vandalism. The cop told me that since its a civil suit he won't be pressing any charges.

I'm going to call some other cops and see what they have to say.

[CMW403]

I just got off the phone with td meloche monnex and they told me not to go down to the courthouse and file a claim because TD will be the ones suing them on my behalf.

I really think she needs to be charged with vandalism though why the fuck should she be allowed to get away with this without a record. I love my car. Legitimately love my car, and so do all of you.

Could anybody chime in on what else I can add to the claim like "costs" and maybe "emotional agony" lol

[shakalaka]

There is no such thing as a vandalism charge. What you're looking at is mischief, which entails damaging property. And unfortunately as much as you'd like her to get charged, it is up to the cops to bring charges.

If you really want, you can bring a private prosecution, where you go to a JP and explain everything. The JP makes the call if they will accept the private prosecution or not. If the JP decides to lay the charges, the matter will proceed as a private prosecution without the police being involved.

And things like costs and such can only be claimed if you're suing them personally in a civil claim. Costs just mean the costs you incurred to file the claim. If TD is going to be suing her, you can't go on claiming just the costs.

[Usman89]

shakalaka is right :thumbsup: