4-5 months ago
so long story short, was merging on the hwy and i bumped a lady while shoulder checking and she decided to stop (had her own merging lane, no reason to stop), the accident maybe happened at 3-4 km/h very minimal damage, a scuff from my hood on her bumper (04-05 crv?) no scratches, crackes, anything really on her part, i replaced a cracked corner lens and bumper lens and wiped the scuff off my hood with a rag and good as new.
kk, so after assessing the damage i told her i would come over the next day and polish it out and if she still isnt happy we could make a claim, she agreed "i detailed for years" the next morning at 9am i get a call from the body shop she brought her car to and the guy says hes an icbc shop blah blah blah asks me if i want to settle outside icbc and estimates me at $1600.. for the damage i thought that was crazy then he started telling me they have to give her a new spare wheel... cuz i scratched it and the list goes on, so i told him to let this go through icbc and i could figure out if i wanted to pay them back or let my rates go up... once the claim was made with icbc i admitted 100% guilt cuz whats there to fight, i hit her and im starting to feel that the shop took advantage of the situation knowing that this would be covered also the guy at the shop told me he knows the lady and her son that brought the vehicle in.. is that a conflict of interest?
fast forward to yesterday
i called icbc to get the quote on how much it would be to fix.. the shop pretty much replaced the back of her car, they gave her a new tail light, spare wheel, bumper, everything under the bumper and even some stuff in the cargo area.. the shop completely took advantage and the bill comes to approx $3,000... the bumper wasnt bent out of shape, nothing was twisted or popped off and the spare wheel sits a 8"- a foot above my hood so i instantly put the quoted bill into dispute
does anyone know what will happen next? if i dont pay the shops bill my rates go thru the roof costing me closer to 5g over the next 3 years, and i dont wanna pay for her to get a new wheel, tail light and what ever the shop cleared without need..