Can the Police Arrest me???

Question

Can the police arrest me if I don't pay?
I went to buy water and when I came back to my car I was holding both bottles of water and opened the door and the wind blew up the door and scratched the car next to me , the owner of the car was there, so he came to me and ask me to pay. It was a really small scratch, very thin and short, white.just an scratch.. I apologize to the owner and tried to take the responsability. but she wanted to me to pay. I didn't gave her my driver's license, nor the insurance.she only has my name, cell phone, and license plate number.She call me back! and said it will be 200 dlls.I don't think it's fair. Should I just get rid of the problem and not answer the phone, just not pay?

She call me back and change it to 500 . I don't have insurance, the insurance is under my husband's name, My license plate is from another city from the one I got the accident, I really think is difficult for them to sue me.
Don't you think is dificult if is only an scratch, to sue

Answer 1

You said the insurance is in your husband's name. So, the car is insured.
Doesn't matter if you have insurance or not. The CAR must be insured.
Have your husband notify his insurance company what happened and they will take it from there.
...and, No the police will not arrest you.

Answer 2

Well, the bottom line here is you damaged her car. By accident or by intention, the lady has a scratch.

She is entitled to be made 'whole' and you are responsible for those costs.

BUT.... you are also entitled to have her prove the costs. This can be done by an estimate from a body shop or where ever she wants to have it repaired.

Your husband's insurance will likely cover you if you want to submit it as a claim.

As far as suing you, if I had that information I could find you, and without a whole lot of trouble. For exampe I bet your cell phone bill comes to your home right? How hard do you think it would be to get a vendor of the cell phone to give up that info for a few $$.

Once found, you or your husband (whoever owns the car) would be sued.

On the plus side, however, once in court the judge would ask the same questions you are asking. Why a tiny scratch costs $500 to fix (unless you scratched a Rolls or a Ferarri in which case $500 my be lucky). The owner is likely factoring in her time and costs which are NOT always recoverable.

On the plus side.. the police wont care a bit. It is a civil matter since both cars were parked.

My recommendation is to turn it over to the insurance company. Thats what they are paid for.

.

Answer 3

The police cannot arrest you for not paying, the issue at hand is a civil matter, and not criminal. You could stretch the immagination and have the police invovled with the damage considered an act of vandalism, however even in this case, it's unlikely that authorities would use their limited resources to arrest or prosecute.

As for getting rid of the problem, do you think not answering the phone or not paying will get rid of the problem? The only way to "get rid of the problem" is to reach agreement with the other party. You caused damage to their car - not intentioanlly, but you did cause it. You see a small scratch and do not consider it to be worth the cost you've been told. Though, depending on the car and the paint and their choice of technician to perform the repair, a small scratch could easily cost much MUCH more than even $500 to repair. You need to find out what repair work is planned to be done and look at the estimate. You may want other estimates and maybe can negotiate something else.

As for being sued? It is not difficult to sue for "only a scratch." It is no more difficult to sue for this than to sue for any other offense. It would see they have the info needed to sue if that is their choice, and based on the money involved, this would be a Small Claims issue. You would be liable for the repair cost, potentially rental car costs they incur while the repair is done, court costs (which are quite small for Small Claims), and potentially costs connected to tracing all needed identity info on you from your cel phone and license plate (if they were to decide to have a private investigator do this).

The best solution would probably be to negotiate an amount you both feel comfortable with after reviewing all the information. If you still can't come to an agreement at that point, at least you will have some information to potentially support a lower judgement when it comes to court.

Answer 4

You correct. I have worked in and studied the Private Security Field for years. You should know, however, that all experts recommend you do not attempt a citizen's arest for many reasons: 1) If it is not a felony, but a misdemeanor, you will probably be sued. 2) If you don't have the proper training on law you will probably be sued. 3) If it is a Law Enforcer you will probably be beaten, assaulted, or killed. 4) It is highly dangrous to life and limb without proper training. Yes, you CAN make a citizen's arrest for ANY crime, but you should not ever do so unless it is a felony because you require two or more witnesses otherwise along with a damn good amount of proof. YES, you are not required to read Miranda Rights. YES, you can always use force to detain, but you need to be absolutely certain and able to proof you are correct, or you will spend your entire life paying for a lawsuit. It is not really illegal to resist a citizen's arrest, but the criminal may be charged and/or sued with assault if they do! I wouldn't detain them for more than an hour if the police did not arrive. However, in that time I would attempt to gain information from them to give to the police. If you are under a citizen's arrest they CAN transport you without consent provided they have already made the commitment and are willing to suffer the possible consequences - citzens are not immune from screw-ups like law enforcers. If you are under a citizen's arrest the best thing you can do is IGNORE the citizen, give them no information, and leave the seen immediately.

Answer 5

It's been said.. It is a civil matter not criminal, the police aren't going to come. She can take you to small claims court which would probably be a pain in the butt for both of you.

On the issue of cost, it all depends on how deep the scratch is. A small scratch could be nothing more than some penetration into the clear coat which can be fixed with a few minutes, a polisher and some wax. If it penetrated the paint underneath and got into or further than the primer to truely fix that you have to repaint the whole panel. You can cover it up a little bit and buff it to make it not look as bad but it will still be there until the panel is repainted. Repainting a panel such as a door or fender can cost upwards of $1000 depending on the paint.

And your insurance should cover it even if it's not in your name, I would have your husband call his insurance company and explain the story. You guys will all probably have a good laugh about it, the insurance company will cover it and they probably won't hold it against you in your rates.

Answer 6

The proper thing to do would have been to contact the police before leaving the parking lot. In my jurisdiction, this is not classified as an "accident" but an "incident". Depending on where you live, they may come out to the scene. I would use the disposable camera from my glovebox to photograph the damage to both vehicles.

At this point, I would refuse to pay without multiple estimates from reputable body shops. Then I would follow up with the body shops on my own.

If you do not pay, then you may get sued but the truth is anyone can sue anyone over anything. Don't let the fear of being sued force you into getting ripped off. They still have to prove their case in small claims court. In fact, you could use this to your advantage, offer the other party a lesser amount than the lowest estimate as opposed to making them take you to court.

Answer 7

That pisses me off that she would try to SCAM $500 for a damn scratch. I get my car dinged/scratched/dented almost on a daily basis, and there's nothing I can do about it. Do I cry and try to scam everyone into paying for the damages? NO, because this happens to everyone. In my opinion, she needs to get over it. She really has no proof that you scratched her car and if she claims you're liable for damage, she could just lie and say the other scratches were caused by you too. Like some of the others have stated, without a police report there's not much that she can do.

Answer 8

Unfortunately you are responsible for the Scratch and will have to pay to have her car fixed. Your Husbands Insurance will be responsible, unless you work it out with the Lady from the other car, to pay her by money order/ cash ect. Whatever you do, insist she get 3 estimates on her car and you can accept the Lowest one. Be sure and make the check out to the Company who is fixing her car and Not to the owner or she may be trying to pocket some money.

Answer 9

if you have not gotten a lawyer by now...hmmm something is wrong with you guys. so you want to give into a blackmailer? maybe you can get some free legal advice if you have a union who offers this service. talk to an insurance person. but don't let this person blackmail you or you may never see the end to this.
your husband should step up to the plate if he has not already done so because the owner of the car will take the hit no matter what goes down. get some legal advice ASAP

Answer 10

It's all a matter of wrong or right! In some cases, the police can arrest you, but in this case, no they can not. In your situation, though however, you just might be able to have the other person arrested for price fraud. This means that you can report the situation to the police, and be honest, and tell them that she continues to call you, and each time she calls you, she demands that you pay the price, but at the same time, when she calls you, the price gets higher! This woman is just trying to make you pay for the repair of the damage, of which, from what you stated as just a tiny scratch, then it is insane! This woman just wants you to pay a incredible amount of money because her insurance company refuses to pay for the damage, which is just a tiny scratch like you said, but if the damage is noticeable, then she is correct, but from what I have read in your question, it is not noticeable. This other woman is just trying to commit price fraud, by raising the repair cost each time she calls you.
I'm on your side!
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 11

True stories; One man I new personally did not have a lot of money but when he accidentally side swiped a car and there were no witnesses he left a note on the car expecting the worst. the owner called him and requested him to come to his Cadillac dealership. He went expecting to pay for the damage by working for the man. The dealer pointed to the lot a said, "Pick a car." thinking he was going to wash all the cars starting with the one he pick out he chose a brand new silver one. the dealer handed him the keys. HE asked the dealer,"Where do I get the cleaning materials?" to which the dealer replied, " you don't it's yours. I've never had anyone before so honest." The man who left the note was Chuck, my pastor. A time when I had been out of work for a while I found that I had a warrant for a traffic ticket, with fear I called the courthouse to see if I could make arrangements for payments. After finding my warrant on the computer they said I would have to come in to make arrangements. With fear that I might be arrested on the spot I went. When I got there they again checked the computer and found no warrant. All I can say is that,"GOD blesses those who are obedient."(those who do right).Romans 8;28"All things work together for the good of those who love GOD and are called according to HIS purpose." My trust in GOD cotinues to grow.Maybe GOD allowed this to happen to get your attention; HE does love you and misses you.