Quick answer
There are few more deflating moments than walking back to your parked car and finding a fresh dent, a scraped bumper, a cracked mirror or a deep scratch down the side, with no one around to explain it. Your car was doing nothing wrong: it was legally parked and unoccupied. Someone hit it and either left their details, or, far more often, drove off without a word. The frustrating part is that you were not there to see it happen, so the obvious question is how you can possibly claim for damage you did not witness.
Has this just happened to you?
Talk to a handler now. We arrange recovery, a courtesy car and deal with the at-fault insurer. Nothing to pay upfront.
24/7 · £0 upfront · costs recovered from the at-fault insurer, subject to liability
Someone hit my parked car: how to claim when you weren't there (UK)
There are few more deflating moments than walking back to your parked car and finding a fresh dent, a scraped bumper, a cracked mirror or a deep scratch down the side, with no one around to explain it. Your car was doing nothing wrong: it was legally parked and unoccupied. Someone hit it and either left their details, or, far more often, drove off without a word. The frustrating part is that you were not there to see it happen, so the obvious question is how you can possibly claim for damage you did not witness.
The reassuring answer is that you have clear options in every version of this scenario, whether the other driver left a note, whether they are caught on camera, or whether they vanished entirely. This guide explains exactly what to do when someone hits your parked car in the UK, how fault works when you were not even present, and the routes to recovering your costs - including through the Motor Insurers' Bureau when the driver cannot be traced.
Who is at fault when a parked car is hit
If your car was lawfully parked and stationary when it was struck, you are almost never at fault. A moving vehicle that hits a properly parked one has failed in the basic duty to drive with care and to avoid stationary obstructions the driver could see. The Highway Code (rules 238 to 252) governs where and how to park, and provided you were parked legally and considerately, the responsibility for the collision sits squarely with the driver who hit you.
There is a narrow caveat. If you parked dangerously or illegally - blocking a live traffic lane, parking on a bend or the brow of a hill, leaving the car protruding into the carriageway, or parking on a clearway or red route - an at-fault insurer may argue you contributed to the collision. But a normal, legal park leaves you firmly in the non-fault position, even though you were nowhere near the car when it was hit.
DETAIL
Section 3 of the walkthrough.
Scenario one: the other driver left their details
If you are fortunate, the driver who hit your car did the right thing and left a note on your windscreen with their name, number and sometimes their insurer. The driver who hits a parked car is, in law, required to stop and provide their details under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988; leaving a note is the practical way they discharge that duty when you are not present. In this situation you have a named, traceable at-fault party, and the claim proceeds against their insurer in the ordinary way.
Do not simply take the note and arrange your own repair quietly. Photograph the damage and the note, check whether any nearby CCTV or a neighbour's doorbell camera caught the incident, and let the claim be handled against the at-fault insurer so the cost does not fall on your own policy or excess. We deal with the at-fault insurer directly on your behalf. The dedicated page on parked-car claims, at /parked-car-hit-claims, walks through this route in detail.
Scenario two: the driver left no details (hit-and-run)
Far more commonly, you return to find the damage and no note at all. A driver who hits a parked car and fails to stop and provide details has committed an offence under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The fact that you did not see it does not close off your options, but it does make fast, methodical evidence-gathering essential.
Report it to the police, who may issue a crime reference number, which is often required for any later claim. Then hunt for evidence while it still exists: look for CCTV cameras on nearby buildings, shops, car parks and lamp posts; knock on doors for residential doorbell footage; and check for any witnesses who may have seen or heard the impact. This footage is frequently overwritten within 14 to 31 days, so the request has to go in quickly. If a partial registration, vehicle description or camera image identifies the driver, the claim can then proceed against their insurer. Our hit-and-run support service, including how we chase down camera footage, is set out at /hit-and-run-accident-support.
Scenario three: the driver is never traced - the MIB route
If, despite everything, the driver who hit your parked car cannot be identified, you are not left without a remedy. The Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) exists precisely for this. Under the MIB Untraced Drivers' Agreement (2017), you can claim compensation where the responsible driver cannot be traced, and under the Uninsured Drivers' Agreement where the driver is identified but turns out to have no valid insurance.
There are conditions to be aware of with untraced-driver property damage claims: the incident must be reported to the police, and for damage-only claims caused by an untraced driver the agreement applies certain requirements and a specified excess, so it is worth getting the process right from the outset. We explain how the MIB untraced-driver route works, the evidence it needs, and how to apply, on the dedicated page at /mib-untraced-driver-claim. Even where the MIB is the eventual route, the early steps - police report, CCTV requests, witness details - are the same and just as time-critical.
What to do the moment you find the damage
Before you touch or move the car, stop and document the scene exactly as you found it. The evidence you gather in the first hour shapes the whole claim.
Photograph the damage from several angles, including wide shots that show where the car was parked and any road markings, kerb lines or bay markings.
Photograph any note left on the car, and keep the original.
Look around for CCTV cameras, shop cameras, car-park cameras and residential doorbell cameras, and note exactly where they are so footage can be requested before it is overwritten.
Ask nearby shops, residents or parking attendants whether they saw or heard anything, and take a name and number from anyone who did.
Report it to the police, especially where no details were left, and keep any crime reference number issued.
Note the exact location, date and the time you found the damage and the last time you know the car was undamaged - this brackets when the incident happened for any camera request.
Recovery, repairs and who pays
If the damage left your car undriveable, we arrange recovery and secure storage so it is not exposed or accumulating charges while the claim is established. Once an at-fault party or insurer is identified - or the MIB route is engaged - an independent engineer inspects the car to fix the proper repair scope and record any pre-existing damage, and repairs are then coordinated through a vetted bodyshop working to recognised standards (PAS 125 or BS 10125).
Where the at-fault driver is identified and insured, their insurer carries the cost of repairs, recovery, storage and a replacement vehicle, so your own policy and excess need not be touched. Where the claim runs through the MIB, the recoverable heads and any applicable excess follow the relevant agreement. Either way, you are not expected to absorb the cost of someone else hitting your stationary, legally-parked car.
How long you have, and why speed still matters
Under section 2 of the Limitation Act 1980 you generally have six years from the date of the incident to claim for damage to the vehicle. But two things make speed essential despite that long window. First, untraced-driver and uninsured-driver claims through the MIB have their own notification and reporting requirements that are far tighter than six years. Second, the CCTV and doorbell footage that could identify the driver is usually gone within a month. The single most useful thing you can do is open the file and get the camera requests out within days, not weeks.
Take action
If you have just been in a non-fault collision, the fastest way to protect your claim is to open the file with us inside the first hour. We dispatch recovery, lodge the relevant CCTV requests inside the retention window, and notify the third-party insurer for you.
