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Hi all, looking for some advice for this one.
I was at a gig on Friday night and on Tuesday I received a Whatsapp message from a guy claiming that I door dinked their car along with a video of my car where it was parked. Now he's giving me the chance to "sort it out" before he goes to the police with the CCTV footage he has obtained from a place across the road.
I replied to him (Yes in hindsight I shouldn't have engaged) that it must have been whoever was parked there before as I certainly didn't hit anything as I was parking or exiting my car there. They he went on to claim that it must have been as I was leaving, as he returned to his car to find the damage and my car gone. I said it was strange that he would take a video of my car beforehand and something wasn't quite right there, to which he said it was just standard procedure for him to take videos of cars he parks next to. I then said okay just go to the police to which he replied, again strangely that he's not sure how long it will take for them to collect the footage, and then that was that.
I know fine well I didn't hit anything with either my door or car as I was leaving and I'm confident any CCTV footage would exonerate me, not to mention it was after 11pm so I doubt any CCTV would be able to determine anything like that accurately. I also checked Google Streetview and can't see any cameras nearby that face that direction, and I'll be over that way again tonight so I intend to have a look in person as well.
Lots of strange aspects of this guys story. First is how initially the guy said he would go to the police with the CCTV he got, and then goes on to say he doesn't know how long the police will take to collect the footage from the place. Surely if he already had it then he would just take it straight to them? Also him taking a video of my car for no apparent reason other than to preempt an accident is really strange, its almost too convenient, and makes me wonder is this some type of scam he tries to pull off where he already has pre existing damage to his car, he then parks his car next to other cars and takes a video, then him or someone he knows has access to a database where he can obtain drivers details and texts them looking for money before he contacts police.
I also feel its important to note that he does seem to have messaged me from a genuine contact number and from his Whatsapp details I managed to find his Facebook and Linkedin profiles, so I know the guys full name and where he works. And regardless, even if he is being genuine, there has still been a breach of GDPR somewhere down the line with how quickly he managed to get my contact details, as I know a V888 takes weeks, not days.
Like I said, I know fine fell I didn't hit anything that evening but I was just looking for some advice for what I should maybe be doing in this situation? Should I be calling my insurance and Action Fraud?
I was at a gig on Friday night and on Tuesday I received a Whatsapp message from a guy claiming that I door dinked their car along with a video of my car where it was parked. Now he's giving me the chance to "sort it out" before he goes to the police with the CCTV footage he has obtained from a place across the road.
I replied to him (Yes in hindsight I shouldn't have engaged) that it must have been whoever was parked there before as I certainly didn't hit anything as I was parking or exiting my car there. They he went on to claim that it must have been as I was leaving, as he returned to his car to find the damage and my car gone. I said it was strange that he would take a video of my car beforehand and something wasn't quite right there, to which he said it was just standard procedure for him to take videos of cars he parks next to. I then said okay just go to the police to which he replied, again strangely that he's not sure how long it will take for them to collect the footage, and then that was that.
I know fine well I didn't hit anything with either my door or car as I was leaving and I'm confident any CCTV footage would exonerate me, not to mention it was after 11pm so I doubt any CCTV would be able to determine anything like that accurately. I also checked Google Streetview and can't see any cameras nearby that face that direction, and I'll be over that way again tonight so I intend to have a look in person as well.
Lots of strange aspects of this guys story. First is how initially the guy said he would go to the police with the CCTV he got, and then goes on to say he doesn't know how long the police will take to collect the footage from the place. Surely if he already had it then he would just take it straight to them? Also him taking a video of my car for no apparent reason other than to preempt an accident is really strange, its almost too convenient, and makes me wonder is this some type of scam he tries to pull off where he already has pre existing damage to his car, he then parks his car next to other cars and takes a video, then him or someone he knows has access to a database where he can obtain drivers details and texts them looking for money before he contacts police.
I also feel its important to note that he does seem to have messaged me from a genuine contact number and from his Whatsapp details I managed to find his Facebook and Linkedin profiles, so I know the guys full name and where he works. And regardless, even if he is being genuine, there has still been a breach of GDPR somewhere down the line with how quickly he managed to get my contact details, as I know a V888 takes weeks, not days.
Like I said, I know fine fell I didn't hit anything that evening but I was just looking for some advice for what I should maybe be doing in this situation? Should I be calling my insurance and Action Fraud?