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As Tentz says, it could just as easily be that the car scraped your van as they were parking it.  As you weren't there, you don't know what, if anything happened whilst they were parking.  Make your insurance company aware of this.

Hope you get it all sorted out quickly.  Rotten thing to happen at the end of your holiday.

There are a couple of things you could have done to help your case.  I hate to be part of the SHUDDA brigade, but if it helps somone in similar circumstances in future...

1- Placing both vehicles side by side to check that the scrape marks line up.  I know of one allegation that was instantly disproved as the two vehicles could not have made contact where the scrape was.

2- Paint transfer at point of contact helps to prove which vehicles collided

3- If the other car is covered in scratches, it adds weight to the theory that the driver is generally careless, and therfore the damage may have been caused elsewhere.

I am very suspicious about this allegation, why were you not approached by the French driver immediately afterwards?  It sounds like this collision wasn't witnessed and they are assuming it must be you that caused it.  In future take lots and lots of photographs of both vehicles before leaving and pass them on to your insurance company so they have some evidence to fight your case.

For what little it is worth I've seen this happen. A caravan pulls away and scrapes a vehicle alongside it (or a wall etc). The back of the van swings further than expected on low speed amanouevres and if the contact is slight the driver of the towing vehicle doesn't stand much chance of noticing it.

Sounds like you've done the decent thing, but it's worth asking, since you were parked first did the car driver leave you sufficient room to pull out? Obviously not since most car drivers don't take into account how a caravan swings. Therefore I'd suggest the car driver has to accept some of the blame for pulling up alongside a stationery caravan in such a position as to cause contact when the caravan moves away.

Quote: Originally posted by russi on 22/8/2010I thought you were supposed to inform your insurance co strait away if your involved in an accident ?

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another thing, just been out to the van and there's a ding in the awning rail 2" long above the other mark, don't know how I missed that.

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