Need opinion on how much I should pay relative for damages

I need some opinions about something that happened.

I was pet sitting for a relative ("Jill") while she and her kids went on vacation. Since I do not have my own vehicle she allowed me to use hers as she knows I am a safe driver. The night that I went to pick up her vehicle, I ended up having a car accident on the way home where her vehicle had to be towed away. I was charged (given a ticket) by the police, but I'm nearly 90% certain that the other driver is at fault and I have evidence that seems to support that. Jill said she believes me and doesn't seem to be mad at me, thankfully. The cost of the towing and all the related charges is nearly $600.

I'm sure Jill is going to attempt to pay me for pet sitting and I think I should refuse payment. While I did go over a few times, another relative who lives there also helped out due to the circumstances. We just allowed Jill to think that I was going over more than I actually was for peace of mind. Her pets were perfectly fine, she's just overprotective and that's understandable. Do you all think I should refuse payment, and if so, how hard should I refuse? I think she will be rather insistent and may be upset if I refuse payment.

More importantly, it seems like I should pay for part of or all of the towing charges. Even if the accident wasn't my fault, I don't think the insurance company is going to pay. So even if it wasn't my fault, it doesn't seem right that Jill gets stuck with all the charges since I was driving. On the other hand, if I hadn't been pet sitting for her, I wouldn't have even been in an accident. So how much of the towing charges do you all think I should pay for? I do want to pay something, I just don't know how much I should pay.

See what her deductible is.  She might have towing covered on her policy.  Sit down with her and talk it out.  It was VERY nice of her to let you drive her car. You got in an accident. No matter who  is at fault the car was towed and needs repair.

Write it all down on a piece of paper-

pet sitting cost

tow cost

repair cost

See what it equals out to be and offer to pay it.  She may or may not take you p on it but you MUST offer (and have a way to follow through if she does want you to pay).

Money is NOT important-FRIENDSHIP is worth everything!

Kim

I would think you would need to pay every penny of the car accident costs.  Of course, see what insurance will cover first.

As for getting paid for the pet sitting....I absolutely wouldn't take a dime, especially in light of the fact that you didn't really do all of the work you said you did.  If anything, the person who helped you catsit needs to be paid.

Honesty is the best policy!

Sorry things didn't go well.

C

I would check if she had towing  coverage on her auto policy.  You could check to see if your homeowner's would pay any as well.  I would offer to pay for sure.  But she did did give you permission to drive her vehicle.  So I would sit down with her and come to an agreement you both can live with.

You owe her the $600 or whatever the cost of the accident turns out to be.

The concerns I see are not doing all the work, and not going when you said you would, and If I was the friend on the receiving end of that, I would be hurt and feel deceived and lied to, and probably been very angry.

If she has insurance they usually cover part towing and repairs, unless there is some clause in the policy about other drivers who are not on the insurance. Find out what her deductible is for the covered, and pay it. If the deductible does not include certain things, pay it. Basically, anything she would need to pay for her car to get back in working order, you should pay (This would probably only be the deductible).

As far as pet sitting money, it would not have even been an issue with me, you wouldn't be getting paid if I knew you had lied about what you did, or at least a huge reduction in pay.

Trust is the key aspect to any relationship, friends coworkers, family, etc- and the whole foundation of a relationship is built on such. Communication is next, so sit down and talk to her.

Accidents happen, and even if it is an accident, you are still responsible.

Don't let something like this come between a friendship.

If you were charged it was your fault.  Pay the bill.

CatMom2Wires said:

I would think you would need to pay every penny of the car accident costs.  Of course, see what insurance will cover first.

As for getting paid for the pet sitting....I absolutely wouldn't take a dime, especially in light of the fact that you didn't really do all of the work you said you did.  If anything, the person who helped you catsit needs to be paid.

Honesty is the best policy!

Sorry things didn't go well.

C

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I agree with this 100%.

I would offer to pay for it all and not accept payment for petsitting because of what happened. You were driving, you were ticketed, you were in the accident, regardless of the fact that it was her car and you were doing something for her, it was you that incurred the damages to her car that required it to be towed. If you have evidence that it was the other driver's fault, that's a separate issue that needs to be dealt with. 

Find out how much her deductible is and go from there. Do you know if the cost of her insurance is going to go up because of this?

As to not going over as much as you should have... in your opinion it might be because she's overprotective, but I'm sure she doesn't see it that way. Many of my friends think I'm overprotective of my pets when I ask them to watch them for a few days if I have to go out of town, etc, but there are reasons behind that. I want my dogs let out at a certain time because that's their schedule, I want Sadie fed less than Fynn because she gains weight easier, I want Leiki fed in a separate area so the dogs don't bother her while she's eating, I want the mat in front of her litterbox cleaned up twice a day because she likes to scratch at the surface while she's going, I want them all fed certain things at certain times because of allergies, schedules and general health, I need my turtle's tank cleaned every few days because I don't have a filter for him yet and it's not healthy for him to swim around in his own crap, I don't want other people to walk Fynn because he's very dog reactive on his leash and it's taken me forever to get him back to where he is now because of one incident, I don't want Sadie taken places because she has epilepsy and if she gets too excited she'll have a seizure... see what I mean? I shouldn't have to explain the reasons behind things to have them done when I'm paying someone to do those things. 

Yup, I too think you should pay for the total cost after insurance, and not take payment for the pet sitting...By agreeing to drive her car, IMO you accept any risk associated with that.

I agree that you should be responsible for the non-reimbursed costs of the accident.     This kind of sounds like a case you would see on Judge Judy.

Great reason to NEVER drive anybody else's car.

zohdee said:

If you were charged it was your fault.  Pay the bill.

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Not necessarily.  If the policeman didn't see the accident, he can only rely on his observations and the statements of others.  Only a court can ultimately determine fault for an accident.

mrblanche said:

Not necessarily.  If the policeman didn't see the accident, he can only rely on his observations and the statements of others.  Only a court can ultimately determine fault for an accident.

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Regardless of whose fault it was, she was driving the car and should pay the car owner any expenses incurred because of it.
 

Whatever costs are incurred because of the accident, you are responsible for.  I would be very upset if I left home having made an agreement with one friend to take care of my cats and finding out someone else was coming in my home to do it.  I agree with the others.  Don't let this ruin a friendship.