Witness statement necessary to claim the Guarantee Fund?
Maybe it has happened to you, too: you park your car down the street and go home. When you get back to your car the next day, you see that it is damaged. Of course, the culprit is nowhere to be seen and didn't leave a bill. Annoying, because now you can't recover the damage from anyone. In the event of car damage by an unknown perpetrator, you can in some cases appeal to the Guarantee Fund. Before you can file a claim with the Guarantee Fund, however, it must be established that the car was undamaged when you parked it and that it was not driven after that. You must also be able to prove that the damage was caused by another motor vehicle. Your own statement is not sufficient for this, which is why you need witnesses. So a witness statement is necessary to claim the Guarantee Fund.
No witnesses: now what?
So you need witnesses. Witnesses are persons who saw your car hit by another motor vehicle. We call these live witnesses. Of course, it is difficult to find witnesses who actually saw the collision. That's why the Guarantee Fund also works with location witnesses. A location witness can confirm that the parked car:
- Parked without damage
- No more driving in the meantime
- Found parked with car damage
These witnesses must also be willing to repeat their testimony before a judge.
Your own statement is unfortunately not enough for the Guarantee Fund to pay for the car damage. The Guarantee Fund will only pay out if there are people or traces that can confirm your story. Witnesses do not necessarily have to be people, but can also be traces left behind at the accident site. We call these 'silent witnesses'. Silent witnesses are, for example, parts of another car that have been broken off, broken glass, mud from a fender or traces of paint.
Number of witnesses
There must be at least one live witness, on-site witness or silent witness who can prove that the car was parked without damage, that it was not driven in the meantime and that it was found parked with car damage. The witness must be able to confirm all three points. This can also be proved by 2 different witnesses.
Sample witness statement Guarantee Fund
A witness statement is done using a form. On this form there are a number of questions to find out exactly what happened and what the witness saw. Below is an example of the questions asked in a witness statement. The complete witness statement form can be found here.
Form Guarantee Fund Witness Statement
The Guarantee Fund has prepared a witness statement form that you can have any witnesses fill out. This contains questions to find out exactly what happened and what the witness saw. Apart from the witness statements, the Guarantee Fund engages an expert for each claim. This expert determines whether the damage was actually caused by another motor vehicle. Damage caused by, for example, vandalism, a bicycle or a shopping cart is not compensated by the Guarantee Fund. The surveyor can also determine whether the car was damaged while it was stationary, or whether it was possibly the cause of the damage itself, for example during a collision. In the latter situation, you are not entitled to compensation from the Guarantee Fund. If you make a claim anyway, you are committing fraud and this can have major consequences.
Related pages about the guarantee fund
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