[phantom13]

Back in august I was in an accident and took out a pole. As the months went on I figured the community had picked it up on their own insurance and that I was in the clear. After all this time I finally got a bill for 3,500$. Might not seem likea big deal but let me put this in perspective. I'm 17, just recently bought my first car, and the car I was driving at the time of the accident was my uncles old car. Long story short its not worth it for them to have insurance pay for it and instead I need to fork over $3,500 which I dont have. I've got about $170 to my name and barely make $9 an hour where I work. Im not sure what I'm going to do but Ive contemplated leaving. Packing up my car, ditching my phone and leaving in the night. Traveling through a few states and then starting fresh and clean somewhere else. Anyone have any advice?

[shezbut]

Didn't you have driver's insurance when this accident occurred? Incidents like these, and others, are the very reason why we have to have insurance.

If you are not insured, you're going to need to explain that to whomever is in charge of acquiring the money from you.

It's likely that you will be required to make monthly payments to the city, until the full amount (plus interest) has been paid. Look at this experience as a tool. You learned something important here. Having driver's insurance whenever you're driving is absolutely essential.

Just a crummy way to learn that lesson. Thankfully, no one was injured... that's when costs jump really high. That's a big thing to be thankful of.

[Skeezyks]

Hello phantom13: I'm sorry you are facing this difficult situation. Yes, I have often entertained the idea of just "disappearing" when faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem.

Here in Minnesota where I live, there is a legal advice telephone line that a person can call & get free legal advice. There may be something such as this where you live. There may also be free legal services for persons who are low income. I would suggest checking into possibilities such as these. Perhaps there is a possibility that some kind of payment plan could be arranged. Another possibility might be that you could get approval to perform some sort of community service work in lieu of paying for the replacement of the pole.

It's possible that you might be able to make arrangements such as this yourself if you contact the appropriate government office. But if you can secure some kind of legal representation to assist you, this might be the best way to go. It might not even require the services of a full-fledged attorney. A legal assistant might well be able to accomplish what you need to have accomplished. I have to believe there is a solution here besides disappearing. It's just a matter of finding it. Would your uncle, or another family member, be willing to help?

Good luck!

[Mountainbard]

See if you can get them to agree to some kind of payment schedule. And try to get some free legal advice, as Skeezyks said. Even if you leave this will continue to follow you around, and will bite you in the butt worse years later.

[Caretaker Leo]

phantom13, sorry to hear you are in this situation. Gotta say though, that leaving is not going to resolve anything. Better to face up to what happened, contact whoever sent the bill and work with them to make arrangements to pay it over time.

[amandalouise]

um no offense but with only 170 dollars you are not going to get very far. not counting you stopping to eat, just gas alone you wont make it out of the state, especially if this car you are driving is as old as you posted.

another thing to think about when thinking about running out on responsibilities.... everything is computerized. you apply for a place to live and they want to see your photo id or enter your SSI number and the background check shows you have legal problems, no one will rent tto you. go to get a job to have some money to eat on and same thing the job does a back ground check and finds you have legal problems and debts you havent paid for on your credit history.

my point its best to look at this as practice for the adult you are becoming and the kind of adult you want to be. do you want people to look and think about you as hey thats the person that cant be trusted to take care of his responsibilities, do you want people to look at you and think wow that's one strong person, when their back is up against the wall they didnt skip out, became a person on the run...

you had an accident, not the end of the world. most teen agers end up in some sort of motor vehicle accident, thats why insurance for teens and young adults are so expensive, they are high risk bracket for insurance companies.

take a deep breath and say ok i made a mistake, now its time to clean up that mistake. then call the ones you owe the money to and make whats called a payment arrangement, let them know how much you can pay them a month, and then go out and get a part time job, each paycheck set aside a portion of that paycheck towards paying off this debt. you may be surprised at how many people there are this time of year and in general who are willing to help a teen ager accept responsibility and learn from their mistakes.

and above all at least no one got killed, you are alive and able to do this. its a shocker getting a bill in the mail like this when you are a teen ager, but at least you are alive to get that bill.

Being it's with the city, I'm sure you can set up a payment plan to the min of $25.00/wk.

Or you can probably serve time off on the fine when you get behind. It's really not a big deal. You'll be done before you know it.