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classic33 will give you detailed and sound advice. He'll be along shortly.
GC
With reference to the above
Report it & get yourself checked
Get a written record down on paper. At this stage its not important if you're the only one who can understand what you are writing. You'll put it all down later, when you're certain you have everything there.
I had L/R/Slowup-Down/Him/Me? on the original. Put into words what that meant at when putting everything in order for my working copy.
"Working copy" by the way is my way of saying, once you're happy that you have everything down & in the correct order, you print a copy off, dated of course, and work from that. It makes it easier for you, as you then are telling the same, to everyone. This “Working Copy” will be in order of occurrence. Who did what, where & when.
Include the time of the incident, the time you/who ever called the police & on what number. If possible the name of the person you spoke to. Not always forthcoming with this bit of information. Put all this at the top of your working copy. Makes it easier find in a hurry.
What were the road/traffic conditions like. Direction of travel & intended direction of travel & direction actually taken.
Get the collision log number created by the police, this will be its own seperate number. Include this number if given on your working copy. Only found out about that over 6 months later. No collision log created, therefore no collision. Despite the police attending a 999 call.
Photocopy/scan all receipts. Ink fades & the thermal printed ones can blacken in minutes.
If you have a witness, did you get their names, or even car registration? If so see if they’ll be willing to put onto paper their actions.
Seek qualified legal advice, used to working for cyclists. I learnt that bit the hard way. I used RJW through the CTC.Have you tried checking the vehicle registration & tax/VED details?
https://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/app/enquiry?execution=e2s1
You might want to keep a written log. What you did, who phoned who, when, what number was used especially if they contact you, leaving a number. Who you spoke to. Try and get names if possible. What were road & weather conditions like. Were lights fitted & in use at the time. Some people ride with their rear light on at all times so it’s not as odd as it sounds.
I was a hell of a lot more clinical factwise than Schneil. Would you be able to give a closing speed for the pair of you before the impact & at the time of impact? I don't drive, but impact speed in my case I put at less than the driver. Less than 10mph, low speed impact.
Don't ride the bike again until you get it checked. Insurance may require that the bike be checked for damage that was only caused in the incident. Also riding the same bike may have them saying there can't have been anything wrong, you're exaggerating your claim. I'd had that said to me & being able to say that it was still at the LBS awaiting collection, kinda knocked some of the wind out of their sails.
See if there is any CCTV footage for the area in which it took place. Easy way of doing it is to go back & look for any cameras. Council has to keep a record of the owner & operators of these camera's. Same contact details should also be visible on the camera itself.
Feel down the underside of the downtube & see if you can feel anything that seems out of place. Does the front wheel still turn ok, when you turn it from side to side with the handlebars? Do it slowly, with the wheel off the ground. No grating sound or feel when you're doing this?
You find damage, get photographs taken of it.
Photograph the damage, using a tape measure to which you have taped a small object, whose size cannot be denied. That last part I found out 3 years into mine.
Keep a record of any injuries to yourself. Assuming you've been & got yourself checked over. Same as for the bike, any damage, photograph it. Bear in mind bruising can take time to fully "bloom".
Stick to your guns & don't be put off if the driver does change their story, more than once.
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