Car Insurance Fraud Crash For Cash?
I was at a set of traffic lights (2nd in qeue)(there was work carried out on the other side of road so only one lane) waiting patiently to move when the lights turn green the driver infront doesn’t move. So i sound the horn to warn them of my presence and people were waiting. They beep back and start driving slowly about 3mph i follow behind about a car length away. Then all of a sudden the car infront brakes suddenly i braked too but went into the back of them i didn’t even notice we touched. There was no damage whatsoever she took my details andi asked for hers but she wouldn’t give me hers. I took her number plate and I knew her name anyway (unlucky) I knew the girl she was in the year above me in school. She was just abit annoyed understandably trying to make me sign on the side of the road it was my fault, I refused. Her boyfriend was kicking off telling me he knew who my sister was and where she lived. Which i would say was threatening. So i walked up to him and he squared up to me saying he doesnthit girls but my boyfriends here. Anyway we left at that i was very upset and angry. We agreed there was no damage and she braked because i was”following” her.
I rang my insurance explained what happened and that we took pictures.
Even the builder on the side of the road said she had no reason to stop! But he said he didn’t want anything to do with it. Anyway i came back today and he wrote me a witness statement saying she braked for no reason and it was very slow moving.
I recieved a letter a month later saying the passenger and driver was claiming damage, injury and hire ( the only damage present was damage impossibly caused by mewhere my car would not have touched).
I saw the passenger yesterday so i walked up to him had my phone in my pocket and it was recording. He agreed he was fine no injured but then changed the story he had a neck injury and whiplash, and she stopped to cause an accident and she stopped because she was ” P***** off” and that there was no damage on the car exept the tiny dent which was not caused by me.
I was on his Facebook the otherday and noticed she left him a comment saying she got the car fixed for free and it was only a tiny dent (not caused by me).
Do you think this is fraud. Because i certainly think this is. And think i have a strong case against them. Any advice would be appreciated
May 8th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
If the Police are already involved and they are in contact with your own insurance company, then all you really need to do is refuse to accept any type of liability. By the sound of it you have a good case, and as long as both the insurance company and Police know everything you know, then it should not take long for the Police to charge the culprits on grounds of fraud.
Crash For Cash is a growing problem in the UK, and I’ve seen a number of these ‘deliberate accidents’ on TV news and Police documentaries.
From your description of events I would agree 100% that this case is certainly one of these.
As you know, in the UK when you hit the back of another vehicle it is automatically your fault, and this is part of the problem with this fraud. The culprits claim personal injury to get a payout, and many are earning a great deal from it too.
Don’t let your insurance company bully you into accepting liability, and tell them point blank that you would be willing to go to court. That’s the only way to make the insurance company sit up and listen sometimes. You also need to keep pushing the Police for information about the case.
Be a pain in the rear to the Insurance and Police; push for information, push for a resolution, never accept liability or compromise.
As for you getting a solicitor involved, check your Policy fine print. You may be covered for fees already. Getting a solicitor involved using your own money will cost you thousands, unless your income is low enough to be able to claim for Legal Aid. The Citizens Advice Bureau should be able to give you some free advice on the matter before going down that road. I suggest you use their service to get feedback one-on-one.
Good luck.
May 8th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Of course gather all the evidence and present it to your insurance, they take fraud very seriously.
May 8th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
I do agree with you but at this point you should call the police or make a solicitors
i don’t know how do people lives their life’s, so stupid
May 8th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
A similar thing happened to me, and whether or not this is fraud does not really matter (but it certainly sounds like it was an attempt). You did the sensible things that i did not, such as recording conversations and such like, and considering the way they treated you, you should definitely take this further. I would start by phoning your insurance company and asking them what the best action should be first as they may offer to deal with it (especially if you took that lovely legal protection on the policy).
Good luck and don’t let these bastards get away with it. Please. Too many people like us suffer as a result of other’s selfishness.
May 9th, 2010 at 5:46 am
In amongst all that I note that you say you rang your insurers, but you don’t mention anything else in relation to them. If she had genuinely made a claim on your insurance they would at the least have written to you with paperwork to fill in and seeking your views on the matter.
You have involved the police, leave them to deal with it if there is in fact anything to deal with.
May 9th, 2010 at 8:45 am
did you provide your insurance company the statement by the builder?
they may need to contact him and get a statement.
also; did you play back the recording of your conversation to your insurance company? technically it is not legal since they were not aware you were recording them. but it might give pause to the adjuster.
due to the small amount of damages and you rear-ending them, they will most likely pay for his damages to his auto even if he did this deliberately, but they may question his injuries.
your insurance company will handle, that is their job. you may not like the outcome, but this was a stupid situation and you will need to move on and worry about something else.
May 9th, 2010 at 9:37 am
you need to get all your evidence together and go to he police and also inform the insurance company that this is what your doing and the reasons why. in the meantime, you should be able to get a free 30 mins appt for advice with a solicitor.