To Think This Guy is a Scammer?

[sb6699]

In February my DH was involved in a very minor car accident.

He was signalling to turn right on one of those yellow no waiting grids. The traffic on the opposite side of the road was backed up to the start of the grid due to traffic lights so he proceeds as anyone else coming should have waited at the start of the box.

This guy comes around the corner and even though he wasnt allowed to go any further due to the grid he sped up. Luckily dh had already went through the grid and the guys car grazed the very back corner of dh's. No damage other than a scuff mark.

DH gets out of the car and asks if everyone is okay. They say yes, sorry, no problems, etc, etc.

We then receive notice from our insurance company that the guy is claiming for £500 worth of damage to his car (even though dh is insistant that the car in question was full of scratches, dents, broken headlight already which had nothing to do with their accident) and in places not consistent with where the cars collided.

Then today we have recieved notification from a "no win no fee" solicitor saying that the chap and his passengers are suing dh for their "injuries" apparently soft tissue damage.

The doctors report they have included is dated the end of October and is obviously a doctor employed by them. None of them saw their own GP or attended hospital at any point and none of them needed any time off work.

WTF!!!

[Geocentric]

Ugh, definitely a scammer. Some people stop at nothing!!!!! Good luck to your DH.

[bruffin]

They must be trying it on

I thought that if you went into the back of someones car it was always considered your fault because you are going to fast/leaving not enough breaking space etc

[bruffin]

oop too

[sb6699]

The thing is that the loss adjuster (who is neutral btw) said that even though it looks dubious the insurance company will not necessarily fight it as alot of the time it is cheaper for them to pay out rather than go through the courts.

How is that going to discourage false claims?

[sb6699]

Sorry, I know I am ranting but if they ALL had soft tissue damage why did they leave it until October to see a doctor and not even their own GP but a one employed by the solicitor.

And why would they say they were alright when DH asked them if they werent?

They are suing him personally rather than the insurance company obviously hoping that dh wont employ a solicitor to deal with it (he will, even if the insurers wont pay for it, still waiting to see if this is covered).

But what if they win? They are claiming up to £5K - we just dont have this kind of money. We cant even pay the leccy bill atm

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

Bastards. Sorry if I missed something out, but will your insurance company engage a solicitor for you? I had an accident many years ago, I drove my 2cv into the back of a big fuck off car because the silly bint kept moving forward then stopping at a junction. I'd just finished a night shift so wasn't the sharpest tool in the box at 7.30. My little sardine can didn't leave a scratch on her car though we exchanged insurance details. some time later I got a letter from our insurars that she claimed I had hit her car so hard she had suffered whiplash and her grandchild (the invisible one clearly) was traumatised and she wanted some stupid amount of money to mend teh car. I explained to (direct line I think) that this was such a bag of toss they should investigate. It turne out to be a total pack of lies and we didn't lose our no claims bonus.

[Lilyloo]

Pass the solicitor letter to dh insurance company.
They will deal with it , and likely pay them too

Happened to my dp , we got threatening phone calls etc She even tried to make two claims one through the insurance company and then one through a private solicitor
They are scammers but as you say the insurance companys pay out rather than fight it in court!

[claricebeansmum]

And a good example of why should always try to find a witness and get their number.

[Lilyloo]

Kreecehr you were very lucky. Uusually it's your word against theres and they don't get found out.

The woman who claimed against dp also claimed for a friend and refused to get her car 'damage' repaired at the reccomended repairers and got the work done herself then claimed for it

The insurance know they are lying but can't prove it!!!!

[Lilyloo]

Maybe they are avoiding insurance company because they aren't insured ??

[catsmother]

What bastards. There's been a case in the news lately about a guy who rigged "borrowed" cars so the brake lights were off (IIRC) ..... he'd then drive real slowly up to a junction, brake, but cars behind didn't realise this and would go into the back of him. Several £1000s of claims would then follow for personal injury from the owners of the car who weren't even driving at the time (this bloke was) plus various fictional passengers etc. The point is there was a lot of comment about it from the police saying that several people could be implicated and investigations were ongoing as a result .... not only the owners but possibly solicitors and "witnesses" etc. Then you got some bod from the insurer's association saying how important this type of fraud was stamped out as it cost honest drivers blah di blah ......

..... and then you have a case like yours which may not have been premeditated in the same way but where the claimant has the same lack of moral scruples and you've been told there's a strong possibility the insurance company will pay out to shut them up and avoid court ! Meanwhile, they (the insurers) repeatedly blame higher premiums on fraud as if they are also entirely innocent. If these firms don't grow some and take these type of cases to court these bastards have no deterrent from trying it on time and again. Sure, court costs ..... but if they took that on the chin a few times ('cos the bastards will no doubt plead poverty when it comes to paying costs) and the fraudsters got imprisoned it'd hopefully deter others from doing the same and the initial outlay for the insurance company would be recouped by a reduction in future fraudulent claims - plus, we might just get cheaper premiums.

In your case I can't see how a judge would find in their favour. Clearly, if they're claiming for damage all over the car it can't possibly have been caused by your DH's car, short of it landing directly on top of it from a great height. Similarly, their medical claim is a load of shite and I'd have thought any lawyer worth their salty would be asking for GP's reports dating from Febriary/March ...... what do normal people do when they're hurting ? Oh yeah - they see their GP, or A&E if they're in accute pain. They don't all trot off en masse to some charlatan.

I really hope you can get this sorted - you must feel so sick at the injustice of it all. Also .... check your house insurance, sometimes legal advice is included in that.

[sb6699]

Funnily enough, I used to work in Insurance and dealt with Personal Injury claims all the time.

The insurers I worked for wouldnt think twice about fighting it, seems to be all these "cheapy" ones who will just pay it rather than fight it.

But seriously, what do we do if Legal Cover isnt included in our Policy and a judge finds he should be paid out for their "injuries"? We dont have any money!!!

DH says he'd rather jack in his job than have them arrest his wages to pay this guy.

These "lawyers" arent helping the situation either. Surely they must realise if they havent been to the docs then they're putting it on.

Funnily enough, all this week dh's phone has been ringing off the hook with different companies trying to get him to do the exact same thing!!!

[sb6699]

Should mention that these papers we've received state that dh was driving at excessively speed when he pulled out (he was stopped at the junction ffs) and he didnt signal (utter tosh).

He also didnt give way (he had right of way!).

The want to claim for private physiotherapy as well totalling £480 - if they had went to hospital/gp he could have referred them for free

[sb6699]

Oh, yeah and an interpreter (£250)

[sb6699]

kreecher - yes, he has apparently suffered "psychological symptoms" as well. He scuffed our car ffs, would hate to see what happened if something major had happened.

catsmother - the insurance company are dealing with the damage to his old banger but a judge will rule regarding his separate "injuries" claim which he is claiming for separately and pursuing dh personally. He probably doesnt have "injuries" cover with his policy.

Sorry for all these separate posts, I really am ranting now.

[catsmother]

Your poor thing. Is it worth DH placing an ad in the local paper for the area asking for witnesses ?? I know it's a long shot but if he can prove he was stopped waiting to turn right etc., and that the "bump" was barely a brush, then it adds more weight to them lying about the personal injury stuff as well. I still maintain that a judge would be barking to rule in favour of the injury claim .... so many things don't add up. But of course I appreciate that any risk of you having to pay out £000s is terrifying.

[sb6699]

Just a quick update now I have calmed down.

DH finally managed to speak with his Insurers who have told him to forward the court summons and they will deal with it [huge sigh of relief emoticon]

Insurers are still being pretty vague about whether they will pay out or not even though they now agree the "claimant is putting it on".

So angry that they are getting away with this - its outright fraud and is illegal - as soon as insurers have an inkling of this they should throw the claim out and inform the police.

On the medical report it states that the guy was involved in another accident in 2008 resulting in identical "neck sprain, soft tissue damage and shock". Apparently though these injuries had completely healed (probably 5 minutes after he received his last insurance cheque)

[sb6699]

catsmother - dh is going to put an ad in the window of the shop at the side of the road where the accident happened.

If anyone comes forward he will notify the insurers - even if they are paying rather than us he still doesnt think this guy should get anything.