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Was this a scam?

7 replies

Lougle · 17/03/2024 15:50

I'm trying to work out what happened here.

DM has a motabiliy car which DF drives. He had an accident which he believes is the other driver's fault (going around a roundabout in the nearside lane, other car's passenger wing hit his rear driver side.).

He phoned his insurance and was told that it was unlikely to be his fault, there was a £0 excess because of that, and repair would be undertaken by X company and a replacement car supplied by Y company.

An hour or so later, Z company phoned to discuss the replacement car. I said 'Oh, I thought they said Y company'. The lady on the phone said she had to go through the accident with DF. I asked why. She said that as they were a no fault car replacement service, they could only supply a car if they thought DF wasn't at fault. It was all a bit confusing. She was asking about financial means and credit agreements. I stated that DF was a motabiliy customer and shouldn't be charged for a car. She said they weren't charging, they were just checking in case the other party refused to pay.

Yesterday, they called my DF to say that they couldn't supply a car because the other party were disputing fault. So DF phoned the insurance company to ask what happens next. The insurance company were totally confused because they have arranged delivery of a replacement car from company Y and have not asked company Z to do anything.

All is well that ends well - DF gets a replacement car and didn't agree to any credit agreement, but I'd quite like to understand what happened.

OP posts:
Andthereyougo · 17/03/2024 16:03

It does sound odd. Could be a simple admin error, insurance company sent details to two companies and Z was quicker off the mark? As long as your DF didn’t give any bank details etc then all should be ok.
But it makes dealing with what should be so simple very much more stressful.

Ilikewinter · 17/03/2024 16:06

Sounds dodge to me, what financial and personal details did he give out?. Does he remember the name of the company that called him?, if he can I would google to see if theres any online references to them.

Janek · 17/03/2024 16:10

I have an idea this is a thing, I'm sure I read on here a while ago about someone owing loads to a hire car company who contacted them after they had an accident. They were so flustered they didn't think anything of it, then ended up with a massive bill. It sounds like you're right, that all's well that ends well for you.

YellowSunRays · 17/03/2024 16:11

This will have been an accident management company, possibly having obtained details via the vehicle repairers.
They would provide a car on a credit hire basis, charging grossly exaggerated hire rate which would be submitted to the at fault insurers.
All OK in principle but the agreement would say that DF was ultimately responsible for costs.
He had a lucky escape.
This happens all the time and most people have no idea they have entered a credit hire agreement.
For all the people moaning about increased insurance premiums, they would be shocked to discover how much some of these credit hire providers charge. It can be ££££!

Invisimamma · 17/03/2024 16:12

I think this could be a known scam where a third party company makes you believe you're dealing with your own insurers to get a courtesy car but you actually end up in quite an expensive credit hire agreement.

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/news/financial-ombudsman-service-warns-credit-hire-risks

ConflictedCheetah · 17/03/2024 16:21

Janek · 17/03/2024 16:10

I have an idea this is a thing, I'm sure I read on here a while ago about someone owing loads to a hire car company who contacted them after they had an accident. They were so flustered they didn't think anything of it, then ended up with a massive bill. It sounds like you're right, that all's well that ends well for you.

Yeah there's definitely a thread on here somewhere about this. A few months old I think. The OP on that thread was being pursued for a lot of money as the other side's insurers were disputing the cost. Total nightmare.

You did well here OP not to get accidentally drawn in.

Lougle · 17/03/2024 16:22

It sounds like that. The insurance company told us that EuopeCar would supply a car, then Enterprise called to book the car as a credit hire agreement.

I queried at least 4 times why DF would be entering a credit agreement when his insurance company had been arranging it. Sneaky.

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