Car insurance claim made against us

[Pasqual]

Hello,

Yesterday we received an email from our insurance company reminding us we had legal cover that could help deal with our recent claim.

This was totally out of the blue, so I contacted the number on the website (just incase the email wasn't legit) where they confirmed they had received communication from another party that my car had hit theirs and driven off, but that they couldn't given any further details. They asked if I was denying being involved and I said yes.

At the same time, my husband got a phonecall from someone else at our insurance company looking to ask some questions about the incident, my husband stated he has no idea what he was talking about and asked for details. The caller stated they couldn't give any information and ended the call.

I phoned back an hour later and finally got to speak to someone helpful who stated the incident reportedly took place 450 miles away from our hometown, 2 days prior.

We were asked to send proof that we weren't there. We have both been ill for over a week with flu so spent that day at home, taking turns of looking after our 2 toddlers and sleeping. So there's no receipts/transactions we can use as proof.

We have submitted photographs of our car, photos taken of our child in our home at the time the incident allegedly occurred, proof of a telephone call with an OOH doctor that morning and a text message exchange which we replied saying "we will be at home all day, we are both really unwell"

Our insurers have responded to say that we need to be able to provide concrete evidence we were not 450 miles away from home, but I have no idea what else we can do?

Our policy is due for renewal in 4 weeks, so having a claim is going to bump our premium up too. 😔

I'm just wondering if anyone has been in this situation/has any advice? Should I contact the police non emergency number and express concern that our plates have been cloned?

Can a neighbour confirm that your car was on the drive?

No advice as yet I'm sorry but just wanted to comment to bump the thread and also to say that this seems absolutely crazy! That someone can report you in an accident that you weren't even in. I'm guessing they have taken the registration down wrong, or I would get in touch with the police as your plates may have been cloned. From what I've seen on TV.. it usually happens somewhere far from where you live. I would suggest contacting 101 just to make sure they don't get any speeding tickets etc if it has been cloned.

See if any neighbours have a ring doorbell showing your car on the drive all day

Cloned number plates or somebody reading a digit wrongly? Sorry if this is obvious, but have the insurance company had it confirmed by the alleged victim what the make, model and colour of the car that they claim hit them was - or might they just have been given a (your) registration and run with that?

Why is it you who need to prove that you weren't anywhere near? Surely this is why you're urged to take lots of photos in situ when somebody hits your car - as you need the proof that it did happen?

This way, I could go on Autotrader, pick any random number plate from a car that's up for sale (private sale, so not sitting on a forecourt), report them as having crashed into my car and that would make them 'guilty' unless they had concrete proof to the contrary? What if I deliberately picked a seller local to me and they were provably driving around the same area, but still nothing whatsoever to do with me or any accident with my car?

X-posted with enhanced.

Your photos will be geotagged, your phone gps location should also show that you were at home.

Contact the police and report that you fear your plates may have been cloned. They may be able to use ANPR cameras to confirm.

This is ridiculous, surely the emphasis should be on the other party to prove guilt rather than on you to prove innocence?

Did you gave any deliveries that day? Do either of you have a smart watch or something that tracks your location?

…. An additional piece is to take a series of photos of your car showing a lack of damage

This of course depends on the nature of the alleged hit & run, and that you don’t have any previous damage

My elderly parents had this a few months back, it was an alleged hit and run by them but a lot closer than in your case, around 50 miles distant. It was resolved by pictures being sent of their vehicle and nothing more. I think in your case you’ve provided more than enough information, and it’s literally the other end of the country! Clearly ridiculous. So I think if the insurance company persist, explain that you’ve provided more than enough evidence, and that they will need to persue the matter through the police- they will quickly dismiss it I think.

I would report the situation to the police via 101, and let the insurance companies know that you have done this.

I would also tell the insurance companies that you are also forwarding on all correspondence to your solicitors, who in turn are taking up the matter with the insurance ombudsman. This might make them see sense.

Thanks for the responses. I'm frustrated because I don't understand why it's down to us to prove it wasnt us rather than the other way around.

The only Information they have given us is that they have confirmed the make and model of the car and that they have dashcam footage provided by the other party - they would not confirm if our plates were in this footage.

The location was turned off on both our phones, so we can't use that and our car is parked on the street as we don't have a driveway.

I will contact the police after work and report to them also

Your phone photos will still contain metadata embedded in it though that will show when and where it was taken. Bonkers that you should have to go to that extreme though!

Tell them you’ll show them your evidence when they show you theirs.

is it just me, this all sounds a bit not legit.

I would consider reporting this to the police in car someone is trying to commit fraud.

Your insurance company is wrong. You don't have to provide concrete proof that it wasn't your car. If this goes to court, it would be up to the driver alleging you hit them to prove their case. They wouldn't have to prove it beyond reasonable doubt, but they would have to convince the court that, on the balance of probabilities, it was your car.

If your insurer persists, make a complaint. You need to exhaust their complaints process before you can take it to the insurance ombudsman. Note that you do not need a solicitor to refer the matter to the ombudsman.

First, report to the police - this is essentially fraud, as you definitely weren't there.
The other suggestions so far are excellent, and if you can get a written statement or similar from a friend attesting you were at home this would help too.

Submit any evidence you can, even if you think it's too small to make a difference - then let the insurers fight it out and go to court if needed.
At the end of the day if you weren't there, they won't have any concrete proof that you were - and your evidence will swing the case beyond all reasonable doubt.

The only Information they have given us is that they have confirmed the make and model of the car and that they have dashcam footage provided by the other party - they would not confirm if our plates were in this footage.

OK, maybe they could have found the car details online somehow to match the registration, but who was supposedly driving your car when it allegedly hit theirs? Does their dashcam show who was driving your car (surely dashcams must be set up with a wide enough focus to capture this basic detail, otherwise what's the point of them and how can they be used as evidence?); or otherwise, can the owners of the car that your car 'hit' give a description of the driver? I'll bet they can't....

Why have they refused to confirm that your plates were indeed shown in the footage? This is their evidence that it was your car involved; so if the footage doesn't show the plates (surely the only reason why they aren't volunteering this info, as it would clearly help their case), they don't actually have any evidence against you at all. If they are stating that a human was there to witness the crash and note down the registration no, that same human - if at all reliable as a witness - must surely have glanced and got a basic look at who was driving.

Claiming that you have the evidence but are somehow unable/unwilling to show or confirm it is tantamount to admitting that you don't have it at all - and then that obviously leads to suggestions of attempted fraud.

I've never heard of the law allowing for one member of the public to accuse another of having committed a crime, without any credible evidence, and then that being taken as assumption of guilt unless the accused party can prove that they weren't involved. That's not how law works; that's nothing more than the equivalent of playground tittle-tattle.

This is not a criminal matter though, it’s a civil claim for the cost of repairs to the car that was hit. (Yes, hitting and driving away is a crime I think, but this is not the police charging OP with a crime).

Burden of proof is still on the claimant, yes, but it’s a different standard of proof.

Ask the insurers for a description of the driver and the vehicle involved . It will be a cloned plate or a registration number taken down incorrectly.

It might be worth phoning the police and reporting your suspicions of a cloned registration plate. Tell them what you have said here.

Oh, and by the way, the onus is on them to prove that the vehicle had your number plates, so they need to come up with the goods. You can't defend yourself against an accusation without knowing what evidence they have.

Surely the legal cover that they called to remind you about should be springing into action here to help you.

Surely their dash cam will show you /dh at the wheel then?
Or not..
Absolute chancers. Ring the non emergency police line.

Hope you get this sorted - I’m praying it’s not Admiral insurance 🙄👍🏿☘️

In my experience car insurance companies don't know that they are talking about - I was given three contradictory bits of information by mine about something that should've been straightforward.

The likelihood is it'll get sorted out - it just might take ages. The onus is definitely on the other side to prove it was you. No harm in collecting any evidence now to prove you were nowhere near, though.