Legal eagles

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marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
Had a minor low speed shunt on saturday, there appeared to be no damage to either vehicle, there certainly isn't any damage whatsoever to the car here so can't make a claim. I suspect with the extremely aggressive manner and how out of it afterwards the other driver was on some kind of substance.

On Monday morning whilst I was at work a care hire company rang and was trying to get us to agree to hiring out a car for the other guy. Then a while later there was a very aggressive phone call from the other guy. It is slightly complicated in that I believe the guy is a guy who nearly drove me off the road whilst out on the bike 6 weeks ago. Basically I think the claim is fraudulent.

Any advice?
 

cisamcgu

Legendary Member
Location
Merseyside-ish
Talk to your insurance company pronto ... that is why you pay them hundreds of pounds a year !
 
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marinyork

marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
Already done so, they said they'd ask for any other details of what else I was saying above if and when the other side gets in contact. They said ring the police and inform them of the incident, of which I feeling very guiltily about wasting police time did and got told by an operator to report to a station at some point, so will do that probably boxing day. Got photos of both cars. Cheers anyway.
 

Danny

Legendary Member
Location
York
The same thing happened to us when my partner had a minor shunt when she was about 8 months pregnant. We gave in because we didn't want any extra hassle at the time, but I have been regretting this ever since. You should politely tell the other driver to talk to his insurance company if he wants a car hire.

Do report the accident to the police - this is a legal requirement and you can get done for failing to report it. It might also count against you if there is a protracted dispute over the claim.
 

Smokin Joe

Legendary Member
Accident claim scams are becomming increasingly popular among the criminal classes who see it as an easy way of extracting money out of people. The only way to deal with it is to refuse to enter into any negotiation with the other party, and cut all phone calls off by telling them to contact your insurance company or the police. I would certainly report this to plod and tell the other party what you have done if they or anyone else contacts you.
 

alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
had a bit of experience with that many years ago (20ish at a guess). i was driving my dad's mini, went a bit too fast round a mini roundabout and went at very slow speed into the car in front. no damage to them, but it did break the offside light on the mini. was agreed that no insurance claim was called for, although details were exchanged.

next thing i know is a letter from equity and law (now part of axa) arrives with a bill for several hundreds of pounds paid to a garage for repairs. anyway, i call the number on the letter and am told i have to pay it as i'd admitted liability. i asked why they didn't go though the insurance company and was given some bullshit that sounded suspect even to a spotty teen.

so i ring the garage whose invoice is enclosed and ascertain that the garage bill was for front end suspension damage caused by, in the mechanic's opinion, hitting a curb or pothole at speed.

so, armed with this info, mum involves her solicitor and nothing more is heard from equity and law. it turned out that the people i had run into were employees of said company and were basically using me to try and get out of claiming on their own insurance, pretending that they were operating at the behest of equity and law. and best of all, it turned out they got fired for it. and equity and law paid our solicitor's bill.

still cost me a tenner for my dad's new headlamp unit, but i did enjoy fighting back and winning.
 
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marinyork

marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
Thanks, very helpful posts. Will report it to the police in person, but is not Christmas eve taking the mickey a bit and they get annoyed, or will they not see it like that? I find it quite frustrating they won't do it over the phone from the point of view of not wasting their time even if I took the insurance certificate at a later date within 7 days as it asks in the highway code.

P.S. does it take up much of their time to report an accident with no injuries and no damage?
 

Blue

Legendary Member
Location
N Ireland
marinyork said:
On Monday morning whilst I was at work a care hire company rang and was trying to get us to agree to hiring out a car for the other guy.

That sounds as if the other guy has an accident management company on the case. Don't get involved - as has been said already, report the matter to insurers and police and leave it to them. Insurers know how to deal with these people and have been having running battles with therm for decades.

If I were in your shoes I wouldn't get involved with anyone other that the insurers and police. I would report the other party if he got aggressive with me, if I were in your position.
 

domtyler

Über Member
Wasting police time is stuff like phoning them to ask for a lift up to Tescos or deliberately making false accusations. This is just getting them to do the job they are paid to do.
 

yenrod

Guest
Even though this has nothing to do with me in a car but I on a Fri. night i used to stay at my sis's about 5mls away prior to moving. Soo..come Sat. morn i used to ride back but at break-neck speed only took me about 10mins.

Anyway, about a third to half-way in and was approaching a major dual carriageway but crossing it, lights where on red but I judged them correct but the jerk who should have been accelerating was instead watching me in his rear-view (why the do they do that :smile:) so instead of everything going ok ~ I had to brake really stiffly and hit his bumper slowish'....

I waited the seconds for him to exit and come round the back of car, I even knew their was no damage whatsoever but he wanted to hang around and make a BIG DEAL OF IT :thumbsup:

SO, as I was in the heat of the moment' :thumbsup: and didnt want to lose the impetus of my 'speed' I told him frankly 'to get a life and get real - theirs no damage mate, yuh making a deal out of nowt....' and i was off like a tdf prologue...not going to let a shoot for brains cardriver spoil my ride.

I was expecting repercussions ie him chasing me etc.. but nothing happened.

Though that wouldnt of happened nowadays as that area is now in the middle of dodgvill'centrale where most of the shootings takes place in Liverpool, sadly.
 
The car hire is a scam!

We got a car from a firm (DriveAssist)when ours was in for repair.

We were asked to sign a PDA screen to accept the car, and asked to see what we were signing, they wouldn't let us - so we wrote "I cannot see what I am signing" across the signature.

Lo and behold we then got an open hire agreement with collision damage waiver and the "signature" with annotation copied on to it in 5 places!

There was then a delay of a week in picking up our car in the beginning and again picking their car up on completion. In all 2 out of the 3 weeks of hire were "engineered" by the company! SO in other words they have overcharged by 60%!


Total con artists!
 
Hi this is Mrs. Spandex, I work for a RTA/PI firm. It is the police dept's job to take info and give you a incident # at the very least dont feel guilty they get paid enough! As for the the other driver dont talk to them again and if they ask tell them you have a Sols and to call thier insurance company if they want anything. Insurance is there for a reason and if they dont have it it is thier fault.
 

Elmer Fudd

Miserable Old Bar Steward
ms. fudd had a minor bump the other week. Car was stopped in inside lane at red traffic lights,Ms fudd in outer lane approaching, as she gets closer the lights change to green so she carries on, Other driver moves off from standstill, as they come up to the pedestrian island ms fudd realises she is running out of road space (both corsas) on a section of road wide enough for a bus and a big car and just about manages to hold the car off the kerb. Their is a collision. We now have a nice dent in nearside panel going deeper as it goes half way across the door. The other driver lost a hub cap, she phoned the next day and said she had contacted the police and was told they weren't interested as no-one was injured and details were exchanged.
Couple of days later she (ms fudd) got a letter off what I can only describe as ambulance chasing solicitors. (I still say ms fudd should have contacted the police herself). Other woman driver is claiming for a hire car (??) while her tracking is checked (at least an hour !) and one of her 2 young sons (5 & 7) in the back is claiming for whiplash, although her solicitors has written in his letter that he has not attended a hospital. He is obviously a medical expert as well.

My blood doest boileth over every time I think of it. Especially if ms fudd has to claim because her company is talking about writing the car off as we paid £400, book price may be £250/300 less £100 excess. I tell ya if this shitey claim gets through, i know one corsa that will be receiving some extra damage.

GRRRRR !!!
Regards
Mr Angry.
 
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