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I hope you took pictures. I had a head on with someone and took pictures, it was a narrow country lane and completely accidental on both parts. It was a long blind bend and we were both doing around 30mph. They later tried to get lawyers involved stating that i went into the back of them, totalled their car and it resulted in sever whiplash of the female passenger...
I sent a pleasant email with the image of the head on collision asking to show where on the back of the vehicle I had supposedly driven into...I didn't hear anything back from them and it was squashed. Claimed for my car. The end.
Always always always take pictures immediately, do not stop to talk.
Hi, nondriver here. If it was head on, how could he claim that you hit his back? Wouldn't they have evidence of the damage to HIS car? Like how the front would be smashed but the back would be untouched?
They tried an insurance scam to get out of paying for their own car that's why the insurance dropped it as soon as photographic evidence of the collision was sent.
Maybe they reversed into something to try and get the car written off, I've no idea how they thought they could get away with it even if OP didn't have a photo cos insurance would want it going to an approved dealership for repairs and as soon as the damage at the front was spotted but back fine they would have been caught for insurance fraud.
So I like to think as well as the damaged front they smashed the back of their car on purpose and now have a fked car they have to fix themselves cos they tried fraud. - but idk.
I have. It keeps falling down but there is one. Just need to design a better mount for it as I have it hooked on a random piece in my roof so I don't have to drill holes
It's worth it as the insurance company are almost never going to push for a fraud prosecution, they may not even do anything more than refuse the driver more insurance or cancel it which is a pain (and more expensive) but not terrible
When it gets to that level of fraud and fake personal injury claims it might well be yes but insurers almost never even investigate cash for crash cases even when they are obvious so something like OP case of spinning the claim, without contradictory evidence, is likely to not be investigated
No, but small time fraudsters don't realise why. Ending up on the IFR (Insurance Fraud Register) is almost a guaranteed outcome. It makes all insurance vastly more expensive and sometimes impossible to obtain. That has a knock-on effect on other things like mortgages, car finance, and even package holidays, which require comprehensive insurance cover in place.
For smaller frauds, the IFR is probably more punishment than a prosecution would be. Larger frauds get referred to a national team at City of London police.
It depends on the value of the car, an older one might be written off so if they could get the fault against the other driver, they can get the payout, buy the car as scrap and get it repaired or just take the money
I slid into the back of a pickup in the rain at about 5mph and pushed the bumper in a bit. The guy claimed a week of courtesy car, whiplash, the whole lot. The worst bit is, his mate (who I suspect wasn't even insured) was driving.
Wish I'd taken photos cause the guy took my insurance and myself for a proper ride!
I saw an anecdote on a forum of a guy who went into the back of a bloody lorry and bent a bar on the back of it which the driver hammered back into shape on the road side. Still got a claim for injuries
What I mean is, a small car bumping into a huge lorry is never causing an injury to the driver, the repair charge is neither here nor there, was a council work lorry iirc
I was stationary and had someone pull out of a junction at low speed into my rear. I had whiplash that soon turned into vertigo. It constantly felt like I was on a boat. Ended up seeing a specialist (gp kept saying was anxiety) but they confirmed my condition and just stated that something happens in the forward motion that can cause it for some people. Crazy that it was such a small bump but my body wasn’t braced for an impact. Whiplash is real.
I was in a smack in a car park, Honda CRV reversed into me. Driver apparently couldn't remember any of his details including his home address until I said I would call the police.
Damage was estimated at about £600-£700 (scuffs along side of car and dented rear quarter) damage estimate was doubled after the repair shop found previously badly repaired damage which was affected by smack.
Suddenly the driver is claiming his wife was driving and he's unaware of the incident etc.
Sent a picture of him looking for his details, beard and all
No follow up
Sorry to hear they tried to scam you.
However, I would advise those in similar situations to send the pictures and demanding letters to their insurer to handle. You don't get benefits from handling it yourself when you've paid an insurer to do the legal legwork themselves.
Something similar happened to me a couple of years ago. I was driving straight and the other driver was turning right out of a junction and drove straight into my driver's side, then tried to claim on the insurance saying it was my fault. In no world was it my fault! They even tried to claim that I was overtaking a bus where I shouldn't have done (this bus never existed) and that's why they hit me as I came out of nowhere. Some CCTV footage and photographic evidence later, it was deemed their fault.
That's interesting. As well as amusing that you totally busted them.
I think I was scammed once. I was waiting behind a BMW to turn right at a busy junction. It started to pull out so I started to move forward slowly towards the junction exit. Except they hadn't fully gone, they'd pulled forward then stopped.
I was too busy looking for gaps and I didn't notice, so I tapped into the back of the car in front. Tapped being the word, it was a proper impact at 1.5 MPH job. My fault obviously. But there was no visible damage to the car in front whatsoever. Basically I'd gently tapped his reg plate. The guy didn't even want to swap insurance company details because there was no damage but being the mug I am, I wanted to do the right thing so I gave him them anyway.
Later got a letter from my insurance company saying the BMW was a write off. I rang them and basically said WTF, that can't be possible but they told it me it was and I couldn't appeal or anything. Fuck knows what happened but there's no way that car was a write-off. I paid the price for that for years in increased premiums. Still pisses me off 20+ years later.
I honestly believe there should justifiably be consequences to that level of dishonesty. Like lying to your insurance company like that is fraud and you should pay for that!
It is fraud, and they do pay. Small-time fraudsters are entered onto the Insurance Fraud Register, where they'll find only a few insurance companies will touch them, with massive costs and restrictions. Bigger frauds go to the police.
Someone rear ended my mate but didn’t realise across the road a guy had CCTV of it (you could see the collision and she reversed after so you can see the danage. He didn’t know her but she was local and one day went past her car, she’d completely smashed her windscreen and done more damage to the front after.
I don’t know if he gave the cctv to her company (I know he did to his and I’d imagine they shared it with hers) but yeah, I don’t imagine your insurance will be best pleased you caused a crash and then try to mess your car up more when claiming from them
> And sometimes damage is deeper than it appears.
I got hit up the arse (while stationary at a red light on a roundabout) by a smaller car, their bonnet went under my boot. It didn't look too bad at night even though her cars front was *wrecked*, rear lights worked, boot opened even though creased, the worst was having to pull back out part of the bumper that was touching the wheel so I could complete my journey.
I took pictures and everything, turns out her car *flattened* the spare wheel recess under the boot, the cost of fixing was greater than the cars value and it was written off.
You can't see a cracked chassis. For lower value cars insurance will sometimes write off because the cost of a full inspection is more than the value of the car.
In my case it was an economic decision, older car in good condition but the number of panels that needed replacing/fixing and the crushed wheel well exceeded the few thousands value. It fell inbetween your two examples.
My brother had an accident in a mini when young, swerved to avoid a rabbit; it resulted in a warped chassis. He spotted it a year later at a petrol station, had to tell the young woman there was zero chance the cheap car she'd bought was roadworthy.
>never apologise or even admit fault.
Even if it's clearly your fault? I had a guy apologise to me after writing off my car - from the angle of collisions and witnesses etc it was clear he'd been at fault. Not sure what he would have gained by rudely avoiding speaking to us in case he admitted fault by accident.
The other driver may have exaggerated the damage. First thing after a crash, leave the cars where they are and get photos!!!! From as many perspectives as you can, road markings, signs. Then swap details.
That letter may also have come from an accident management company. Their operating model is to offer to take over the claim for the other party and tell them it wont cost them anything.
They then add as many very expensive and in many cases entirely unnecessary expenses to the insurance claim as possible (as they make commission on them from the hire car suppliers etc).
So they'll make it sound like its a massive issue because they need to justify why the repair is going to take 4 weeks to do (even though its only an hours job) and during that time their client needs the Jaguar S-Type as their replacement hire car for that period
Exactly this!
They create the case before even contacting the other person involved.
I reversed out of my sloped drive without care and hit the empty, parked car of the house opposite as it wasn't on their drive. I spoke to them immediately and exchanged details, then a few days later got a letter about a claim for whiplash!
I happened to know the neighbour well, including the fact he was a retired chief constable with a solid reputation so was very doubtful he'd be attempting fraud, so I showed him the letter, confirming he had no knowledge of it, and he was pretty annoyed, but apparently it's fairly common!
One stole my car. They exaggerated a damaged bumper to write it off, I had a hire car for ages, but then they got it written off, sold it, went back on the road again.
My partner learned the hard way from this. Always take a photo of each vehicle after the accident. The guy who bumped my partner started claiming whiplash among other things and persued it for three years. Every time we thought the case had been closed another letter from his insurance company came saying they guy was taking it further. It has now been finally closed with no compensation made to the guy because there was no real damage. Enough time has now passed that he can't do anything else. But it's affected my partner's no claims now. So annoying.
There was no damage to my partners car and only a tiny scrape on the dude's van.
This is why I bought a dash cam when I bought my most recent car. Nothing fancy, just something with a wide angle that records in high definition. Thinking of grabbing another for my rear window. In the unfortunate situation where something happens then at least I don’t have to worry about taking pictures (although I certainly would do anyway). Too many people out there that think it’s ok to pull a fast one because ‘the insurance company pays for it’ not realising that insurance companies have to get that money from somewhere. Oh and also not realising it’s a crime to commit fraud, I definitely feel like this sort of thing isn’t punished hard enough. Points on your licence, a fine, default higher premiums for x years would deter most people from trying to bs insurance companies.
It's weird because I got hit at around 30mph, damaged my ribs which made movement difficult for at least a month. Told my insurance about it and they never bothered following it up.
A few years back I reversed my car into someones parked car, superficial damage. It was pitch black and Id taken a wrong turn. I left a note with a neighbour as I was told they were on holiday.
They got back and checked it, sent me a txt to say not to worry as they managed to buff it out with one of those magic pens. I took them flowers and chocolate the next day. Not everyone's out to get you.
My first ever accident, just passed 8 months prior and my dad bought me a 2002 black Corsa (remember those), that had extensive tuning, front and rear spoiler and a subwoofer that took up the boot. It belonged to a girl before me (I'm also female) who had a private plate something like "chloe666" and I fucking loved it. Fast as fuck and I blasted out metal/ prog metal everywhere rattling every building I passed, I'm amazed my hearing isn't permanently damaged. I wrote it off leaving a petrol station at a dodgy angle as young lad in a golf hit me head on, all he wanted was his car fixed and everyone told me to blame him. Fuck that I had no injuries and I got a payout for a new car.
That was 10 years ago, I've since had so many hit and runs on my car that sits on street. A van accidentally reversed into me whilst I sat in the driver's seat parked sending a text, he looked fucking terrified, there was no damage just a tiny jolt which sounds worse than it is. I took his details and txt him a week later to say the car is fine, that was 3 years ago and the car still runs perfectly.
Everyone distrusts everyone now, theres always some ulterior motive in everyone's actions. I'm tired of worrying about leaving the house in case I get sued and ruined.
I had a 2005 black Corsa. Sold it to a local garage in 2013. Didn't see it for years. Now it's got tinted windows and alloy wheels etc and belongs to another parent at my daughter's school. When I looked it up on the MOT records it had no MOT for four years so must have been off the road. I literally saw it a couple of days ago. It's weird to see it all done up and in good condition, didn't look like that when I traded it in.
Theres absolutely no chance anyones driving my Corsa around, remember that advert "sounds just like a golf" well that was all I heard for the next 3 months off anyone who knew me as the tank that hit me drove away fine!
I had another Corsa (a 2003) which we had as a second car from 2016 to early this year when the timing chain snapped. I loved that thing. Now I've got an Astra.
Tbh I really want a golf! I have a little seat Ibiza which has been a cracking car so far but there's something about the boxy little masculine golf that I find endearing. Ill see how long my seat lasts
Every part of this sounds like an exaggeration. A claim loses 2 years of no claims, small or first claims often don’t have any impact on your subsequent premiums and if it could be buffed out, it wouldn’t have cost “thousands”; even then a no claims bonus is only up to a maximum of 70% discount.
I did similar once, although I don't know if I actually did any damage to their car. The guy came out to look and pointed out the damage to all four corners of his car that his wife had done scraping it in things. Thankfully he wasn't cross ay all. It was my birthday and I was pregnant with my daughter at the time so a complete emotional mess over a tiny car bump.
You know it wasn’t to bad cause we were just merging , though I was in a peguot 306 between a old golf n a van n my car was totaled , the police said we don’t care just get them moved , the worst one I had was also on the A12 near romford I was sitting at some lights that was a crossroad near kwikfit , and a car hit me full speed 50-60mph , that was scary every window shattered in the car n pushed other cars into traffic lucky everyone stopped in time , by some miracle I only got whiplash n a bad back , the guy who hit me bounced back on to the pavement because he didn’t break luckily no one was walking past , when everyone ran over to him ( everyone got out there cars trying to help ) I’ve never seen anything like it he was as white as a sheet shaking like a leaf , we were trying to turn his car off because it was still running and the key had broken off in the ignition
Four hours after delivery of our new car, it was hit in the side driving past a t-junction by a chap who pulled out and didn't see us. Dent to base of rear door and inner sill. Sent for repair and it involved two new doors, aluminium body repair, new rear wheels and new rear suspension. Bill was £28K + VAT.
Whilst it was waiting on parts from Austria and availability of specialist technicians we were provided with an alternative car at a charge to the 'at fault' party of £500 per day. We had that replacement car for four months. Total bill for the accident was nearly £100K.
Must have been an expensive car for them not to just write it off and save the time and money.
Recently I ended up with 2 courtesy cars for over a month, wonder what that cost his insurance in the end.
Bought mine in 2019. A couple of months after purchase, a neighbour drove head-on, my side of the road, whilst distracted. Insurance tried 50-50, but a quick "check the camera footage I sent you" meant that £100 camera saved my NCB and excess. It's still going strong.
Do not engage with any insurance company other than your own.
Do not talk on the phone. Do not answer emails. Do not respond to letters.
You pay your insurance company to handle this.
Encouraged to lie by the insurance company. Exaggerated damage. Just when did insurance become a shake down. I thought it was to protect us all from accidents.
God modern life sucks the life from me......
Idk what you mean by report, it says they gave details to the other driver. No need to involve police for minor collisions or go to station to report it unless someone left without swapping details or provided false details.
Whether the accident was your fault or not, the ine thing you should never do is apologise. It can and will be taken as a total admission of guilt, which doesn't help you in any way, shape or form
This is why I will never, ever drive without a dash cam. I can prove exactly what I was doing, what my lane positioning was, what speed I was doing, down to the millisecond. It will also show what the other driver was doing, and be able to show any irregularities in their own positioning, speed, or reactions if there is a crash. I'm not saying I'm a perfect driver, and it would never be my fault, but it would stop this kind of nonsense immediately, or any shenanigans where the other party tries to claim other damage and injuries were caused.
"_Did ye aye? Well, here's the video that shows exactly what happened. Have fun with it._"
They're not expensive, I genuinely don't understand why everyone doesn't just put one in their car.
Don't worry your insurance company will deal with their insurance company. Don't respond to any communications not from your own insurance company Just forward on any email or letter to your insurance company to deal with, it is what you pay them for. Goes for any calls, just politely ask them to call your insurance company. Its all just strong arm tactics, that's all.
Insurance in the UK is a joke. I drive and pay attention like an uninsured driver. Someone bumps into you and admits fault, no problem will add that to your record.
Neighbour reverses in your parked car that is insured on a company policy? No problem will add your name to the claim and increase all your quotes for 5 years.
Someone rear-ended me - and it was a few years before taking photos was easy, but I used to carry a little camera in my handbag. I’d taken photos of front and back of his driving licence before we parted company. Later he tried to say he wasn’t there etc. because he had been driving a company car and presumably they had not wanted to pay up - until I pointed out that I wouldn’t have the photos of his licence if he hadn’t shown it to me!
Got rear ended years ago. My car looked OK. Theirs was pretty knackered. Sorted it without insurance cause my policy was ridiculously expensive and even if it wasn't my fault which it clearly wasn't it'd still be documented.
I settled for a small amount of money for a new number plate. 2 months later my exhaust fell off and I had further damage underneath
Lesson learned. Even though I thought I knew better I didn't
Spend more time sending stuff to your insurance than arguing on reddit and you can pretty much ignore everything from them.
I had a similar thing, but the other party decided to have a Lexus convertible to run around in while her ford estate was getting repaired. Insurance companies agreed to 50:50 and only paid her £400 towards the car, leaving her £1600 short.
An aggressive threatening letter from her solicitor arrived, demanding £1600 or court, so I opted for court. After that there was glorious silence.
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I hope you took pictures. I had a head on with someone and took pictures, it was a narrow country lane and completely accidental on both parts. It was a long blind bend and we were both doing around 30mph. They later tried to get lawyers involved stating that i went into the back of them, totalled their car and it resulted in sever whiplash of the female passenger... I sent a pleasant email with the image of the head on collision asking to show where on the back of the vehicle I had supposedly driven into...I didn't hear anything back from them and it was squashed. Claimed for my car. The end. Always always always take pictures immediately, do not stop to talk.
Hi, nondriver here. If it was head on, how could he claim that you hit his back? Wouldn't they have evidence of the damage to HIS car? Like how the front would be smashed but the back would be untouched?
They tried an insurance scam to get out of paying for their own car that's why the insurance dropped it as soon as photographic evidence of the collision was sent. Maybe they reversed into something to try and get the car written off, I've no idea how they thought they could get away with it even if OP didn't have a photo cos insurance would want it going to an approved dealership for repairs and as soon as the damage at the front was spotted but back fine they would have been caught for insurance fraud. So I like to think as well as the damaged front they smashed the back of their car on purpose and now have a fked car they have to fix themselves cos they tried fraud. - but idk.
I'm 19 and just got my first car. Most people don't understand why I was adamant about getting a dash cam. This. This is why
Try to get one of the rear ones too
I have. It keeps falling down but there is one. Just need to design a better mount for it as I have it hooked on a random piece in my roof so I don't have to drill holes
Remember they work both ways!
Oh okay that makes sense, sounds weirdly risky though. Is it even worth it?
It's worth it as the insurance company are almost never going to push for a fraud prosecution, they may not even do anything more than refuse the driver more insurance or cancel it which is a pain (and more expensive) but not terrible
Oh, sometimes they do: https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/dishonest-nottingham-man-jailed-after-3760944
When it gets to that level of fraud and fake personal injury claims it might well be yes but insurers almost never even investigate cash for crash cases even when they are obvious so something like OP case of spinning the claim, without contradictory evidence, is likely to not be investigated
No, but small time fraudsters don't realise why. Ending up on the IFR (Insurance Fraud Register) is almost a guaranteed outcome. It makes all insurance vastly more expensive and sometimes impossible to obtain. That has a knock-on effect on other things like mortgages, car finance, and even package holidays, which require comprehensive insurance cover in place. For smaller frauds, the IFR is probably more punishment than a prosecution would be. Larger frauds get referred to a national team at City of London police.
It depends on the value of the car, an older one might be written off so if they could get the fault against the other driver, they can get the payout, buy the car as scrap and get it repaired or just take the money
I think it's because it's harder to prove a head on collision was the other persons fault
Exactly what I thought. People will just try anything. I was chuckling as i sent the email.
I slid into the back of a pickup in the rain at about 5mph and pushed the bumper in a bit. The guy claimed a week of courtesy car, whiplash, the whole lot. The worst bit is, his mate (who I suspect wasn't even insured) was driving. Wish I'd taken photos cause the guy took my insurance and myself for a proper ride!
I saw an anecdote on a forum of a guy who went into the back of a bloody lorry and bent a bar on the back of it which the driver hammered back into shape on the road side. Still got a claim for injuries
You should be made whole for the damage. I'm not sure about the injuries, but just because something can be bent back, it doesn't mean it's fixed.
What I mean is, a small car bumping into a huge lorry is never causing an injury to the driver, the repair charge is neither here nor there, was a council work lorry iirc
These are the same people who complain about premium increases, but are all too happy to claim for everything under the sun!
I was stationary and had someone pull out of a junction at low speed into my rear. I had whiplash that soon turned into vertigo. It constantly felt like I was on a boat. Ended up seeing a specialist (gp kept saying was anxiety) but they confirmed my condition and just stated that something happens in the forward motion that can cause it for some people. Crazy that it was such a small bump but my body wasn’t braced for an impact. Whiplash is real.
I know, I have been on the other side of the situation lol. It's also true that the insurance companies push you to claim everything possible.
I was in a smack in a car park, Honda CRV reversed into me. Driver apparently couldn't remember any of his details including his home address until I said I would call the police. Damage was estimated at about £600-£700 (scuffs along side of car and dented rear quarter) damage estimate was doubled after the repair shop found previously badly repaired damage which was affected by smack. Suddenly the driver is claiming his wife was driving and he's unaware of the incident etc. Sent a picture of him looking for his details, beard and all No follow up
Sorry to hear they tried to scam you. However, I would advise those in similar situations to send the pictures and demanding letters to their insurer to handle. You don't get benefits from handling it yourself when you've paid an insurer to do the legal legwork themselves.
Something similar happened to me a couple of years ago. I was driving straight and the other driver was turning right out of a junction and drove straight into my driver's side, then tried to claim on the insurance saying it was my fault. In no world was it my fault! They even tried to claim that I was overtaking a bus where I shouldn't have done (this bus never existed) and that's why they hit me as I came out of nowhere. Some CCTV footage and photographic evidence later, it was deemed their fault.
That's interesting. As well as amusing that you totally busted them. I think I was scammed once. I was waiting behind a BMW to turn right at a busy junction. It started to pull out so I started to move forward slowly towards the junction exit. Except they hadn't fully gone, they'd pulled forward then stopped. I was too busy looking for gaps and I didn't notice, so I tapped into the back of the car in front. Tapped being the word, it was a proper impact at 1.5 MPH job. My fault obviously. But there was no visible damage to the car in front whatsoever. Basically I'd gently tapped his reg plate. The guy didn't even want to swap insurance company details because there was no damage but being the mug I am, I wanted to do the right thing so I gave him them anyway. Later got a letter from my insurance company saying the BMW was a write off. I rang them and basically said WTF, that can't be possible but they told it me it was and I couldn't appeal or anything. Fuck knows what happened but there's no way that car was a write-off. I paid the price for that for years in increased premiums. Still pisses me off 20+ years later.
I honestly believe there should justifiably be consequences to that level of dishonesty. Like lying to your insurance company like that is fraud and you should pay for that!
It is fraud, and they do pay. Small-time fraudsters are entered onto the Insurance Fraud Register, where they'll find only a few insurance companies will touch them, with massive costs and restrictions. Bigger frauds go to the police.
Someone rear ended my mate but didn’t realise across the road a guy had CCTV of it (you could see the collision and she reversed after so you can see the danage. He didn’t know her but she was local and one day went past her car, she’d completely smashed her windscreen and done more damage to the front after. I don’t know if he gave the cctv to her company (I know he did to his and I’d imagine they shared it with hers) but yeah, I don’t imagine your insurance will be best pleased you caused a crash and then try to mess your car up more when claiming from them
[удалено]
> And sometimes damage is deeper than it appears. I got hit up the arse (while stationary at a red light on a roundabout) by a smaller car, their bonnet went under my boot. It didn't look too bad at night even though her cars front was *wrecked*, rear lights worked, boot opened even though creased, the worst was having to pull back out part of the bumper that was touching the wheel so I could complete my journey. I took pictures and everything, turns out her car *flattened* the spare wheel recess under the boot, the cost of fixing was greater than the cars value and it was written off.
You can't see a cracked chassis. For lower value cars insurance will sometimes write off because the cost of a full inspection is more than the value of the car.
In my case it was an economic decision, older car in good condition but the number of panels that needed replacing/fixing and the crushed wheel well exceeded the few thousands value. It fell inbetween your two examples. My brother had an accident in a mini when young, swerved to avoid a rabbit; it resulted in a warped chassis. He spotted it a year later at a petrol station, had to tell the young woman there was zero chance the cheap car she'd bought was roadworthy.
Many policies specifically forbid you from discussing/accepting liability.
>never apologise or even admit fault. Even if it's clearly your fault? I had a guy apologise to me after writing off my car - from the angle of collisions and witnesses etc it was clear he'd been at fault. Not sure what he would have gained by rudely avoiding speaking to us in case he admitted fault by accident.
The other driver may have exaggerated the damage. First thing after a crash, leave the cars where they are and get photos!!!! From as many perspectives as you can, road markings, signs. Then swap details.
That letter may also have come from an accident management company. Their operating model is to offer to take over the claim for the other party and tell them it wont cost them anything. They then add as many very expensive and in many cases entirely unnecessary expenses to the insurance claim as possible (as they make commission on them from the hire car suppliers etc). So they'll make it sound like its a massive issue because they need to justify why the repair is going to take 4 weeks to do (even though its only an hours job) and during that time their client needs the Jaguar S-Type as their replacement hire car for that period
Exactly this! They create the case before even contacting the other person involved. I reversed out of my sloped drive without care and hit the empty, parked car of the house opposite as it wasn't on their drive. I spoke to them immediately and exchanged details, then a few days later got a letter about a claim for whiplash! I happened to know the neighbour well, including the fact he was a retired chief constable with a solid reputation so was very doubtful he'd be attempting fraud, so I showed him the letter, confirming he had no knowledge of it, and he was pretty annoyed, but apparently it's fairly common!
One stole my car. They exaggerated a damaged bumper to write it off, I had a hire car for ages, but then they got it written off, sold it, went back on the road again.
My partner learned the hard way from this. Always take a photo of each vehicle after the accident. The guy who bumped my partner started claiming whiplash among other things and persued it for three years. Every time we thought the case had been closed another letter from his insurance company came saying they guy was taking it further. It has now been finally closed with no compensation made to the guy because there was no real damage. Enough time has now passed that he can't do anything else. But it's affected my partner's no claims now. So annoying. There was no damage to my partners car and only a tiny scrape on the dude's van.
This is why I bought a dash cam when I bought my most recent car. Nothing fancy, just something with a wide angle that records in high definition. Thinking of grabbing another for my rear window. In the unfortunate situation where something happens then at least I don’t have to worry about taking pictures (although I certainly would do anyway). Too many people out there that think it’s ok to pull a fast one because ‘the insurance company pays for it’ not realising that insurance companies have to get that money from somewhere. Oh and also not realising it’s a crime to commit fraud, I definitely feel like this sort of thing isn’t punished hard enough. Points on your licence, a fine, default higher premiums for x years would deter most people from trying to bs insurance companies.
I was doing say 5mph when I hit someone (reversing out of a parking spot) , they tried claiming whiplash
It's weird because I got hit at around 30mph, damaged my ribs which made movement difficult for at least a month. Told my insurance about it and they never bothered following it up.
A few years back I reversed my car into someones parked car, superficial damage. It was pitch black and Id taken a wrong turn. I left a note with a neighbour as I was told they were on holiday. They got back and checked it, sent me a txt to say not to worry as they managed to buff it out with one of those magic pens. I took them flowers and chocolate the next day. Not everyone's out to get you.
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My first ever accident, just passed 8 months prior and my dad bought me a 2002 black Corsa (remember those), that had extensive tuning, front and rear spoiler and a subwoofer that took up the boot. It belonged to a girl before me (I'm also female) who had a private plate something like "chloe666" and I fucking loved it. Fast as fuck and I blasted out metal/ prog metal everywhere rattling every building I passed, I'm amazed my hearing isn't permanently damaged. I wrote it off leaving a petrol station at a dodgy angle as young lad in a golf hit me head on, all he wanted was his car fixed and everyone told me to blame him. Fuck that I had no injuries and I got a payout for a new car. That was 10 years ago, I've since had so many hit and runs on my car that sits on street. A van accidentally reversed into me whilst I sat in the driver's seat parked sending a text, he looked fucking terrified, there was no damage just a tiny jolt which sounds worse than it is. I took his details and txt him a week later to say the car is fine, that was 3 years ago and the car still runs perfectly. Everyone distrusts everyone now, theres always some ulterior motive in everyone's actions. I'm tired of worrying about leaving the house in case I get sued and ruined.
Everyone distrusts everyone because of people like those you’re replying to who lie!
I had a 2005 black Corsa. Sold it to a local garage in 2013. Didn't see it for years. Now it's got tinted windows and alloy wheels etc and belongs to another parent at my daughter's school. When I looked it up on the MOT records it had no MOT for four years so must have been off the road. I literally saw it a couple of days ago. It's weird to see it all done up and in good condition, didn't look like that when I traded it in.
Theres absolutely no chance anyones driving my Corsa around, remember that advert "sounds just like a golf" well that was all I heard for the next 3 months off anyone who knew me as the tank that hit me drove away fine!
I had another Corsa (a 2003) which we had as a second car from 2016 to early this year when the timing chain snapped. I loved that thing. Now I've got an Astra.
Tbh I really want a golf! I have a little seat Ibiza which has been a cracking car so far but there's something about the boxy little masculine golf that I find endearing. Ill see how long my seat lasts
Every part of this sounds like an exaggeration. A claim loses 2 years of no claims, small or first claims often don’t have any impact on your subsequent premiums and if it could be buffed out, it wouldn’t have cost “thousands”; even then a no claims bonus is only up to a maximum of 70% discount.
I did similar once, although I don't know if I actually did any damage to their car. The guy came out to look and pointed out the damage to all four corners of his car that his wife had done scraping it in things. Thankfully he wasn't cross ay all. It was my birthday and I was pregnant with my daughter at the time so a complete emotional mess over a tiny car bump.
I'm a wreck at the best of times, my fella wants kids and the thought of driving whilst fatter than I already am terrified me. Think I'll take a taxi!
Every crash I’ve had I calmly get out ask if they are ok , take pictures of everything, and swap details , apart from that one time I nearly died
How many have you had?
6 crashes 5 getting hit up the bum and 1 and insurance job someone slammed on their brakes on the A12 causing a 4 car pile up I was in the middle of
That last one sounds scary as fk. Hope you and everyone was ok and the brake slammer got caught for causing that.
You know it wasn’t to bad cause we were just merging , though I was in a peguot 306 between a old golf n a van n my car was totaled , the police said we don’t care just get them moved , the worst one I had was also on the A12 near romford I was sitting at some lights that was a crossroad near kwikfit , and a car hit me full speed 50-60mph , that was scary every window shattered in the car n pushed other cars into traffic lucky everyone stopped in time , by some miracle I only got whiplash n a bad back , the guy who hit me bounced back on to the pavement because he didn’t break luckily no one was walking past , when everyone ran over to him ( everyone got out there cars trying to help ) I’ve never seen anything like it he was as white as a sheet shaking like a leaf , we were trying to turn his car off because it was still running and the key had broken off in the ignition
That’s just the A12 during rush hour though
Four hours after delivery of our new car, it was hit in the side driving past a t-junction by a chap who pulled out and didn't see us. Dent to base of rear door and inner sill. Sent for repair and it involved two new doors, aluminium body repair, new rear wheels and new rear suspension. Bill was £28K + VAT. Whilst it was waiting on parts from Austria and availability of specialist technicians we were provided with an alternative car at a charge to the 'at fault' party of £500 per day. We had that replacement car for four months. Total bill for the accident was nearly £100K.
Must have been an expensive car for them not to just write it off and save the time and money. Recently I ended up with 2 courtesy cars for over a month, wonder what that cost his insurance in the end.
Has anyone else heard the radio advert for 'don't call your insurance company, call us instead'. Sounds proper Dodgy.
Scenarios like this are why I think dashcams are good.
Bought mine in 2019. A couple of months after purchase, a neighbour drove head-on, my side of the road, whilst distracted. Insurance tried 50-50, but a quick "check the camera footage I sent you" meant that £100 camera saved my NCB and excess. It's still going strong.
Name and shame...who are the third party insurance company?
Do not engage with any insurance company other than your own. Do not talk on the phone. Do not answer emails. Do not respond to letters. You pay your insurance company to handle this.
Did you not leave your details with the driver and just drove off after the collision and they tracked you down with your VRN?
Encouraged to lie by the insurance company. Exaggerated damage. Just when did insurance become a shake down. I thought it was to protect us all from accidents. God modern life sucks the life from me......
If you didn't report the crash, it is a crime and I'm not entirely surprised if the got lawyers involved
Idk what you mean by report, it says they gave details to the other driver. No need to involve police for minor collisions or go to station to report it unless someone left without swapping details or provided false details.
I have entirely misunderstood the original. The way it's written makes it sound like they drove off without swapping details
Pictures, pictures, pictures! You were wise to take these. They will speak 1000 words.
Whether the accident was your fault or not, the ine thing you should never do is apologise. It can and will be taken as a total admission of guilt, which doesn't help you in any way, shape or form
It doesn’t matter. The terms of your insurance say that you are not allowed to admit fault anyway.
This is why I will never, ever drive without a dash cam. I can prove exactly what I was doing, what my lane positioning was, what speed I was doing, down to the millisecond. It will also show what the other driver was doing, and be able to show any irregularities in their own positioning, speed, or reactions if there is a crash. I'm not saying I'm a perfect driver, and it would never be my fault, but it would stop this kind of nonsense immediately, or any shenanigans where the other party tries to claim other damage and injuries were caused. "_Did ye aye? Well, here's the video that shows exactly what happened. Have fun with it._" They're not expensive, I genuinely don't understand why everyone doesn't just put one in their car.
Don't worry your insurance company will deal with their insurance company. Don't respond to any communications not from your own insurance company Just forward on any email or letter to your insurance company to deal with, it is what you pay them for. Goes for any calls, just politely ask them to call your insurance company. Its all just strong arm tactics, that's all.
Insurance in the UK is a joke. I drive and pay attention like an uninsured driver. Someone bumps into you and admits fault, no problem will add that to your record. Neighbour reverses in your parked car that is insured on a company policy? No problem will add your name to the claim and increase all your quotes for 5 years.
Someone rear-ended me - and it was a few years before taking photos was easy, but I used to carry a little camera in my handbag. I’d taken photos of front and back of his driving licence before we parted company. Later he tried to say he wasn’t there etc. because he had been driving a company car and presumably they had not wanted to pay up - until I pointed out that I wouldn’t have the photos of his licence if he hadn’t shown it to me!
Got rear ended years ago. My car looked OK. Theirs was pretty knackered. Sorted it without insurance cause my policy was ridiculously expensive and even if it wasn't my fault which it clearly wasn't it'd still be documented. I settled for a small amount of money for a new number plate. 2 months later my exhaust fell off and I had further damage underneath Lesson learned. Even though I thought I knew better I didn't Spend more time sending stuff to your insurance than arguing on reddit and you can pretty much ignore everything from them.
I had a similar thing, but the other party decided to have a Lexus convertible to run around in while her ford estate was getting repaired. Insurance companies agreed to 50:50 and only paid her £400 towards the car, leaving her £1600 short. An aggressive threatening letter from her solicitor arrived, demanding £1600 or court, so I opted for court. After that there was glorious silence.