Is everyone dishonest now except me?
Discussion
OK, so a couple of months ago I had a minor traffic accident. in 30 odd years of driving it was the first one I have had where I was to blame. Nothing spectacular, I was distracted by another car encroaching on my lane from the rhs and forgot to keep looking forward. Result, I ploughed into the back of some poor fella at 15mph and did a couple of grands worth of damage to both my car and his.
It was entirely my fault and I told the insurance company accordingly. I did not want my 'victim' to be unduly inconvenienced as a result of my stupidity. Mind you, when his 'quote for repairs' came in it contained quite a large amount for repairs for damage which clearly had nothing to do with our accident, and so I challenged him on this. He apologised and blamed the dealer for 'not following his instructions' and a revised quote appeared within minutes! OK, all well and good.
So yesterday I was in Nottingham finishing my Christmas shopping. I was leaving the shopping centre car park in my Jag and of course traffic is nose to tail, crawling along between red lights in the full chaos that is the pre Christmas rush. I'm in the right hand lane to go straight on when the lights ahead finally go green, and there is an emptyish lane to my left for traffic that wants to go the other way. Its not a complex junction, and with the traffic being the way it is, nobody is going anywhere fast, at least not in the straight ahead lane that I am in!
As I am sat waiting for the lights to go green a lady driver ran into the back of my car. She appeared to have been attempting to navigate across behind me to get to the cleared lane to my left and misjudged it. She clipped the rear passenger side bumper corner on my car, with the front drivers side corner on her Honda. The first I knew of it was the bump, then she was accelerating up my inside in the clearer lane. She did not make eye contact as she went past! My immediate thought was, 'she's trying to get away without stopping to exchange detail!'
Luckily for me the lane ahead of me had cleared sufficiently for me to be able to accelerate up alongside her and toot my horn, whereupon she finally acknowledged my presence and motioned that she would pull in ahead.
As we came to a halt and got out I asked her what she thought she was playing at, and she said ' sorry, but you stopped suddenly!' This was a blatant lie, given that I had been stationary for a while before she hit me. I told her that was nonsense. She then tried to cover up the large dent in the front of her Honda with her hand, and pretend there was no damage! Bizarre behaviour! Anyways we exchanged details and I thought no more of it until this morning when I finally got hold of my insurers to report the incident and arrange repairs to my vehicle. - only to find out that the other party is now trying to claim from me on the grounds that I apparently changed lanes quickly!
I am bloody furious! Its an absolute bare face lie. There isn't even a possibility of doubt that this is a lie. I was hit whilst stationary by a woman who cannot judge the length of her own car. Why are people so dishonest? Why could she not just admit her error and deal with it? Why cause all this extra stress, hassle and cost?
Am I the only honest man left alive?
And breathe…...
It was entirely my fault and I told the insurance company accordingly. I did not want my 'victim' to be unduly inconvenienced as a result of my stupidity. Mind you, when his 'quote for repairs' came in it contained quite a large amount for repairs for damage which clearly had nothing to do with our accident, and so I challenged him on this. He apologised and blamed the dealer for 'not following his instructions' and a revised quote appeared within minutes! OK, all well and good.
So yesterday I was in Nottingham finishing my Christmas shopping. I was leaving the shopping centre car park in my Jag and of course traffic is nose to tail, crawling along between red lights in the full chaos that is the pre Christmas rush. I'm in the right hand lane to go straight on when the lights ahead finally go green, and there is an emptyish lane to my left for traffic that wants to go the other way. Its not a complex junction, and with the traffic being the way it is, nobody is going anywhere fast, at least not in the straight ahead lane that I am in!
As I am sat waiting for the lights to go green a lady driver ran into the back of my car. She appeared to have been attempting to navigate across behind me to get to the cleared lane to my left and misjudged it. She clipped the rear passenger side bumper corner on my car, with the front drivers side corner on her Honda. The first I knew of it was the bump, then she was accelerating up my inside in the clearer lane. She did not make eye contact as she went past! My immediate thought was, 'she's trying to get away without stopping to exchange detail!'
Luckily for me the lane ahead of me had cleared sufficiently for me to be able to accelerate up alongside her and toot my horn, whereupon she finally acknowledged my presence and motioned that she would pull in ahead.
As we came to a halt and got out I asked her what she thought she was playing at, and she said ' sorry, but you stopped suddenly!' This was a blatant lie, given that I had been stationary for a while before she hit me. I told her that was nonsense. She then tried to cover up the large dent in the front of her Honda with her hand, and pretend there was no damage! Bizarre behaviour! Anyways we exchanged details and I thought no more of it until this morning when I finally got hold of my insurers to report the incident and arrange repairs to my vehicle. - only to find out that the other party is now trying to claim from me on the grounds that I apparently changed lanes quickly!
I am bloody furious! Its an absolute bare face lie. There isn't even a possibility of doubt that this is a lie. I was hit whilst stationary by a woman who cannot judge the length of her own car. Why are people so dishonest? Why could she not just admit her error and deal with it? Why cause all this extra stress, hassle and cost?
Am I the only honest man left alive?
And breathe…...
SBN said:
So just to clarify... you were in the right hand lane at traffic lights, noticed the left hand lane was free so pulled across and then stopped waiting for the lights to change. It was at this point the car then went into the back of you?
If so it is simple... you were stopped in traffic and were not reversing therefore she drove into the back of you. It is her fault completely, doesnt matter what she says you were stopped in queing traffic that was going forward and she has damage to the front bumper you have damage to the rear. These indicators clearly point out she drove into you and did not leave enough space to stop - simple.
Dont worry about it, sounds like it all get sorted ok.
Not quite. I was in the right hand lane, going straight on. I did not change lane at all. The other person decided to try to cut across to the empty left hand lane as she came up behind me ( I assume) and as she did this she clipped my passenger side rear with her drivers side front. Either way, I hope you are right about it all working out OK. I have protected no claims etc, but the sort of casual dishonesty that she is displaying just upsets me for some reason. Guess I just better MTFU and get on with it! If so it is simple... you were stopped in traffic and were not reversing therefore she drove into the back of you. It is her fault completely, doesnt matter what she says you were stopped in queing traffic that was going forward and she has damage to the front bumper you have damage to the rear. These indicators clearly point out she drove into you and did not leave enough space to stop - simple.
Dont worry about it, sounds like it all get sorted ok.
Terminator X said:
Without an independent witness it will be settled 50/50 as it's your word vs hers, as maddening as that is. I learnt the hard way always, always grab an independent witness before everyone leaves the scene.
TX.
I agree its best to get a witness, but that was not possible as the lady decided to try to drive off without stopping. I had to catch her and tell her to pull over a hundred yards or so up the road. By then, any witnesses were gone! TX.
LuS1fer said:
Cue radio silence and suddenly her car was a write-off, she and her passenger both had serious whiplash and a fictitious 3rd occupant (her crooked mother) had also somehow sustained whiplash, despite not being there. I was incensed. I presssed the insurance company to defend it and I am very pleased to say that they did and that, after a long series of hire cars, the silly dishonest bint bankrupted herself and the receiver abandoned any claim.
So sometimes, justice does prevail and had she not put in her bogus whiplash claim, I might even have acceeded to the usual 50:50 settelement but crooks REALLY bug me.
Crikey. Good for you for fighting! Interestingly the lady at the insurance company who took my call and all the details was the same lady who took the call from the other party that hit me! (what are the odds of that happening eh?) She also asked me whether there were any other passengers in either car, and I was able to confirm that there were not. I had actually checked the other party's car to see if there was anyone else sitting inside. The insurance lady seemed a little surprised by my assertion that no one else was there. ……..So sometimes, justice does prevail and had she not put in her bogus whiplash claim, I might even have acceeded to the usual 50:50 settelement but crooks REALLY bug me.
Update!
The saga is still rumbling on. Still chasing my excess, and the other party has only just got back to filing her diagram of the accident
Now she says that the accident happened half a mile away from where it actually happened, at an entirely different junction! Moreover, she now claims there were other people in her car to verify her version of events. (she was in fact on her own) I actually laughed out loud when I saw her diagram. The levels of creativity on display are truly impressive
I have spoken to the insurance company again (they had misplaced the pictures that I had sent them!) and they are hoping to resolve the matter in the next few weeks - that will be 12 months after the incident!
The saga is still rumbling on. Still chasing my excess, and the other party has only just got back to filing her diagram of the accident
Now she says that the accident happened half a mile away from where it actually happened, at an entirely different junction! Moreover, she now claims there were other people in her car to verify her version of events. (she was in fact on her own) I actually laughed out loud when I saw her diagram. The levels of creativity on display are truly impressive
I have spoken to the insurance company again (they had misplaced the pictures that I had sent them!) and they are hoping to resolve the matter in the next few weeks - that will be 12 months after the incident!
nipsips said:
OP unless you have no reason to change lanes into the lane to the left then sadly its going to go 50/50. Depending on how much money is involved, your insurer might take it to court and let a judge decide but its normally only cases with a large sum of money involved that this will happen.
What the person whose lying is doesn't realise that instead of just her premium being jacked up she's now doing the same to your premium. Even if it goes 50/50 your premiums still get loaded with a jacked up premium.
As someone who deals with liability all day everyday - I would say at least 75% of claims that I deal with "someone" is lying, and the only way to conclusively prove liability is to have a dash cam or CCTV.
Good luck!
Thanks for your advice - and to everyone else for their contributions. What the person whose lying is doesn't realise that instead of just her premium being jacked up she's now doing the same to your premium. Even if it goes 50/50 your premiums still get loaded with a jacked up premium.
As someone who deals with liability all day everyday - I would say at least 75% of claims that I deal with "someone" is lying, and the only way to conclusively prove liability is to have a dash cam or CCTV.
Good luck!
I am actually rather amused by just how far this woman is prepared to go to cover up what was quite a minor bump! To actually move the entire incident half a mile up the road takes some doing! Mind you, it does pose the interesting question as to how we were able to exchange details in the side street where she eventually stopped, given that that street is actually BEFORE where she now alleges that the accident took place!
I think a camera might be the only way to go now so as to protect myself in future. What a palaver!
Edited to add: I genuinely had no reason to change lanes - I was in exactly the one I needed to go where I was going ( and I stated as such on the accident report)
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