My mum and the comedy whiplash caim
Discussion
So, several months ago my mum was involved in a bump outside my door.
She has a Mii and we think she reversed into a stationary Fabia.
The Skoda was parked nearside to the kerb, my mum has reversed and her nearside rear quarter has slighty pushed the offside wing of the Skoda in causing the headlight to crack, I've seen her reverse, it's not exactly rapid.
It was a 2003 fabia, in a terrible state worth all of about £500, the damage to my mums rear bumper was a simple spray job, that's how minimal the impact was.
My mum was shook so I spoke to the woman "oh this happens all the time, don't worry about my car" etc.
Now, my mum admitted liability, her car was sorted, job done! No.....
A chap form my mums insurer contacted my mum, specifically a chap from some sort of anti fraudulent claim dept, yes the other party was claiming, for loss of earnings, physio, their car being written off, etc, etc. The chap asked my mum if she would go to court, basically as they were going to call her on her claim, my mum asked me what to do and I said sure, I honestly thought that we would hear nothing back, this was months ago.
She received a letter this week saying the woman had rejected the offer from my mums insurer, and it was indeed going to court, and all costs and any payout to the woman would be covered by my mums insurer.
I'm half hoping that they actually go to court and don't drop this as I would like to see how it pans out, I'd like to think that the judge will see there's no way any of this is legit.
Has anyone been through this process yet, I presume it's a few people in a room rather than a full on courtroom, did it go the way you expected, etc, etc?
She has a Mii and we think she reversed into a stationary Fabia.
The Skoda was parked nearside to the kerb, my mum has reversed and her nearside rear quarter has slighty pushed the offside wing of the Skoda in causing the headlight to crack, I've seen her reverse, it's not exactly rapid.
It was a 2003 fabia, in a terrible state worth all of about £500, the damage to my mums rear bumper was a simple spray job, that's how minimal the impact was.
My mum was shook so I spoke to the woman "oh this happens all the time, don't worry about my car" etc.
Now, my mum admitted liability, her car was sorted, job done! No.....
A chap form my mums insurer contacted my mum, specifically a chap from some sort of anti fraudulent claim dept, yes the other party was claiming, for loss of earnings, physio, their car being written off, etc, etc. The chap asked my mum if she would go to court, basically as they were going to call her on her claim, my mum asked me what to do and I said sure, I honestly thought that we would hear nothing back, this was months ago.
She received a letter this week saying the woman had rejected the offer from my mums insurer, and it was indeed going to court, and all costs and any payout to the woman would be covered by my mums insurer.
I'm half hoping that they actually go to court and don't drop this as I would like to see how it pans out, I'd like to think that the judge will see there's no way any of this is legit.
Has anyone been through this process yet, I presume it's a few people in a room rather than a full on courtroom, did it go the way you expected, etc, etc?
Our experience of a similar situation last year:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Something kind of similar happened to my dad a couple of years ago.
He was waiting in a car park when the lady queuing in front reversed into him. Not much damage but it did go through the insurance (he didn't get a witness). Months after the car was fixed there was a claim for whiplash and the other party had changed their story stating my dad had driven into the back of them...they now had two witnesses backing this.
The whole back and forth of the claim went on for months but my dad disputed it as he was furious. The other party kept changing their story, even claiming my dad was on the phone at the time of the incident and not paying attention (he doesn't even own a mobile).
Anyway...
The insurance company agreed something wasn't right so chose to fight it.
One witness dropped out one week ahead of the court date and on the day the second witness pulled out. The person claiming didn't even turn up. My dad turned up on the day as he was told they had to follow procedure and assume the other party would turn up. The case was dropped but the last my dad heard was that the other party were being chased for all costs (which from the sounds of it were into the thousands). My dad was even asked if he wanted to claim but he declined. The other party obviously thought it would be easy money and hadnt expected my dad to fight it.
He was waiting in a car park when the lady queuing in front reversed into him. Not much damage but it did go through the insurance (he didn't get a witness). Months after the car was fixed there was a claim for whiplash and the other party had changed their story stating my dad had driven into the back of them...they now had two witnesses backing this.
The whole back and forth of the claim went on for months but my dad disputed it as he was furious. The other party kept changing their story, even claiming my dad was on the phone at the time of the incident and not paying attention (he doesn't even own a mobile).
Anyway...
The insurance company agreed something wasn't right so chose to fight it.
One witness dropped out one week ahead of the court date and on the day the second witness pulled out. The person claiming didn't even turn up. My dad turned up on the day as he was told they had to follow procedure and assume the other party would turn up. The case was dropped but the last my dad heard was that the other party were being chased for all costs (which from the sounds of it were into the thousands). My dad was even asked if he wanted to claim but he declined. The other party obviously thought it would be easy money and hadnt expected my dad to fight it.
Checking in here cos I'm interested in the outcome. My brother had something similar, he was t-boned by someone at a junction, who then tried to claim he somehow swerved his car sideways into the other party. They were claiming whiplash, loss of earnings, car costs etc.
The insurer chose to fight it on the basis of my brothers evidence along with that of a passer-by. In the end the claimant dropped it a month before court
The insurer chose to fight it on the basis of my brothers evidence along with that of a passer-by. In the end the claimant dropped it a month before court
MuZiZZle said:
So, several months ago my mum was involved in a bump outside my door.
She has a Mii and we think she reversed into a stationary Fabia.
The Skoda was parked nearside to the kerb, my mum has reversed and her nearside rear quarter has slighty pushed the offside wing of the Skoda in causing the headlight to crack, I've seen her reverse, it's not exactly rapid.
It was a 2003 fabia, in a terrible state worth all of about £500, the damage to my mums rear bumper was a simple spray job, that's how minimal the impact was.
My mum was shook so I spoke to the woman "oh this happens all the time, don't worry about my car" etc.
Now, my mum admitted liability, her car was sorted, job done! No.....
A chap form my mums insurer contacted my mum, specifically a chap from some sort of anti fraudulent claim dept, yes the other party was claiming, for loss of earnings, physio, their car being written off, etc, etc. The chap asked my mum if she would go to court, basically as they were going to call her on her claim, my mum asked me what to do and I said sure, I honestly thought that we would hear nothing back, this was months ago.
She received a letter this week saying the woman had rejected the offer from my mums insurer, and it was indeed going to court, and all costs and any payout to the woman would be covered by my mums insurer.
I'm half hoping that they actually go to court and don't drop this as I would like to see how it pans out, I'd like to think that the judge will see there's no way any of this is legit.
Has anyone been through this process yet, I presume it's a few people in a room rather than a full on courtroom, did it go the way you expected, etc, etc?
It sounds a bit dodgy assuming the car was parked up and no one in it. But that is not clear. You say it was a minor bump, yet seem unsure exactly what happened and state your mum was "shook" (up), so you spoke to the other party. She has a Mii and we think she reversed into a stationary Fabia.
The Skoda was parked nearside to the kerb, my mum has reversed and her nearside rear quarter has slighty pushed the offside wing of the Skoda in causing the headlight to crack, I've seen her reverse, it's not exactly rapid.
It was a 2003 fabia, in a terrible state worth all of about £500, the damage to my mums rear bumper was a simple spray job, that's how minimal the impact was.
My mum was shook so I spoke to the woman "oh this happens all the time, don't worry about my car" etc.
Now, my mum admitted liability, her car was sorted, job done! No.....
A chap form my mums insurer contacted my mum, specifically a chap from some sort of anti fraudulent claim dept, yes the other party was claiming, for loss of earnings, physio, their car being written off, etc, etc. The chap asked my mum if she would go to court, basically as they were going to call her on her claim, my mum asked me what to do and I said sure, I honestly thought that we would hear nothing back, this was months ago.
She received a letter this week saying the woman had rejected the offer from my mums insurer, and it was indeed going to court, and all costs and any payout to the woman would be covered by my mums insurer.
I'm half hoping that they actually go to court and don't drop this as I would like to see how it pans out, I'd like to think that the judge will see there's no way any of this is legit.
Has anyone been through this process yet, I presume it's a few people in a room rather than a full on courtroom, did it go the way you expected, etc, etc?
It sounds a bit, devils advocate, that your mum doesn't know what happened and was shaken by what you say a minor parking bump.. how is her driving and health etc, should she really be behind the wheel? Again, devils advocate, don't shoot me for asking.
As for the car being a 500 quid snotter, not your call really, it costs the same to repair a sent and paint a 500 quid car as a £50k car, pretty much. Your mum was to blame and the car needs fixing. But if it was empty and there is a claim for whiplash etc, that's clearly off, but are you sure about these facts?
Hope it gets sorted.
A few years ago, At 7pm on a Saturday night, I was driving through a busy suburb 2 miles from where I live. The traffic was reasonably heavy.
I turned left at the first set of traffic lights and proceeded towards the next set of traffic lights in the left hand lane. There are two lanes, the right lane is a turn right only land at the traffic lights and the left hand lane for those, like me, who wish to go straight on at the lights.
The traffic light turned green and my land began to move. The right hand lane didn't move as they need to wait for gaps in the oncoming traffic inorder to turn right. As I as approaching a small turing on the left (before the traffic lights) a private hire taxi that was traveling in the oncoming lane shot through a small gap in-between cars in the right land lane, attempting to proceed onto the turning on my left however, he hit the front corner of my car, pushing onto a concrete bollard. His car touched back, spinning 180 degrees and blocking the oncoming traffic. His 5 passengers got out, looked at the damage to both cars and disappeared. Fortunately for me, the chap who was following me stopped and offered to be a witness.
Police arrived and took statements and suggested I was completely free of blame and they would recommend the other driver is prosecuted for driving without due care and attention.
I submitted my paperwork to my insurance company and the witness who was at the scene did the same. Roll on 6 mths later and we had a visit from an insurance company investigator. Evidently, the taxi driver and his 5 witnesses (who didn't present themselves to the police) attempted to change history and claim I had caused the accident. during the next few months, their story changed again. My insurer agreed that we were in the right. The case went to court - the taxi driver claiming for loss of earnings, car, whiplash etc but it was thrown out and we won.
I turned left at the first set of traffic lights and proceeded towards the next set of traffic lights in the left hand lane. There are two lanes, the right lane is a turn right only land at the traffic lights and the left hand lane for those, like me, who wish to go straight on at the lights.
The traffic light turned green and my land began to move. The right hand lane didn't move as they need to wait for gaps in the oncoming traffic inorder to turn right. As I as approaching a small turing on the left (before the traffic lights) a private hire taxi that was traveling in the oncoming lane shot through a small gap in-between cars in the right land lane, attempting to proceed onto the turning on my left however, he hit the front corner of my car, pushing onto a concrete bollard. His car touched back, spinning 180 degrees and blocking the oncoming traffic. His 5 passengers got out, looked at the damage to both cars and disappeared. Fortunately for me, the chap who was following me stopped and offered to be a witness.
Police arrived and took statements and suggested I was completely free of blame and they would recommend the other driver is prosecuted for driving without due care and attention.
I submitted my paperwork to my insurance company and the witness who was at the scene did the same. Roll on 6 mths later and we had a visit from an insurance company investigator. Evidently, the taxi driver and his 5 witnesses (who didn't present themselves to the police) attempted to change history and claim I had caused the accident. during the next few months, their story changed again. My insurer agreed that we were in the right. The case went to court - the taxi driver claiming for loss of earnings, car, whiplash etc but it was thrown out and we won.
My girlfriend is going through something similar. Rolled in to the back of a Micra at a round about less than 5mph... No damage to either car (pictures taken) but swapped details as the other party asked for them.
She called the next day to say she is putting a claim to the insurers for an arm injury which since has escalated to whiplash and car damage.
My girlfriends insurers have said the same to her, they believe it to be fraudulent and that they will be willing to take it to court. That was a a few months back and it seems to have gone quiet since.
It seems like the insurers are starting to clamp down on these things now.
She called the next day to say she is putting a claim to the insurers for an arm injury which since has escalated to whiplash and car damage.
My girlfriends insurers have said the same to her, they believe it to be fraudulent and that they will be willing to take it to court. That was a a few months back and it seems to have gone quiet since.
It seems like the insurers are starting to clamp down on these things now.
I had a similar incident years ago when I was first driving. long story short I rear ended a 98 mondeo estate at very low speed. the impact left a slight mark on my front bumper rh corner where I aimed for the ditch to avoid hitting the car, which polished out. of course the mondeo chocolate rear bumper broke into mush on its lhr corner, I was at fault fair enough, first came the repair quotation which was sourced thru our local bmw dealership as you can imagine it was colossal, my father being old stock brought me to the other drivers home to see if we could settle without goin thru my insurance. his reasoning being a couple of grand out of my own pocket would be a lot better than being raped with insurance for the rest of eternity, anyways knocked on the door, hello how are you doing, I'm the guy who ran into your car. I'm visiting as I only live three miles from you and wanted to see if your OK and could I possibly pay for your car to be repaired out of my own pocket. her reply was no you can't my quotation has gone to your insurer and both myself and my mother have whiplash, I replied I don't see a whole lot wrong with either of ye , I'll speak to my insurer. I phoned them straight away they asked me to call into my local branch where I explained the situation, sketched out the accident scene, they asked were air bags out I said no, they asked had the lady a neck brace on when I visited, I said no, they sent their own doctor to visit her whiplash claims squashed and she got 600 quid for her mondeo
Few years ago I came round a 3 lane roundabout in the middle lane and the articulated lorry on my inside swung out wide causing me to take evasive action. I 'rubbed' (front wing to front wing) the 2 tonnes of Ford Ranger on my outside, causing the damage below!!:
Guy was absolutely fine about it, had seen what was going on. Few week later, get a call from my insurer saying he's put in a claim for whiplash, loss of earning and expenses. I nearly fell off my chair. Told my insurer to fight it, sent them pictures of the pathetic damage to both vehicles etc etc. I was interviewed by an investigator who said it was nothing but fraud and they'd fight it. Heard nothing for a few weeks, so chased them and found out they'd settled with the fella for £6.5k.
Sorry, not much help to you, but this sort of thing boils my p*ss.
Guy was absolutely fine about it, had seen what was going on. Few week later, get a call from my insurer saying he's put in a claim for whiplash, loss of earning and expenses. I nearly fell off my chair. Told my insurer to fight it, sent them pictures of the pathetic damage to both vehicles etc etc. I was interviewed by an investigator who said it was nothing but fraud and they'd fight it. Heard nothing for a few weeks, so chased them and found out they'd settled with the fella for £6.5k.
Sorry, not much help to you, but this sort of thing boils my p*ss.
cbmotorsport said:
Few years ago I came round a 3 lane roundabout in the middle lane and the articulated lorry on my inside swung out wide causing me to take evasive action. I 'rubbed' (front wing to front wing) the 2 tonnes of Ford Ranger on my outside, causing the damage below!!:
Guy was absolutely fine about it, had seen what was going on. Few week later, get a call from my insurer saying he's put in a claim for whiplash, loss of earning and expenses. I nearly fell off my chair. Told my insurer to fight it, sent them pictures of the pathetic damage to both vehicles etc etc. I was interviewed by an investigator who said it was nothing but fraud and they'd fight it. Heard nothing for a few weeks, so chased them and found out they'd settled with the fella for £6.5k.
Sorry, not much help to you, but this sort of thing boils my p*ss.
Exactly the same happened with me, absolutely ridiculous!Guy was absolutely fine about it, had seen what was going on. Few week later, get a call from my insurer saying he's put in a claim for whiplash, loss of earning and expenses. I nearly fell off my chair. Told my insurer to fight it, sent them pictures of the pathetic damage to both vehicles etc etc. I was interviewed by an investigator who said it was nothing but fraud and they'd fight it. Heard nothing for a few weeks, so chased them and found out they'd settled with the fella for £6.5k.
Sorry, not much help to you, but this sort of thing boils my p*ss.
I think some local experience helped my wife avoid a similar situation to this a few years ago in West Yorkshire. Wife was driving, I was a passenger and I noticed the car in front braking suddenly and without reason in slow-ish traffic. She took my advice and held back but when we got to a traffic queue at a roundabout the car in front dropped into reverse and backed the few feet back into her car.
The driver and his friends immediately got out but as my spider-senses (I was a local Paramedic at the time) had kicked in and I had my camera-phone in my hand so snapped him getting out of the drivers door. My wife got out and almost immediately they started accusing her of driving into the back of them, and by this time one passenger was clutching his neck.
The occupants of the car swapped physical positions and by the time I got out someone else was claiming to be the driver. I started taking pictures of the damage, or lack of, to either car then stepped into the conversation and told and showed the actual driver the picture of him getting out of the car. I said as there was confusion over who was driving, and bluffed that I had a picture of their car reversing, I would call the Police and we should await their arrival.
By this time I had loads of pictures of both cars lack of damage and was very apologetic to all of them telling them not to worry as the Police could confirm everyones details, these things happen all the time round here, and the more evidence we got for the Insurance companies the easier and quicker it would be for them to settle any claims one way or the other.
They retreated, apologised, said they wouldn't contact their insurers and bailed but immediately we got home I uploaded all the pictures and details in anticipation of a silly claim later.
Take pictures of all the damage from lots of angles as this can easily sort out the intensity and gravity if the incident for the insurers. Take a picture of the driver, and any passengers, and get the FULL details of amy witnesses so you can track them down when needs must.
The driver and his friends immediately got out but as my spider-senses (I was a local Paramedic at the time) had kicked in and I had my camera-phone in my hand so snapped him getting out of the drivers door. My wife got out and almost immediately they started accusing her of driving into the back of them, and by this time one passenger was clutching his neck.
The occupants of the car swapped physical positions and by the time I got out someone else was claiming to be the driver. I started taking pictures of the damage, or lack of, to either car then stepped into the conversation and told and showed the actual driver the picture of him getting out of the car. I said as there was confusion over who was driving, and bluffed that I had a picture of their car reversing, I would call the Police and we should await their arrival.
By this time I had loads of pictures of both cars lack of damage and was very apologetic to all of them telling them not to worry as the Police could confirm everyones details, these things happen all the time round here, and the more evidence we got for the Insurance companies the easier and quicker it would be for them to settle any claims one way or the other.
They retreated, apologised, said they wouldn't contact their insurers and bailed but immediately we got home I uploaded all the pictures and details in anticipation of a silly claim later.
Take pictures of all the damage from lots of angles as this can easily sort out the intensity and gravity if the incident for the insurers. Take a picture of the driver, and any passengers, and get the FULL details of amy witnesses so you can track them down when needs must.
My friend is having something of the opposite problem. He stopped for a queue without hitting the car in front of him. Guy behind didn't. Smashed his car up and pushed him into the car in front, gave him (genuine) neck/back pain and he's been seeing a physio about it. Guy admitted liability.
Now it's apparently going to go to court, because the bellend is saying my mate hit the car in front before he was hit from behind.
Trying to push from an at-fault claim to a 50/50 perhaps?
Now it's apparently going to go to court, because the bellend is saying my mate hit the car in front before he was hit from behind.
Trying to push from an at-fault claim to a 50/50 perhaps?
InitialDave said:
My friend is having something of the opposite problem. He stopped for a queue without hitting the car in front of him. Guy behind didn't. Smashed his car up and pushed him into the car in front, gave him (genuine) neck/back pain and he's been seeing a physio about it. Guy admitted liability.
Now it's apparently going to go to court, because the bellend is saying my mate hit the car in front before he was hit from behind.
Trying to push from an at-fault claim to a 50/50 perhaps?
identical accident to one I had many years ago on the M25: in lane 3 of 3 that suddenly came a standstill. I successfully came to a stop without hitting the car in front, then saw the one behind wasn't going to manage to do the same.. and pushed me into the car in front. Because your friends car hit the one in front, they'll claim off him, the potential dispute is whether the car behind is also liable for the damage to the front car and front of your friends car. In my case, fortunately, that was never challenged and anything from the car in front just got passed to insurance company to pass on to rear car to deal with: I did make it as clear as I could at the time of the accident that I had stopped (back in the days before mobile phones, let alone ones with cameras, were common) but I imagine it is something quite difficult to prove unless you've got dashcam, overhead CCTV or a witness.Now it's apparently going to go to court, because the bellend is saying my mate hit the car in front before he was hit from behind.
Trying to push from an at-fault claim to a 50/50 perhaps?
Oakey said:
cbmotorsport said:
Few years ago I came round a 3 lane roundabout in the middle lane and the articulated lorry on my inside swung out wide causing me to take evasive action. I 'rubbed' (front wing to front wing) the 2 tonnes of Ford Ranger on my outside, causing the damage below!!:
Guy was absolutely fine about it, had seen what was going on. Few week later, get a call from my insurer saying he's put in a claim for whiplash, loss of earning and expenses. I nearly fell off my chair. Told my insurer to fight it, sent them pictures of the pathetic damage to both vehicles etc etc. I was interviewed by an investigator who said it was nothing but fraud and they'd fight it. Heard nothing for a few weeks, so chased them and found out they'd settled with the fella for £6.5k.
Sorry, not much help to you, but this sort of thing boils my p*ss.
Exactly the same happened with me, absolutely ridiculous!Guy was absolutely fine about it, had seen what was going on. Few week later, get a call from my insurer saying he's put in a claim for whiplash, loss of earning and expenses. I nearly fell off my chair. Told my insurer to fight it, sent them pictures of the pathetic damage to both vehicles etc etc. I was interviewed by an investigator who said it was nothing but fraud and they'd fight it. Heard nothing for a few weeks, so chased them and found out they'd settled with the fella for £6.5k.
Sorry, not much help to you, but this sort of thing boils my p*ss.
Perhaps the insurance companies should defend some of these claims, to send a clear message and reduce/stop fraudulent claims in the long term... Pour encourager les autres.
What is it with mums? Mine had a strange situation with another woman whilst driving through Purley Cross. If you know that junction, you'll know it's an utter nightmares but we've been local for years so know it well.
My mum moves off from the lights, which has three lanes. She's in the middle lane and driving towards the middle lane ahead. Theres a lane to her left which joins the left hand lane ahead. Trouble is the woman in the convertible next to her decides there's too much traffic in her lane so cuts across my mums path. Mum brakes, hits the horn and this woman goes off on one. Pushes my mum out of her lane but fortunately it's clear on her right so she moves over and merges further down the road.
Anyway, my mum ended up a car or two ahead of this woman but decided to pull into a side street as she wanted to check her car in case there'd been contact. Said woman pulls up alongside my mum (who's in the slip lane turning right), shouting and just being aggressive. Mum pulls in and further up stops the car. This woman had ample opportunity to follow and stop as well but decided to speed off.
Mum checks her car and there's a tiny mark on the edge of the bumper so there was the lightest of contact between the cars. So she phones her insurance to report it although had no intention of claiming. It turns out this other woman had not only reported my mum for failing to stop, even though she was the one who sped off, she was also claiming huge damage to her car and trying to claim all sorts.
Fortunately I took pictures of the damage, had pictures of the junction and put together some basic diagrams of how my mum described the incident. Surprise surprise, the other driver dropped the claim.
Sadly, there are so many lying, cheating, scamming b*stards out there who'll gladly stitch someone else up so they get away with it.
As much as dashcammers can be as bad as any of the worlds crappest drivers, they are invaluable in situations such as these.
My mum moves off from the lights, which has three lanes. She's in the middle lane and driving towards the middle lane ahead. Theres a lane to her left which joins the left hand lane ahead. Trouble is the woman in the convertible next to her decides there's too much traffic in her lane so cuts across my mums path. Mum brakes, hits the horn and this woman goes off on one. Pushes my mum out of her lane but fortunately it's clear on her right so she moves over and merges further down the road.
Anyway, my mum ended up a car or two ahead of this woman but decided to pull into a side street as she wanted to check her car in case there'd been contact. Said woman pulls up alongside my mum (who's in the slip lane turning right), shouting and just being aggressive. Mum pulls in and further up stops the car. This woman had ample opportunity to follow and stop as well but decided to speed off.
Mum checks her car and there's a tiny mark on the edge of the bumper so there was the lightest of contact between the cars. So she phones her insurance to report it although had no intention of claiming. It turns out this other woman had not only reported my mum for failing to stop, even though she was the one who sped off, she was also claiming huge damage to her car and trying to claim all sorts.
Fortunately I took pictures of the damage, had pictures of the junction and put together some basic diagrams of how my mum described the incident. Surprise surprise, the other driver dropped the claim.
Sadly, there are so many lying, cheating, scamming b*stards out there who'll gladly stitch someone else up so they get away with it.
As much as dashcammers can be as bad as any of the worlds crappest drivers, they are invaluable in situations such as these.
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