Insurance: False claim against policy.

[Milkyway]

My Dad has been notified of his car being involved & not reporting an accident... ‘it’, apparently rear ended another car.
I am a named driver on the policy too.

It was a Sunday afternoon in October & about a two hour drive from our house... we were both at home then.
Apparently, because of the distance involved... that works in our favour.

It could be admin error or a scam... the insurance company’s fraud dept is on the case.

But... I’ve done a bit of investigating.

A car, similar model & colour has a different last digit... which on a QWERTY keyboard is directly below my Dad’s.
The insurance company has said that this has happened before.

Strange thing is... the above car had its V5 changed & taxed. nine days after this incident, & MOT’d end of November.
The insurance company is having difficulty contacting the ‘third party’
Too many red flags for me.

Has anybody else been in a similar situation... at the moment, it’s our word against theirs.

If all else fails, we will have to go to the Omnibusman.
( It might take a while).

Edited by Milkyway on Friday 30th December 11:49

[OutInTheShed]

You should collate any evidence that your Dad's car was not involved.
Take photos of its undamaged front end.
Any evidence of driving it the day after?

Any emails, phone calls etc to show you were both at home?

[Milkyway]

Thanks, good advice... Big brother & myself are taking care of things, so will have a chat with him.
I did mention that there was a GP on that day.

They have been notified to my findings, which they are going to investigate... we are hoping that it is a simple admin error somewhere along the line.
But, if it’s the old ‘whiplash’ injury claim(s)... then it might get tough.

Obviously, We won’t be privvy to any claim details...

Edited by Milkyway on Friday 30th December 11:53

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Milkyway said:

at the moment, it’s our word against theirs.

Which is fine. They are claiming off you. They have to prove you were responsible, you don't have to prove anything. Tell your insurers that you were not involved and they must not settle the claim. Tell them if the tp issues a small claims court summons, which is ultimately what they will have to do if they want to pursue the claim and they aren't getting paid, you/your dad will happily attend court to defend your position.

Your insurers do have the right to settle the claim without your permission, but are unlikely to do so.

[pavarotti1980]

Milkyway said:

Thanks, good advice... Big brother & myself are taking care of things, so will have a chat with him.
I did mention that there was a GP was on that day.

They have been notified to my findings, which they are going to investigate... we are hoping that it is a simple admin error somewhere along the line.
But, if it’s the old ‘whiplash’ injury claim(s)... then it might get tough.

Obviously, We won’t be privy to the claim details...

Edited by Milkyway on Friday 30th December 11:25

Dont forget mobile phones have data so if all insured drivers were in the same location google will show movements for the day

[GranpaB]

Just send them a picture of your undamaged car?

No one would have had any repairs done this week.

[GasEngineer]

GranpaB said:

Just send them a picture of your undamaged car?

No one would have had any repairs done this week.

From OP: "It was a Sunday afternoon in October".

[Pica-Pica]

Does the car have a GPS tracker?

[Milkyway]

Pica-Pica said:

Does the car have a GPS tracker?

My Dads car is a ‘run of the mill’ ‘05 Astra,so not exactly high tech.
We are old hat...so not that ‘techie’ either.
( iPad / Tablet... that’s about it.)

If the third party CAN be contacted...my brother has suggested for them to get a description of us.
( Which should be interesting)

NB: Hoping to hear from our insurers on their progress within the next few days,

Pains me though... we don’t know what was hit.
( If anything).

Edited by Milkyway on Friday 30th December 13:45

[GranpaB]

GasEngineer said:

GranpaB said:

Just send them a picture of your undamaged car?

No one would have had any repairs done this week.

From OP: "It was a Sunday afternoon in October".

Ah.

Ill try these next time!

[Milkyway]

Perhaps I will take a photo though... just in case it comes in handy in the future.

But, IF there was an incident... has that car been repaired by the owner or a friendly mechanic.
(They’ve had two months... or where is that car now).

Edited by Milkyway on Friday 30th December 14:24

[Sheepshanks]

Milkyway said:

Has anybody else been in a similar situation... at the moment, it’s our word against theirs.

If all else fails, we will have to go to the Omnibusman.
( It might take a while).

What's the issue here - your dad tells the insurance company it's nothing to do with him, that's the end of the matter, surely?

[Milkyway]

Sheepshanks said:

Milkyway said:

Has anybody else been in a similar situation... at the moment, it’s our word against theirs.

If all else fails, we will have to go to the Omnibusman.
( It might take a while).

What's the issue here - your dad tells the insurance company it's nothing to do with him, that's the end of the matter, surely?

Er... Got the initial letter just before Christmas & informed them that we was at home that day.
28th December: Receive another similar letter, but phrased slightly differently & we had until Saturday to reply.
Over an hour on the phone, messed about... so an email was sent.

So, it seems that our word just isn’t good enough... ongoing with the fraud dept.

Edited by Milkyway on Friday 30th December 17:25

[mgtony]

In this day and age pretty much anyone that has been hit will take photos at the scene of the damage to both cars and maybe the other occupants. These would most likely show the other cars registration plate, so at least you'd know whether you're talking about a cloned car or a simple admin error. The party claiming or their insurers will probably have these photos.

[Milkyway]

I am erring towards the admin error.
Like our insurer stated, it’s happened before.
The alarm bells are ringing.
I don’t think that we will hear much until the New Year though.

Edited by Milkyway on Friday 30th December 21:37

[Dogwatch]

You are not alone:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Milkyway]

Update;
The insurers have classed it as a ‘MISTAKEN IDENTITY’... at the moment.

They want four photos of the car & we must be willing to have an engineer inspect it, if required.

Got nothing to hide... so looking more positive for us.

Edited by Milkyway on Tuesday 3rd January 19:58