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Police will not release incident report.

Hi, I was involved in a vehicle collision in February and the driver drove off, I got his reg number and called the police and my insurance company. I was then told be his insurance company that he claims to have been in London that day so it could not have been him.

The police did a ANPR check and prove the car car was in the area at the time. The police confirmed that if my solicitors write in they will release this information.
In June I was told by my solicitors that the police have my accident as none injury and are refusing to release a statement. (I had 9 weeks of physio) the officer dealing with my incident then told me that I should have completed a T1. It turns out the guy I spoke to when reporting it to the police didn't note it. I completed a T1 and the police have been passing round the houses ever since and it just seems like they are hoping I will go away.
I have been told that there can only release information based on the ANPR camera 90 days after the incident. (Which has now passed) I have requested a copy on the incident log as it states on there that the car was in the area and I can't have this either.
Because the police have messed up surely they are liable for cost. I can't prove to my insurances that the car was in that area because the police won't release this information.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
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Comments

  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    jgibs wrote: »
    The police did a ANPR check and prove the car car was in the area at the time.
    No, they've "proved" that a car bearing that registration was in the area at the time. They haven't proved that either he or his car was. Ever heard of cloned plates?

    Anyway, why aren't your insurers doing all this?
  • Really your insurers or solicitors who are representing you need to instruct an agent (or go themselves) to interview the officer in the case and take a statement from him/her getting all of this info noted down.

    There is a procedure that has to be followed to take a statement from an officer for civil proceedings and it usually costs £150+ to pay for this, plus the agent's fees for taking the statement.
  • Hi, thanks for your replies, apparently they can longer interview the officer for a statement as they are using the ANPR system and this can only be used within 90 days of the incident.

    I need confirmation in writing from the police to give to my insurers to prove that the driver was lying when they said they weren't in the area.

    It does seem like I have ran out of options.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    jgibs wrote: »
    I need confirmation in writing from the police to give to my insurers to prove that the driver was lying when they said they weren't in the area.
    An ANPR flag against his registration won't do that anyway.
  • Your insurers really should be the one dealing with all of this.

    If you reported the hit and run to the police then there should be a police report. It may be as useful as a chocolate teapot but your insurers will be able to buy a copy of it. The police wont release it until after they/ CPS have decided to prosecute or not and if they are prosecuting then not normally until after the prosecution is complete.

    As others have said, a ANPR of his reg in the area is not definitive proof he was there, it could well be cloned plate and he was genuinely in London at the time. Thankfully for civil courts you only need to get over the hurdle of "on the balance of probability" and so definitive proof isnt automatically necessary though insurers arent generally keen on spending more money on court cases when its pretty much a 50/50 on who will win.

    What evidence, if any, have they submitted to substantiate that they were in London? Have your insurers checked that the reg plate you gave matches the make, model and colour of car that the DVLA say the reg relates to? Have your insurers paid an investigator to try and visit the car to look for signs of damage/ recent repair in the area you say was damaged on his car?
  • Tiddlywinks
    Tiddlywinks Posts: 5,777 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped!
    Don't blame the police for inaction - blame your legal representative and your insurance company for not acting quickly enough.

    It is up to them to make all necessary investigations and liaise with police on your behalf.

    As others have said... ANPR will only show that a vehicle with that number was in the area. It will NOT prove that the car that has legally been allocated that number was in the area.

    I doubt your insurers will want the effort of going to court for relatively minor damage and injury...so it is up to your legal representative to negotiate on your behalf.
    :hello:
  • Quentin
    Quentin Posts: 40,405 Forumite
    jgibs wrote: »
    Because the police have messed up surely they are liable for cost. I can't prove to my insurances that the car was in that area because the police won't release this information.


    Give up on any thoughts of getting this paid for by the police.


    Instead focus on your insurer.


    Make a formal complaint (using their complaints procedure which will be set out in the policy docs) about the way they have handled your claim and them requiring you to furnish them with police reports etc. If you are unhappy with their reply you can then escalate to the FOS at no cost to you for their adjudication.
  • jgibs
    jgibs Posts: 4 Newbie
    edited 19 August 2014 pm31 6:43PM
    Thank to everyone for your replies, I really do appriaciate it.
    The guy that hit me was pulling out of his drive way and the car had modifications which I described to the insurers. They agreed that its pretty obvious it's him but when he is saying he was in London then its my word against his.

    My insurers have now issued against his so it will be interesting to see what happens.
  • With cctv everywhere, mobile phone tracking and ATM transactions I'm sure they would have this worked out pretty soon for a 'more serious' offence.

    When they let suspects get away with it like this they are just encouraging more crime.

    But it ain't really about crime reduction -more about reducing the stats.
  • ado
    ado Posts: 1,378 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    SunReader wrote: »
    With cctv everywhere, mobile phone tracking and ATM transactions I'm sure they would have this worked out pretty soon for a 'more serious' offence.

    When they let suspects get away with it like this they are just encouraging more crime.

    But it ain't really about crime reduction -more about reducing the stats.

    RTCs like this aren't crimes and therefore don't show up on any crime statistics. Relatively speaking this was not a very serious incident so whilst you are right that CCTV/ATM trawls and mobile phone records could be done, however that amount of effort would not be proportionate or a good use of resources for this.

    If you really want the police to be able to do something about RTCs like this then you need to ask your MP to stop cuts to the police. Road policing units among others are being cut to the bone leaving little time to investigate incidents like this.
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