Hit and Run & MCOL Claim - Hire Car Company Scam

bergkamp10

Hi there.

So I am currently being scammed by a hire company that I have used previously in the past. I had rented a car from them some time ago but it seems they are using my details fraudulently now. It is not really much of a hire company, more like a small family outfit with just a guy and his son with a small office who rent a few cars out.

I have received a letter from police regarding a hit and run on a car I have never rented. Spoke to the hire company and it seems they are doing dodgy stuff on the side.

I had no involvement in the incident, nor did I hire the vehicle involved in this incident. The hire company passed my details on to the police when they were requested for information despite the fact that I did not hire that vehicle from them. I believe that they had kept my details from a previous time I had hired a vehicle from them in 2020. I believe they used this to information from a previous hire agreement to fraudulently pass liability on to me.

They have since sent me a pdf of the hire agreement they had with another person on the dates of the incident and have told me that this was the person who actually hired the vehicle. Additionally the pdf they sent me was not signed by either the hirer or the hire company so I am a bit suspicious they plan to pass this along to someone else in the same way they've done to me.

I have just filled out a response to the police letter filling in the info section that I was not the driver and putting the information that the hire company gave me of the "correct" details of the person who hired the vehicle. I have also included a hand written letter explaining the situation that this was probably fraud by the company and that I was not involved in the incident nor was I the person renting the vehicle. I just sent the response to the police a few days ago regarding this.

Additionally, and probably even more surprising given the fraudulent activities these guys are undertaking, they have sent me a MCOL claim for +£10k for this accident they are trying to pin on me. They have included cost of premium, insurance, repairs and time off the road. Absurd seeing as I did not hire the vehicle from them.

Hopefully the police issue is sorted out with the info I sent them, although I do worry that they won't accept the hire agreement the company sent me as it was not signed by the hirer or the company, but that is a question for later when they respond.

Regarding the MCOL claim, I do not know what I should do. The son at the hire company (who is the guy who sent me the copy of the hire other hire agreement) is ignoring me and the dad at the front desk is claiming he does not have information on what his son may or may not be involved in. This is all becoming stressful. I am not sure whether I should counter claim, defend or can just inform MCOL that this is a fraudulent claim that I should never have been dragged into.

Any advice is welcomed. Thanks.

Swoosh84

Others will no doubt be along to provide more detailed advice. But as an absolute minimum you need to register the fact that you intend to defend this claim. Failure to do so will result in a judgment by default and you owing this cash. You only have a certain amount of time to register the fact that you intend to defend. What is the date of issue on the claim form?

J

bergkamp10

Thanks Swoosh. The issue date is the 6th of April.

Manxman_in_exile

I may be misunderstanding this, but if (1) the hire company have told the police that you were the driver and (2) the hire company are suing you for damage to the car, then why on earth would the hire company also provide you with details of who actually did hire the car, if it wasn't you?

In fact, if the hire company have already named you as the driver in response to a s172 request from the police, but they've also told you that someone else was the driver, that would tend to suggest they have deliberately lied to the police.

Attempting to pervert the course of justce?

AdrianC

All you can do is to reply to the s172 saying you did not hire the car, nor did you drive it, nor did you know who did at the time of the incident - and lodge a defence along the same lines to the court claim.

bergkamp10

Manxman_in_exile said:

I may be misunderstanding this, but if (1) the hire company have told the police that you were the driver and (2) the hire company are suing you for damage to the car, then why on earth would the hire company also provide you with details of who actually did hire the car, if it wasn't you?

In fact, if the hire company have already named you as the driver in response to a s172 request from the police, but they've also told you that someone else was the driver, that would tend to suggest they have deliberately lied to the police.

Attempting to pervert the course of justce?

The hire company is pretty much one by name mainly. The father owns the business and has his son who works with him. The son was the person who is originally rented another vehicle from in 2020.

After receiving information from the police regarding the accident I contacted the son immediately (I have his number) and asked him what the hell was this? He told me don't worry, there is a mix up they will sort it out. Called him many times in the next few days and after finally getting through to him I exploded and told him I'd report him to the police if he doesn't sort this out. He then send me the pdf of the hire agreement with this other persons details including the insurance policy that was taken out for that driver on those dates. But nothing signed by this other driver nor the hire company.

I thought that would be it over but then received a MCOL claim which is absurd considering they have given the police my details falsely, and then provided me with (an albeit unsigned) hire agreement with someone else. They are up to some very dodgy stuff and are trying to rope me into to take the blame for something I am not involved in. I also have a sneaky suspicion the person whose details they sent me in their policy is also unaware about what's going on as well but can't be sure.

What they are doing must be illegal and I hope there is something that can be done to stop them.

bergkamp10

AdrianC said:

All you can do is to reply to the s172 saying you did not hire the car, nor did you drive it, nor did you know who did at the time of the incident - and lodge a defence along the same lines to the court claim.

Hey Adrian. My reply to the police was to fill out the form using the information they sent me in the hire agreement saying this person was the person who the car was hired to and the insurance policy the hire company took out for them. I then attached the hire agreement the son sent me and added a hand written letter explaining I have no involvement or knowledge of the incident and that the hire company sent me this document and informed me that person was the person who was the hirer of the car.

I then reconfirmed that I did not rent the vehicle nor was I aware of any accident.

tacpot12

Do you have home insurance? If so, check to see if you have legal expenses cover. If you do, call the legal helpline and ask them to represent you in this matter. They should ensure that that you get the legal advice you need, and they will recover their costs from the hire company. They may even be able to get the case closed due to there being no evidence that you were the customer at the time - there is "no case to answer".

If you don't have legal expenses cover, you will need legal advice from a solicitor. Many solicitors will give you a free initial consultation for up to 30 minutes, but the main question you need to ask is how much might this cost me if you can't recover your costs from the hire firm.

bergkamp10

tacpot12 said:

Do you have home insurance? If so, check to see if you have legal expenses cover. If you do, call the legal helpline and ask them to represent you in this matter. They should ensure that that you get the legal advice you need, and they will recover their costs from the hire company. They may even be able to get the case closed due to there being no evidence that you were the customer at the time - there is "no case to answer".

If you don't have legal expenses cover, you will need legal advice from a solicitor. Many solicitors will give you a free initial consultation for up to 30 minutes, but the main question you need to ask is how much might this cost me if you can't recover your costs from the hire firm.

Sorry, I don't have home insurance. 

I've sent an acknowledgement to the MCOL claim and have also sent the company an SAR. Hopefully things can get sorted out. These guys are doing fraudulent activities.