URGENT - Insurance Scam - What to do?

CelticStar

Just wondered if I could get a bit of advice from anyone who knows about insurance.

Last weekend a friend of mine (not me) was out shopping and was in a car park in Morrisons - it was dark and I think it was raining, so there was poor visibility. My friend went to reverse into a parking space in the car park and touched bumpers with a car which -as it turned out - was three feet over the line of its parking space and into the one my friend was reversing into.

Being a very decent person my friend got out and waited and inspected the damage as best he could using the light on his mobile phone. He couldn't see any damage at all to either cars but to be fair he waited for the owner of the car and swapped telephone numbers just in case - he couldn't remember the name of his insurer as his wife always deals with that kind of thing.

I just want to stress at this point that both cars were quite old - one a P reg and one an N reg - and that my friend had no problem with paying up for any damage he might have caused.

The next day the owner of the vehicle telephoned saying that there was 'minor paint damage' and requested the number of my friend's insurers. My friend then asked if he could see the car in question, the other bloke was reluctant and said he would have to 'wash his car' before hand but my friend was persistent and drove through to see it with his friend who is a mechanic. When they got there it was pretty obvious that there was no new damage at all, the owner of the car pointed to an old gouge on the side of the bumper - the cars touched back to back - that had actually been filled in with some sort of filler and tried to say that this had been caused by my friend. My friend took photographs to cover himself as there was no way that this was new damage - the bloke then tried to get my friend to bypass the insurers and pay him some money - which he refused. The owner of the car then said that he was going to take the car to a garage the next day to see if there was any internal damage, my friend agreed to this but asked to see inside the boot and bonnet himself and was refused.

For a few days nothing happened but today the owner of the other car has telephoned saying that he has 'good news' as there is no mechanical damage (the bumpers touched that is all) but that the non-existent scratches will cost £60 plus VAT.

What is my friend's position as he really feels that this is a scam and that there is no damage - his own car is completely scratch free and his insurance excess is £250. Does the fact that it happened in Morrisons's car park have any bearing as it was not on the public highway. My friend just feels that he has tried to do the decent thing but that he is being taken for a ride.

Any help or advice gratefully received.

CelticStar

dmg24

TBH it is his word against that of the other party. Assuming the other person has confirmation from a mechanic that the above work is required, it will be difficult to prove otherwise.

The fact that it was in a car park is irrelevant.

slipp_digby

have they exchanged insurance details?

he might be avoiding going through insurance because of the hassle over a small bump or because he thinks there is low cost settlement which will be less than any excess the liable party will need to pay. could be just common sense

alternatively he may be dodgy and taking advantage of your friends honest nature.

Edit: just noted you have started multiple threads. this will get a better response under the "Insurance" category.

and be patient!

CelticStar

He asked for insurance details at first and then said he didn't want 'litigation' so, to be honest, I think he may have been trying to downplay the amount of 'damage' and using the threat of an insurance claim hoping my friend would be silly enough to cough up some cash without contacting the insurers. When my friend refused because there was no damage - he would have paid up if there was - he then started on about mechanical damage, making it sound as if it might be really expensive.

I hate this culture of getting everything you can out of someone.

CelticStar

slipp_digby wrote: »

have they exchanged insurance details?

he might be avoiding going through insurance because of the hassle over a small bump or because he thinks there is low cost settlement which will be less than any excess the liable party will need to pay. could be just common sense

alternatively he may be dodgy and taking advantage of your friends honest nature.

Edit: just noted you have started multiple threads. this will get a better response under the "Insurance" category.

and be patient!

I wasn't aware I couldn't do this so thanks for letting me know though a bit of politeness might not have been amiss, most of the proper moderators are less bossy!

slipp_digby

CelticStar wrote: »

I wasn't aware I couldn't do this so thanks for letting me know though a bit of politeness might not have been amiss, most of the proper moderators are less bossy!

just pointing out that it will get better responses on the other board, from people who go on there specifically to answer insurance queries :beer:

Iamthesmartestmanalive

We get threads like this all the time

The fact is what your friend thinks is irrelevent

He hit the car, unless he can prove the damage already existed or is impossible to be him he will have to go to the insurers or pay up

I once had a woman hit me, she did damage that looked unlikely to be as a result of the accident, in the end I gave up as it wasnt worth the hassle

£70-75 approx is far better than losing an excess, no claims bonus or increased premium so Id stroingly suggest your friend pays up and is more careful in car parks in future

kammyk

Should not have bothered stopping! If there was no damage and he did not think he hit the car that hard, then he really shouldnt have bothered stopping!

What car did your friend have? and what was the car that got hit? Sometimes the better quality car gets off scratch free!

Why would he want to scam your friend for £60?! its hardly worth the hassle is it?

chilli_dog

If your friend pays the £60 whats to stop the other party coming back for more money?

CelticStar

Iamthesmartestmanalive wrote: »

We get threads like this all the time

The fact is what your friend thinks is irrelevent

He hit the car, unless he can prove the damage already existed or is impossible to be him he will have to go to the insurers or pay up

I once had a woman hit me, she did damage that looked unlikely to be as a result of the accident, in the end I gave up as it wasnt worth the hassle

£70-75 approx is far better than losing an excess, no claims bonus or increased premium so Id stroingly suggest your friend pays up and is more careful in car parks in future

Who gets threads like this all the time? This is a forum and I am asking for comments and advice, that is what it is for.

You also seem to be offering conflicting advice - you say pay up but then say that a woman hit you but you found it too much hassle to pursue it, which seems to advise my friend to 'tough it out'. From my own point of view I wouldn't pay up myself (as opposed to through the insurance company) simply because - as the previous poster mentioned - there is nothing to stop someone coming back for more money if you seem like a soft touch. In the end you could pay up and then have to claim through the insurance anyway. My friend has realised that he has a protected no claims bonus anyway so that is at least something positive to work with.

MarkyMarkD

Protected NCB doesn't stop your gross (and hence net) premium increasing due to a claim. It's not worth claiming for a stupidly small amount just because you have protected NCB.

This person is trying it on. If they don't want to go through the insurers, it's because their own insurers won't believe the claim is valid because it's not. Tell them to get lost.

They won't take you to court over £60 plus VAT for imaginary damage. If they do, you have the photos to show the car was evidently a shed before this imaginary damage that you didn't cause.