False insurance claim against a relative...

AtreuS

AtreuS

AtreuS

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Hi all, whats your input in this situation.

My aunt (age 64 and a good driver, not a dodgy old fart :p ) parked up in a town car park for about 30 minutes. She parked in a normal spot with no car either side as it was just the most obvious space.

She returned after a quick run to a shop and drove off normally. The only difference being a large black BMW m3 next to her... she said it was parked normally and plenty of space between them.

Anyway she leaves normally and that is all she remembers.

A week later she gets a phone call from an insurance company saying she was involved in an accident with the BMW and they are claiming for a new front wing and front drivers door/respray. Apparently the BMW driver had "taken photos when he left his car, taking her reg number" just in case anything happened- I guess he was paranoid about his car?.

He returned at the end of the day ( looooong after my aunt had gone ) to find the damage to his car. Now of course to just assume it was her is crazy, his car had been there for half the day but they are chasing her claiming she did it. There is of course no damage to her car, no paint transfer or scuffs.... nothing all round.

She is being bullied to prove it was NOT her... i of course am telling her to tell them to get lost, unless they have evidence.... there is no CCTV in the carpark and no cameras nearby that i can see.

The insurance company who i am now authorised to speak to are saying that he has photo evidence ( only of her parked next to him ) and that she needs to prove that it was not her! i told them to come and inspect her car for damage but they said that she could have had it repaired in the meanwhile and were very dismissive and almost rude, suggesting that she was lying.

Surely to god they cannot make a claim against her with no evidence?

I have told them in no uncertain terms that she fully rejects the claim that she was involved and that unless they have evidence that she was, then to go and take a jump in a river!

We have informed her insurance company who were very helpful and have noted down the facts and agree with me that unless they have evidence then they will also reject the claim should they be approached by his insurance company ( so far they have not ).

Anyway seems to me like a crazy situation all round. Of course i feel sorry for the guy with the damaged car but it was not down to my aunt.
 
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Has she got legal cover on her insurance or home insurance or anything? It may be time to give them a call.

It seems completely mental that I could park next to someone and take pictures "just in case" because we all do that :rolleyes: then go and total my vehicle and blame them.
 
FuriousGeorge said:
Even if she had had any damage repaired to her car - they can test for repaired/fresh paint anyway.
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Thats what i said to them, they were very dismissive.

I think they are just trying the easy route to claim some money back from his claim and hope she caves in, being "old" and female... thats my view anyway.

I wont name the insurance company but its a well known one and not an accident chaser claim company.
 
Document all the conversations you have had so far and insist any further communication is in writing. Tell them you regard the matter as closed and any continuation will be regarded as harassment and reported to the insurance ombudsman.

Innocent until proven guilty and the onus is on them to prove their case, not the other way round.
 
I'd threaten them back. Tell them to jog on, its up to them to prove it, not your aunt to prove she's innocent.

Tell them you will go to the police for harassment and will lodge a complaint with the ombudsman.

Also inform them that from now on you will record any further correspondence.

They have no one else to blame so want to get the money from somewhere! Stand your ground!
 
Jamesyboyjim said:
I'd threaten them back. Tell them to jog on, its up to them to prove it, not your aunt to prove she's innocent.

Tell them you will go to the police for harassment and will lodge a complaint with the ombudsman.

Also inform them that from now on you will record any further correspondence.

They have no one else to blame so want to get the money from somewhere! Stand your ground!
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Yup pretty much my reaction to them so far. Her insurance company are under strict orders to reject the claim also.
 
Just ignore them. Not like it could go to court with zero evidence. You have told them your side as far as your concerned that's that.
 
Having a photo of 2 normally parked cars is nothing. There would need to be damage to her car, a witness, CCTV, etc. otherwise there is no evidence.

It's all speculation and assumptions. It won't go anywhere. Just make sure she doesn't cave in to the bullying and accept ANY blame.
 
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Won't stand in court of law, the idiot is having a laugh, the onus is on him to prove she hit the car, couple photos of parked cars doesn't mean much.
 
Jamesyboyjim said:
I'd threaten them back. Tell them to jog on, its up to them to prove it, not your aunt to prove she's innocent.

Tell them you will go to the police for harassment and will lodge a complaint with the ombudsman.

Also inform them that from now on you will record any further correspondence.

They have no one else to blame so want to get the money from somewhere! Stand your ground!
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Trouble is, the insurance company will process the claim against her insurance company. It is cheaper to pay up than fight it for them and this is what legal cover is for but it needs to be requested. Some home insurance have legal cover hidden in their policies at no extra charge.

Should be easy to avoid the claim as many people could have parked in the same space after your aunt left the space and damaged the car. Very suspicious that someone will photograph their car every time they park up just in case as well.:confused:
 
If you have legal cover on her insurance USE IT .Go chat with them they will go and sort it out a lot easier to let them do the talking as they have more weight than your self .And they also are independent of the insurers so will help you.
 
AtreuS said:
Yup pretty much my reaction to them so far. Her insurance company are under strict orders to reject the claim also.
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Your own insurance company will be the weak link so I hope they do.

Insurance companies can be quite notoriously useless at defending you with things like this. They'd rather just process it, accept you were at fault and charge you next year for the privilege.

Edit,

Just seen Finglonga has said something similar.
 
Finglonga said:
Very suspicious that someone will photograph their car every time they park up just in case as well.:confused:
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In fairness I've done it on the odd occasion - usually after I've picked up a new door ding and if I have to park somewhere where the spaces are very tight and not plentiful.
 
GhostWKD said:
In fairness I've done it on the odd occasion - usually after I've picked up a new door ding and if I have to park somewhere where the spaces are very tight and not plentiful.
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Agreed, if I truly can't find a good space and have to park next to something that's not in the best of condition, it's getting a quick snap taken :p
 
Something similar happened to me, though a note was left on my windscreen. Fortunately I'd left my dashcam running so was able to send a DVD to my insurer and that was the last I heard of the matter.
 
Pathetic if they can get away with this. If i had to pay up and i didnt ding it in the first place i would seek it out and smash the door in! :p
 
Along with above advice, I'd start billing them for your time and communication, £50 a phone call/email and £100 a letter sounds reasonable to me.
 
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