Is there any justice in this country???

[gizmondothefirst]

In October as my partner was leaving work in her car (Leaving a cul-de-sac with an industrial estate at the end) she was forced off the road by a G4S vehicle speeding round a blind bend.
The road is in a large residential area where residents park on one side of the road. Some parts are left clear to pull in to allow oncoming traffic to pass. However, because of the G4S guy travelling too fast (30mph limit) my partner had to react quickly to avoid a head on collision. In doing so she clipped a parked vehicle. The G4S vehicle ground to a halt and then proceeded to gently squeeze through what gap was left, then sped off.
My partner didn't get a reg number of the G4S car BUT her colleague was in the car behind her and witnessed the full event, and being as the G4S was obviously emblazoned with the company logo she (and I) thought there would be no problem following this through SHOULD it go to the insurers.

There was NO damage to our car - the dirt had been rubbed off where it had touched the parked vehicle, but that was it. Luckily my partner took a photo of the damage sustained to the parked vehicle, which had a dent on the front wing and white paint marks along the damaged area. (Strange as our car s dark blue!).
Being a model citizen, my partner went knocking door to door to find the owner of the vehicle, but no avail, so she left her details on his windscreen and came home. She then spent hours that evening writing the full account in an email to G4S in the hope they would be able to pin point the vehicle in question that forced my partner off the road.

The next day came a reply from G4S and an email from the owner of the parked vehicle, lets call him Richard!
G4S stated that although they could sympathise with my partner they have no way of knowing which of their vehicles are where at any time throughout the day, and without the reg number they would do nothing. Not what we hoped for but the email we received from Richard was rather pleasant, and he was very thankful contact details were left for him.
My partner CC'd him in all email correspondence with G4S, s that he knew what she was trying to do, and at the same time we asked him to get 3 quotes, which, should the need arise she could give them to G4S to settle.

We obviously got nowhere with G4S so we offered to pay for the repairs to Richard, upon production of his 3 quotes. (It wasn't as informal as this suggests) which he was happy with.
We were as astonished when he came back with quotes for work totalling almost £2000!!!
Looking at the breakdown he was claiming for a new alloy wheel and tyre, a new front wing and bumper! Now remember - there was absolutely no damage to our car what-so-ever!
We questioned this with Richard and he became not a very nice man at all, threatening us with the police and legal action etc etc. Lets now call him Dick!
Suffice to say, we passed it to the insurers.

All this happened in October last year, and today our insurers have come back to say that there is nothing more they can do without a G4S reg number. They also say that they will not be questioning the quotes provided by Dicks insurers, even though they 'Take fraudulent claims very seriously', and as far as they are concerned the case is closed! Oh, and by the way - your insurance will be going up by several hundred pounds for the next 3 years! Even with over 12 years no claims and protected NCB. Nearly £700 a year for a 1.3 Diesel Fiat Punto!!! (It is my car, which my partner is a named driver on my policy, and who used it for work that day)

And just in case we weren't hacked off enough, I kid you not, today my partner is at work with my car and someone has reversed into her car which is parked up outside the house! And driven off with not so much as a by your leave!!!! (This time though, a friend saw it happen and got the registration number!) Little justice.

So, is there a moral to this story....
....
...
...No. I don't think there is? You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't!

[hissie]

Oh dear, what a nightmare.

There probably wasn't anyway the GS4 company would be able to identify which vehicle it was without a reg number. Although if the driver was delivering something, then if you had the time of the event, surely they would be able to pin point the vehicle that way.

Unfortunatly people do take full advantage when it comes to insurance claims. Luckily he wasn't in his car or he'd have put in a claim for whiplash aswell. My OH went into the back of a car due to skidding on black ice. The car in front had very little damage, but the driver claimed for whip lash & repairs to his vehicle. There was no way he had sustained whiplash.

Really sorry that you didn't get it sorted. Hopefully the insurance will pay out so you can get your car repaired.

[nicky]

Sitting here shaking my head Gizmo, sometimes it would appear, it doesn't pay to be honest does it. The only good thing is at least your other half has a clear conscience.

[Queenie Bee]

Well I know if it was me I would be tempted to over claim like Dick did but I am a honest person so it wouldn't happen ! There are far too many Dicks in this world and this is not the first time I have heard a story like this ! Glad I don't drive lol

[Karma]

I think garages rub their hands and just see £ signs when someone says that insurance is paying the bill

Sorry to hear of your woes Giz

[gizmondothefirst]

I'm the first person to hold my hands up if I've done anything wrong, and although accidents do happen, if I am ever at fault, no matter how difficult it is I always own up. I don't make excuses, i just own up. And I kind of expect other people to do likewise.
Now I'm not naive, and do realise there are dishonest people out there, but they are the minority (I'm perhaps being naive in that statement?) and I don't expect people to react that way, like Dick for example. He was lovely initially, and my partner spoke to him on the phone and copied him in all emails and all was well, but the moment he gave us the quote and we questioned it, as is our right, he became quite aggressive in his emails.
If my partner would have caused that damage there would be no problem.
Now my partner couldn't say whether there was damage before she hit the car or not, but looking at a) the lack of damage on our car, b) the extent of damage on his and the white paint marks, c) what he was claiming was damaged, and d) the speed in which the collision happened ( less than 20mph) I believe it is obvious this has happened before and that person drove off without leaving any details and he's trying to cash in on my partners good nature.

It just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Looking at the facts I don't think there was anything my partner could have done differently, other than not swerving and hitting G4S head on, which thinking about it would have probably given us the better outcome...though I doubt anyone in their right mind would do that?!
If he would have been travelling at the speed limit there would have been enough time to for them both to slow down and not have to take evasive action.

Anyway - my partner wrote to G4S with all the details, including the time and a list of businesses that are in the industrial estate - surely they must be able to look up what services they provide to any one of these businesses and know which of their employees carries out the service. What business can't trace employees in this 'Big Brother' world?

The car that was damaged today only suffered a dent and a scratch, but it means we have to go through the insurers, then to a garage, be without the car for a day or more and it's an inconvenience. It's not the end of the world but we are looking at selling it in the next month or 2 and could really do without the (minor) hassle.

Nicky - yes she has a clear conscience, and I can sit here and smile at that and know that in our little bubble at least, we've done all we can (more her than me) and regardless of anybody else, we've done right by us!

[gizmondothefirst]

QB - I'd be tempted to be a 'Dick' too, but in the cold light of day I am too honest and wouldn't be able to look them in the eye.

Karma - Garages see us, damaged vehicles, MoT's etc etc as a license to print money!

[Globalbloke (Tim)]

Gutted for you, as per my thread where I found some pricks "trying" to steal from my Mercedes, it appears that honesty and gumption are in the minority in this country, this is why we have been nicknamed "The Whip Lash" country in the EU, there were more whiplash injuries from motor vehicle accidents than in any other country in the EU, if not the world, this makes a hell of a lot of injured people or a lot of dishonest people and also "injury claim" companies encouraging dishonest behaviour.

We all wonder why our premiums are some of the highest in the EU (asides from the money grabbing idiots that run them), if all these bogus claims are being paid out then they recoup their costs somehow, normally with premium increases. My car was scratched on both sides a couple of years ago, I didn't bother going through insurance because I knew my insurance premium would go up and cost more than just sorting it myself.

Gutted for you Giz, it's always the good that get shafted.

[nicky]

Just a thought Giz, are there any cctv cameras in the area?

[Deleted]

I cant believe that G4S aka formerly known as Group 4 Security and merged with securicor , do not have trackers on their vehicles ! ! ! !

[Queenie Bee]

Omg storm you are so right a huge security risk !

[hissie]

Apr 18, 2012 18:23:43 GMT @storm said:

I cant believe that G4S aka formerly known as Group 4 Security and merged with securicor , do not have trackers on their vehicles ! ! ! !

Why doesn't that surprise me

They were the security company that were losing prisoners wasn't it?

[hissie]

Just a thought.....wonder if they telling porkies so you don't try & claim on their insurance?

[maccafan]

The insurance industry is the Thieves Guild..

Apologies to anyone who works in them, but they are a completely out of control and could use some firm regulation.

[Deleted]

A guild straight out of a Pratchett novel