Hi

So gla you feel more empowered. Definitely approach the ombudsman to ask what the obligation of the insurers are. PS, having had to contact the ombudsman about an insurance issue in the past, the insuers do not like this, and in our case were quick off the mark to deal with our complaint, and we ended up with a better settlement than we would have otherwise gotten. The critical factor can often be the cost of settlement. If it was a small crash with a pay out of less than £1,000, they are less likely to get off their buts and do anything as the cost of chasing it up would be greater.

Hope you do keep us up to date.

Good luck

Jane

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the advice. I am really grateful that people have taken the time to post and it makes me feel a tad bit better that other people get as wound up as me about these things.

Things are still ongoing. I have been pestering the insurance company almost daily by phone but am getting the same answers. They need evidence, they cannot prove the witness was not there. My insurance company have had to ask permission from the other driver's insurance to interview the witness, but they haven't heard back yet. They have said that if they refuse permission, this will probably work in my favour as they would be unlikely to stand up in court if they will not even speak to my insurance.

I am planning on putting in writing a list of questions that I would like them to ask the witness. The suggestions from tatajane will be really useful here, so thanks. I don't know how much difference this will make but worth a try. I get nowhere on the phone. They aren't particularly helpful. I have spoken to someone different each time and we go around in circles; me claiming this is fraudulent, them saying they need evidence. Every avenue leads back to the fact that it is other driver, plus his (made-up) witness v/s me.

I drive past the scene everyday and can't see any cameras. My insurers certainly haven't visited the scene - am I in a position to insist that they do? Also, another really good suggestion to contact local police. It has crossed my mind since that perhaps it was an insurance scam. I didn't think so at the time because of the reaction of the other driver, but I am having second thoughts now.

If it happens again (hopefully not!) but I will certainly be taking pictures and being a lot more proactive in protecting myself. I was very niave and assumed other people would behave in a decent manner. What a fool I feel!

Thanks again everyone and I shall keep you updated.

Love it.Great to hear there are stories out there where the scamsters dont win.

And its great to hear of people not letting them away with it.

Although I am loath to pay the extra, I do for legal protection to allow legal expenses for this type of injustice.

Sometimes though, even these guys will try to pay rather than go to court, so it comes out of that pot instead of the pot for your car insurance.

I hope this scamster paid a heavy price for his stupidity.

The problem is the ambulance chasers putting people up to claiming compensation when they wouldn't have thought of it themselves, that then leads on to someone chancing their arm to try and get some cash out of it, to then downright fraud.

I have had phone calls from the ambulance chasers 2 years after a minor bump with no injuries trying to get me make a claim. (non fault on my part I hasten to add).

Anyway dying to hear back from the guy/gal who put up the original post and get some feed back on what you think of the tips and hints.

Oh and if anyone else finds themselves in an accident, take the photos as suggested above, but take them of the person who was driving if you can as they walk towards you, or in their car.

If you have a voice recorded get it switched on before you get to talk to the person if you can.

In the event of an accident use your phone or carry a small camera with you and record as much as you can. Vehicle positions, damage ,skid marks etc. conversations but you must not admitt fault.Take rough measurement using your foot as 12" and a stride as a yard/metre If you are not sure go back to scene later. Unfortunatly the Police will not attend unless there are injuries. My friend and I were hit and pushed off the road. The other driver blamed my friend saying we were going too fast and didn't stop although we had stopped and pulled over before he hit us. He later claimed thousands for injuries and loss of earnings at the eventual court case the evidence we had blew his case out of the water.

sounds like an insurance scam to me, similar to a car suddenly braking at a junction so you tap the back bumper but the accident report is for avertually written of car and 3 passengers with whiplash. might be worth having a word with the local police for the area to see if other similar accident have occured. if not try googling the other cars reg no or drivers name andsee if they have com up on any other forums etc.

Hey you have my sympathy. Several tips for you.

Insist that they visit the scene

Insist that they get a description of you from the witness

Insist that they get a description of where the accident occurred from the witness

Insist they ask the witness of details of the journey where they were coming from, where they were going to, who else was in the car at the time of the accident, how much traffic was around at the time of the accident, where they were standing, or what car they were in at the time of the accident what the weather was like

Get them to include details of the persons place of employment (if appropriate) and to check if they were at work at the time of the accident.

If they say they were driving they should ask them if they have a relevant driving licence and insurance at the time of the incident

If they refuse to do this, or if you are dissatisfied with the level of service get in touch with the insurance ombudsman. Find out what the insurers obligations are, are they meeting them, and what your options are if you are not satisfied with the result.

You should still have the option of going to a small claims court and pursuing the other driver or the insurance company for the cost of the accident. I don't know if they are bound to stand by the insurer's decisions, but I would imagine not

So, I hope you will now see its not a lost cause. I would also ensure the insurer's know that you will not make it easy for them, and that for each door they close, you will be there to open another to get them to do their job properly.

Ooooh I so hate injustices.

Good luck

Jane

I totally agree with huckster and Tax Payer; you need to revisit the scene and see if there is anything that can aid your case. Also, when people are being untruthful they are far less detail oriented; this should work in your favour.

A few years ago I found myself in a similar situation to you; a young girl pulled out of a side turning and straight into me happily driving along the road. She suddenly had an independent witness, despite it only being her in her car and me and a passenger in mine. I persevered with my insurance company and refused to agree to a 50/50 settlement or it being my fault. I felt sure the insurance company were just going to settle, but eventually my determination paid off and after what felt like an eternity it was finally settled in my favour! Why I had to be the one to do all the work was beyond me; what on earth did I pay my insurance and legal cover for after all?

Don't get disheartened and stick to your guns!

The 'independent' witness has to be related to the fiend in some way - whether a work colleague, neighbour, man from the pub and you should ask the insurance company just how thoroughly they have checked him out.

Welcome to the lazy, sloppy, unprofessional, very rich world of the car insurance industry.

You don't say whether you have /had photographs of the damage and more importantly the road
markings and any signs thereon or about.

I wonder if one of those rich insurance boys actually left their office to visit the scene to check themselves,
They don't even check on google earth !!!!!!!!!

Refuse point blank to accept any of these 50 /50 deals, there is no such thing. The minute you accept
any responsibility your insurance are happy and dump you. They might impose the 50 / 50 on you
but at least you know the truth.

Huckster is right about CCTV, you should go back yourself and have a real good look, time is valuable.
Your insurance company should have asked you to do that ( but then again ............)

Again your insurance company should physically examine your car, it is very easy to identify how
damage was caused, indents and scratches indicate direction and speed etc.

Surely this is what you paid your premium for ( and all your previous premiums ).

You should remember that this 'witness' may yet support your version of events ( very
unlikely, but wait and see ) If your insurance company eventually manage to get out and
see this witness, they should give you a strong indication as to what they say. If you think
it is 'made up' then ask to see a copy of their statement. Your insurance company will tell
you that you can't , but rest assured YES YOU CAN.

Most importantly you should outline on this forum who your broker and insurance company
are. That will allows others to make a decision / identify decent companies and the 'Office boys'.
********************************************************************************************************

We only learn how sloppy these insurance companies are, when we need them !!!!!!!
There has been coverage on T.V today about 'whiplash' injuries. The general consenus
has very clearly been that 'people' have seen that the lazy bankers / insurers are simply
paper shufflers with no skill or desire and no intention to investigate or challenge claims.

They've had your premium, so there. Any wonder a lot of drivers now drive without insurance.

The banks are now very deeply entrenched in the insurance industry and simply gather
funds. You're now going to lose your excess, pay increased premiums and have to pay extra
excess fees placed on any future insurance. If you are a named driver on any other policy ???
or if you have to hire a car ?????? That's the service they gave you.

We can't expect them to believe everything you say BUT you are their customer and they have every right
to challenge you, but they seem to have made the usual decision from their office !!!!!!! We have to
accept that if we are at fault then there is some penalty but we pay high premiums for poor service, not
be repeatedly punished as indicated above.

Good luck and keep in touch.

I agree with your Insurers. They will probably not be able to prove that the independent witness was not there at the scene of the accident. From what I know, if one side has an independent witness, then they will probably not be held at fault, if the accident details appear to add up. Even if you were to push this, the best outcome would be a 50/50 accident, so a fault claim would still be noted against your policy.

It is up to the Insurers to decide on fault and admit any liability to the other Insurers. You delegate responsibility to Insurers to decide on liability within the terms of the policy, as they are covering the risk, so it is only reasonable that they decide.

Very annoying, but I would suggest that you just leave it in the hands of your Insurers. The only thing I could think of which may help, is whether there are any traffic cameras on the roundabout that may have a recording of the accident. If there is, then you could make a subject access request under Data protection for a copy of any video footage that shows your car at the date/time of the accident. Check the roundabout for cameras and if there is make enquiries with the Police as to who you need to contact.

Hi,

I am looking for some advice. I was involved in an accident at a roundabout shortly before Christmas. It was a three lane roundabout with left-hand lane for turning left, middle lane for straight on and right hand lane for straight on and turning right. I was in the middle lane as I was going straight on. I was on the roundabout when a car came round in the right hand lane. As he came level with me he swerved into my lane and there was a side to side collision.

He claimed that I swerved into his lane. I didn't. Anyway, we swapped details and got back into our cars. I watched him drive away. There were no independent witnesses although there were 3 other passengers in his car. I reported the accident to my insurance company as soon as I got home. A few days later they contacted me to say the other party hadn't reported the incident but they had informed his insurance.

A week or so after that I got another call from my insurance saying that the other party had an independent witness to the accident. It's untrue. There was no one there; I am certain no one approached him at the scene and they certainly didn't approach me. The driver and all passengers have also put in injury claims for whiplash. This is also ridiculous as it was a side collison and not really a hard collision.

My insurance company are sending someone to interview the witness but have basically said that if they are 'credible' I will have to accept liability. I am furious and very frustrated that I may well be held at fault when I wasn't and that someone can lie and benefit from it.

Does anyone have any advice as to what I can do? I have pressed my insurance company to investigate further but all they say is they cannot prove a witness was not there! I don't know how to respond to this. I feel totally powerless and the whole situation seems so unjust. Do I have to accept my insurance company's decision? Is there anything I can do?

Thanks for reading.