Get rear-ended on purpose - is it a scam?

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sadie

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Anyone ever heard of anyone trying to get rear-ended on purpose? Last week a friend approached a roundabout on an icy morning - there was nothing approaching the roundabout ahead of him, nor no one to the right or left approaching it. On making the turn he came upon a car which appeared stationary on the far side of the roundabout - tried to stop and skidded into him. The driver could not speak English, did not seem at all concerned about the damage to the car (i.e. did not jump out to look at the damage) but firstly stayed in the car and immediately got on the phone to some friends who appeared on the scene very quickly. It just seemed peculiar behaviour. Garda were rung but reluctant to come out as it was a minor incident - but 3rd party insisted on garda attending the scene. Insurance details were exchanged etc. My friend is liable no matter what as he did the rear-ending, but wondering if it was a scam what would be the purpose of it?
 
If they (their friend) were insistant on the gardai being called , then it's probably not a scam, more likely to be someone not used to icy conditions & being overly careful.

But there are some scams that go along these lines:

- Friends show up or few passengers in the car try to cause alot of confusion & suddenly your handbag, briefcase, coat etc. is missing
- OH stopped at lights on a slight incline...the battered van in front rolled back & claimed it was my OH fault but sure just give him €100 cash & they'd forget all about it. OH insisted on calling the gardai & suddenly they couldn't wait.
 
I had a similar experience once, very early in the morning on a national road. I was driving along as normal quite a bit behind an estate type car with two male occupants at about 100km per hour. Suddenly the car braked severely and came almost to a stop. I reacted quickly and managed to stop also. I could see nothing in front of them and then drove on again behind them. We continued up the road for about a mile, reaching the 100km speed - when the same thing happened.

Luckily, I managed to stop once more but by this time I was quite shaken as I realised they were doing it on purpose. I actually pulled in and stopped. There was no traffic on the road at the time and as a lady driver on her own I actualy felt quite vulnerable. They drove away at speed.

My regret is that I never got the registration of the car. I find it incredible that anyone would risk such a dangerous manoeuvre. Once thing I do know, not that it has any relevance is the the car had an Irish reg.
 
A few years ago someone told me that in America (New York area) this was a scam with the "injured party" making one call to the insurance company and another to their lawyer. Subsequently the other party were sued for injuries sustained in the "accident". Never heard of it happening in Ireland or the UK though.
 
Armada, sounds like you were driving up their ass? Wouldn't condone slamming on the brakes to get someone off my tail. However, have seen it done numerous times to tailgaters.
 
I've seen a few fradulent attempts over the years (probably the most comical was where a motorbike 'passenger' appeared from a side street after a minor accident, layed down on the road & pretended he was involved in the accident - surprisingly it didn't work!) but most of these are unsophisticated. If you friend believes there was something fraudulent happening they can ring the Insurance federation confidential report line (can't think of the number off hand but I'm sure its on their website). They will investigate the claim & should be able to check if the claimant has a record for such claims with different insurers.

www.powerinsurances.ie
 
sadie said:
Anyone ever heard of anyone trying to get rear-ended on purpose? Last week a friend approached a roundabout on an icy morning - there was nothing approaching the roundabout ahead of him, nor no one to the right or left approaching it. On making the turn he came upon a car which appeared stationary on the far side of the roundabout - tried to stop and skidded into him. The driver could not speak English, did not seem at all concerned about the damage to the car (i.e. did not jump out to look at the damage) but firstly stayed in the car and immediately got on the phone to some friends who appeared on the scene very quickly. It just seemed peculiar behaviour. Garda were rung but reluctant to come out as it was a minor incident - but 3rd party insisted on garda attending the scene. Insurance details were exchanged etc. My friend is liable no matter what as he did the rear-ending, but wondering if it was a scam what would be the purpose of it?
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Hi Sandie,

Unfortuntately I have heard of this scam a lot whilst living in England. Insurance companies and the police are aware it is happening but it is very hard to prove. The driver of the car in front will stop suddenly when they know the driver behind is too close to stop safely, no one is ever seriously hurt, details are exchanged and the next thing is the driver is claiming whiplash, time off work etc and a compensation claim is lodged. Fake insurance claims are a fact of life unfortunately and it is believed that every fake claim costs legitimate policy holders approx £40 on each policy held - thats house, contents, car, travel so when taken all together it all adds up!! These are UK estimates but I would doubt Ireland is not far behind.

Scammers are out there on the roads unfortunately and just a momentary lack of concentration is all they need so it really pays to make sure everyone remains vigilant while driving (obviously not only to avoid this type of 'accident' but to remain safe).

Kind regards

LL
 
I know of an alleged serial claimer on these rear-ending incidents.

Before you know it their neck is in a brace, psychological trauma etc etc

The poor unfortunate person has been unlucky enough to have been rear ended no less than 3 times in the last 4 or 5 years :rolleyes:
 
lemonhead said:
Armada, sounds like you were driving up their ass? Wouldn't condone slamming on the brakes to get someone off my tail. However, have seen it done numerous times to tailgaters.
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Read my post again Lemonhead...


"I was driving quite a bit behind"...... which proves I must have been to be able to stop without skidding into them. No excuse either way for that kind of behaviour.
 
A friend of mine was stopped at lights in Inchicore a couple of years back. The car in front (driven by a foreign person) actually reversed back into him on purpose. Driver got out and then start saying you drove into me etc and start asking for cash.

My friend is a motor dealer and involved in SIMI immediately phoned the guards. Guy started off asking for €500 then €300 then €100, but my friend insisted on Gardai. Guards came, person then start saying that they had poor english/etc and it was an accident and that they "thought" my friend had driven into them.

Apparently that scam was doing the rounds at that time. It would have been about three years back.
 
According to the livedrive forum on Dublin City FM, it was a scam around Knockmaroon hill during the summer last year. I've also heard of it happening in Limerick.
 
sounds like insurance fraud to me ............these guys know that a personal injury can easily be settled with PIAB ........no court appearance necessary .

As for the car .... it was probably an older model ........
 
With every insurance claim you are entitled to 10% compensation... Do enough damage and you could be in for a nice little ahem, back-hander / payout...
 
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