- Joined
- Nov 29, 2008
- Messages
- 7,832
- Location
- In a World of My Own.
- Car
- 2017 Audi RS6 Avant Performance Edition. Range Rover Supercharged - Lovely!
I have a large fleet of vehicles.
What with one thing and another, too many at the moment and some are therefore for sale on Auto Trader and/or ebay.
Myself and young Ringway Les, are insured to drive all of them.
Les is a dab hand at selling the cars, something I have neither the time or incrimination to do.
These cars have attracted calls from people wishing to part-ex pretty much anything and also ridiculously low offers - commonplace.
When the callers enquire, Les runs through the history etc. and chats to the prospective buyer.
Yesterday morning, I received a call from our insurance broker asking about an accident involving one of the cars around 10 days ago.
They quoted the reg number and said allegedly, the car was being driven by Les.
"NO CHANCE!" Was my reply.
An hour later, a letter arrived in the post from an accident claims company.
Dear Mr Ringway
Claim Number xxxxxxx
Our insured Mr Ringway
Driver Les Rongway
Vehicle: XXXX XXX
Date of incident --/--/----
We have been instructed as claims handling agents on behalf of *** Underwriting Services.
We have received notification from the third party representatives advising that you were involved in an incident on --/--/----.
They have alleged you had an accident with an oncoming vehicle.
Details of the location are awaited.
It is noted that we do not appear to have received a report of this incident from you.
Therefore, in order for us to give further consideration to indemnity and liability, please complete the attached claim form.
Please also confirm if you are aware of any third party witnesses to the incident, or if you have Dash-Cam footage.
You are welcome to email your response to ***********@*******.co.uk
When replying, please confirm the drivers date of birth.
Alternatively, you may contact our claims notification team on ***** *** *** who will take a report of the incident over the telephone.
We look forward to hearing from you within the next 7 days.
I called Les and as expected, he said that the whole thing is untrue.
I called my broker, told them about the letter and the response from Les.
They said that this sort of thing does happen, and that they would work with my insurer to try to get the whole thing tapped on the head.
I have only just renewed the policy and my broker said that hopefully it will be put to bed before the renewal so that I don't have to pay any increased costs!
So, these scamsters don't even know WHERE the supposed incident happened, and yet the accident claims company starts the ball rolling for a fraudulent claim!
The car is absolutely unmarked and in my ownership has never been involved in any sort of incident.
Also, they have, on the letter misspelled our surname.
Alarmingly, the insurance company named in the letter from the claims company is MY insurer! They only insure on a commercial basis, so are not generally known to the public.
Also, how did they get my address to write to me? ASKMID apparently gives all this sort of information in such cases.
So, how has this happened?
Well, I follow certain car markets and have an account with BCA - nothing unusual there.
However, when I see cars advertised with reg numbers blanked out, I assume something a little dodgy, perhaps clocking or an unrecorded write-off that is to be hidden from a previous owner, or perhaps the trader doesn't want other traders to know how much, or how little, they are making on a car.
Perhaps covering the reg number is to prevent such fraudulent activity? Quite plausible now I come to think about it.
And now to the crux of this post.
With the reg number showing on an advert on Auto Trader or ebay, the fraudsters are halfway there.
When they call or email to ask about the car and you give them your name - quite easily done if replying to an email, they have ALL they need to start a claim.
Knowledge of your geographical location (easy from the advert) will make their claim more credible.
I very much wanted to call the accident claims company and stump them, but my broker has instructed me to wait to hear from my insurer by telephone before making any contact.
So, when emailing or talking on the phone to prospective purchasers, change your name.
Any advice forthcoming before, or after, I speak to my insurers would be very much appreciated.
To say I am cross, is an understatement! This IS what 600psi punches are for!
What with one thing and another, too many at the moment and some are therefore for sale on Auto Trader and/or ebay.
Myself and young Ringway Les, are insured to drive all of them.
Les is a dab hand at selling the cars, something I have neither the time or incrimination to do.
These cars have attracted calls from people wishing to part-ex pretty much anything and also ridiculously low offers - commonplace.
When the callers enquire, Les runs through the history etc. and chats to the prospective buyer.
Yesterday morning, I received a call from our insurance broker asking about an accident involving one of the cars around 10 days ago.
They quoted the reg number and said allegedly, the car was being driven by Les.
"NO CHANCE!" Was my reply.
An hour later, a letter arrived in the post from an accident claims company.
Dear Mr Ringway
Claim Number xxxxxxx
Our insured Mr Ringway
Driver Les Rongway
Vehicle: XXXX XXX
Date of incident --/--/----
We have been instructed as claims handling agents on behalf of *** Underwriting Services.
We have received notification from the third party representatives advising that you were involved in an incident on --/--/----.
They have alleged you had an accident with an oncoming vehicle.
Details of the location are awaited.
It is noted that we do not appear to have received a report of this incident from you.
Therefore, in order for us to give further consideration to indemnity and liability, please complete the attached claim form.
Please also confirm if you are aware of any third party witnesses to the incident, or if you have Dash-Cam footage.
You are welcome to email your response to ***********@*******.co.uk
When replying, please confirm the drivers date of birth.
Alternatively, you may contact our claims notification team on ***** *** *** who will take a report of the incident over the telephone.
We look forward to hearing from you within the next 7 days.
I called Les and as expected, he said that the whole thing is untrue.
I called my broker, told them about the letter and the response from Les.
They said that this sort of thing does happen, and that they would work with my insurer to try to get the whole thing tapped on the head.
I have only just renewed the policy and my broker said that hopefully it will be put to bed before the renewal so that I don't have to pay any increased costs!
So, these scamsters don't even know WHERE the supposed incident happened, and yet the accident claims company starts the ball rolling for a fraudulent claim!
The car is absolutely unmarked and in my ownership has never been involved in any sort of incident.
Also, they have, on the letter misspelled our surname.
Alarmingly, the insurance company named in the letter from the claims company is MY insurer! They only insure on a commercial basis, so are not generally known to the public.
Also, how did they get my address to write to me? ASKMID apparently gives all this sort of information in such cases.
So, how has this happened?
Well, I follow certain car markets and have an account with BCA - nothing unusual there.
However, when I see cars advertised with reg numbers blanked out, I assume something a little dodgy, perhaps clocking or an unrecorded write-off that is to be hidden from a previous owner, or perhaps the trader doesn't want other traders to know how much, or how little, they are making on a car.
Perhaps covering the reg number is to prevent such fraudulent activity? Quite plausible now I come to think about it.
And now to the crux of this post.
With the reg number showing on an advert on Auto Trader or ebay, the fraudsters are halfway there.
When they call or email to ask about the car and you give them your name - quite easily done if replying to an email, they have ALL they need to start a claim.
Knowledge of your geographical location (easy from the advert) will make their claim more credible.
I very much wanted to call the accident claims company and stump them, but my broker has instructed me to wait to hear from my insurer by telephone before making any contact.
So, when emailing or talking on the phone to prospective purchasers, change your name.
Any advice forthcoming before, or after, I speak to my insurers would be very much appreciated.
To say I am cross, is an understatement! This IS what 600psi punches are for!
