Motor Claim against me but I wasnt there

C

Carzy

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Someone is claiming I caused damage to their car but at the time of the "incident" I (and my car) were at home.

The person is claiming my car reveresed into theirs and drove away. They then went to the Gardai with a reg. no. and car description which was mine but I wasnt there!!!!!

Assessor who checked my car said a small dent under my rear reg plate was like bumping into a tow bar or the like. That was the only mark on my car that could be regarded as "fresh".

Now my insurance company say that it could be compatible with the damage to the other car. Insurance company is currently awaiting CCTV footage from the Gardai of the area this incident took place.

It's now three months and I've received my insurance renewal notice. My no claims bonus is gone and they're increasing my premium from €357 last year to €599 now.

I am so frustrated as I've never had a claim against me nor made one in 13 years driving.

Is there anything I can do?
 
I was at home with kids and their Dad. So no independent witness. My car was in my driveway.

Was using my mobile on calls and texts around the time - would mobile phone company be able to pinpoint my location? Or is that only used in serious criminal cases?

Is the onus on the person making the claim to prove things as opposed to me trying to defend my side of things?

Its purely their word against mine so why should their word be accepted over mine?
 
Did the registration and the description match your car or just the reg. As in they gave reg as 07d12345 which is yours but said it was a blue toyota and you drive a white BMW.
Onus will be on you to prove you were not there.
No harm in ringing your mobile company to see if they will check where you were.
 
I should have tried that as soon as I was informed of all this. But I just assumed that it would all rightify itself and turn out to be a geniune error on the other persons behalf. Will try the mobile company on Monday though.

Its all soooo unfair.

Whats the point in paying insurance, if insurance companies will just pay out without proof in the event of a claim?
 
Often for a small claim they will simply pay up rather than fight as it is cheaper.
 
I understood that insurance companies will normally reqiure an accident report form to be completed by the policy holder before dealing with a claim in these sort of circumstances. The 'third parties' claim is against you rather than against your insurer. I presume there is only a damage claim rather than personal injuries.

On what basis are your insurers dealing with this matter.

Was the third party supposed to be in the vehicle at the time? Are there any witnesses?

What kind of damage is alleged to have been caused to the other vehicle? I can't imagine an impact that causes a 'small dent' under your number plate causing serious damage to another vehicle.

If there is CCTV covering the area available you should have no worries as it should prove that neither you nor your car were there.
 
I havent completed/returned the claim form as I have no input for it?

Third party was approaching their car when they saw the incident, so no injury claim involved.

Am I entitled to get this persons name/contact number from my insurance company?

I'm hoping and praying the real culprit will be on CCTV.
 
Willowchase said:
I understood that insurance companies will normally reqiure an accident report form to be completed by the policy holder before dealing with a claim in these sort of circumstances. The 'third parties' claim is against you rather than against your insurer. I presume there is only a damage claim rather than personal injuries.

On what basis are your insurers dealing with this matter.

Was the third party supposed to be in the vehicle at the time? Are there any witnesses?

What kind of damage is alleged to have been caused to the other vehicle? I can't imagine an impact that causes a 'small dent' under your number plate causing serious damage to another vehicle.

If there is CCTV covering the area available you should have no worries as it should prove that neither you nor your car were there.
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The Insurance company must deal with the TP claim under their Road Traffic Act obligations (by deal with I don't necessarily mean pay).

They may require a report form but this is to comply with policy terms. It is important to complete this, it is your version of events. You should send it back with a simple denial of being involved. If you do not you may be in breach of policy conditions and if the insurance company have to pay out to the other party then they could be seek to recover this amount directly from you.
 
Your quite right Cairn. As far as I recall this used not be the way in relation to property damage but I think EU legislation, adopted by this state, changed this (or am I getting confused again :confused:).

On this basis, of cours,e it is essential to co-operate with the insurer otherwise OP is storing up trouble for him/herself in the long run regardless of how this turns out.

Would it be normal for a motor dealer to register a number of identical model vehicles, particularly in January (in the case of a popular model), at the same time and consequenly have the registration numbers running in sequence? In this case a slightly misread number plate could result in similar vehicle models and similar colours (popular colour -Silver?) being incorrectly identified. Maybe farfetched, but possibly an argument that could be brought forward if any of the circumstances fit.

Unfortunately in civil cases it is based on balance of probabilities rather than conclusive evidence.

Carzy, can anybody, even familly, vouch for your being at home? I would still be inclined to establsh the extent of the damage to see if your insurer is correct re compatibility of the damage. It strikes me that if you bumped against someone's towbar your car would come off worst.
 
Willowchase said:
...
Would it be normal for a motor dealer to register a number of identical model vehicles, particularly in January (in the case of a popular model), at the same time and consequenly have the registration numbers running in sequence? In this case a slightly misread number plate could result in similar vehicle models and similar colours (popular colour -Silver?) being incorrectly identified. Maybe farfetched, but possibly an argument that could be brought forward if any of the circumstances fit....
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I've parked beside an identical car with one digit difference in the reg number. Afterwards I noticed it seems to commute roughly that route too. The car was a special edition so had fairly distinctive trim. Over the years a few people said they'd seen our car where it wasn't. Once I had a dispute with a cyclist, when he claimed, I'd had a near miss with him. When I'd not even been on the road he claimed it happened on.

Dunno how common it is.
 
Sent a request to my mobile phone company enquiring about pintpointing my location at the time of the incident. Dont hold out much hope though.

Also spoke to my insurance company. Third party has been dealing direct with my insurance and hasn't involved their own insurance company. They received an estimate to repair the damage to her car of 971eur.

My company wrote directly to her on Jan 28th stating there was no evidence I was involved but have not had a response yet.

If nothing further happens they will close the case without paying out and I should receive my 9 years no claims back. Fingers crossed!

Thanks for all your replies, it's been 3 years since I posted on the site and I'd forgotten how helpful and informative it can be.
 
AlbacoreA said:
I've parked beside an identical car with one digit difference in the reg number. Afterwards I noticed it seems to commute roughly that route too. The car was a special edition so had fairly distinctive trim. Over the years a few people said they'd seen our car where it wasn't. Once I had a dispute with a cyclist, when he claimed, I'd had a near miss with him. When I'd not even been on the road he claimed it happened on.

Dunno how common it is.
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You are not the only one. I bought a car from a dealer in Fermoy and was working in Cork city, right beside their sister branch. Sure enough, one day, I pulled in beside an identical model to mine in every way, the reg one digit out - I took a photo to prove it!
 
Sent a request to my mobile phone company enquiring about pintpointing my location at the time of the incident. Dont hold out much hope though.
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You know it strikes me that even if the mobile phone company provide evidence that your phone was not at the scene of the accident, that is not conclusive evidence that you were not there. So it might not be the panacea you might imagine it to be. Having said that, it does indicate that you presence was unlikely.
 
You're right andI had thought of that, but anyway they've responded that they cant provide the information I wanted.
 
A friend of mine told me that, many, many years ago, he parked behind a new car, as his was, same make model & colour and HIS reg no. Turned out that both cars had the same but opposite numbers, i.e. his no on the front of his car and also on the back of the other. The other car had a number 1 digit out on their front AND my friend's number on the back...and my friend had their number on his back!!
The guy fitting the numbers the previous week had mixed up the sets!!:rolleyes:
 
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At the weekend the Guardian or the Sunday Times had a similar incident reported by a reader. The newspaper investigated and discovered that currently in England there are thousands of exact duplicate cars on the road. Makes you think. Could this be going on here.
 
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