Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

[thequeenisclarice]

Hi all

I am currently going through a car claim as a driver hit my car from behind while I was bay parked in 2013. I was injured and have claimed.

I have just received a copy of their defence where I see the person who hit my car has lied about who he is! At the scene of the incident I was hit by a young boy in his 20's who gave me his name. Now I see the defence, the guy has claimed he is 50 years old! After some personal investigation on the internet, I see from social media that at the scene he actually gave me his father's name instead of his name, probably because he is not insured.

Legal proceedings have commenced and I have informed my solicitor of this, but I don't have any photographs of him from the scene and although I have witness statements, there is no way to PROVE that the man who hit me is not the fraudster going through the claims process. He is claiming for injury also.

What is the likelihood that he will be found out? I can't believe he has managed to get this far in the process without being caught out! I am quite worried about this.

[des8]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

You say "Legal proceedings have commenced".
In what way have they begun? How far down the court process have you gone?
As you were seemingly hit from behind whilst stationary I find it odd that the insurance companies involved haven't come to an agreement, and that the matter is apparently proceeding to court.

[nemesis45]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

Immediately inform your insurer of the description of the driver of the other car!
Not to disclose this information will be seen as a " material non disclosure" and
could affect your insurers attitude to this claim.
Were police involved a injuries resulted from the collision?

nem

[des8]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

From the original post I get the impression that he claim is being made against the third party by the OP through a solicitor.
Possibly his own insurers have not been involved.
If the Insurers of the father get to hear that their insured was not the driver, they will refuse to pay out.
The OP will then find himself trying to obtain satisfaction from an uninsured driver, and then possibly through MIB.

Really need to know more about the claim and its progress.
Know what should happen, but pragmatism and self interest might indicate alternative action!

[thequeenisclarice]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

Hi all

Thanks for the response. The letter sent to me by the drivers solicitors today literally says "legal proceedings have commenced" and that I will receive documents very soon that I should pass onto my insurance - court has not started yet.
I don't know why it is going to court either but I assume it's because the other party has not admitted liability.

The driver who hit me is going through a solicitor yes, sorry that this was unclear in the post, I really am not familiar with any of this process!

As soon as I received the details claiming the man was old and realised it wasn't him, I informed my solicitor and he said the only way to tell would be from my witness statements and when he appears in court it will be physical evidence it is not him.

I too am confused about why it is going to court as it was a very minor accident and there were no police involvement.

I am just worried that since this man is committing fraud that he will also lie about witnesses to try and strengthen his claim and make them believe it was him. I cannot believe this has happened and only 2 years later I am finding out the guy going through the whole process has been a fraud!

[des8]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

I'm afraid your posts are confusing, so let's go back to the start.
There was an incident, in which your vehicle was hit from behind while you were stationary.
Were there witnesses, if so did you get their names and addresses?
What damage was done to your vehicle?
What damage was done to third party vehicle?
Did you or your passenger(s) (if any) suffer injury?
Did you report incident to your insurers?
Did you make a claim against your insurance?
Did you make a claim against third party?
Can you post up a copy (suitably redacted) of the letter recently received from third party solicitors.
Has the third party ever written to you, holding you responsible for the incident and claiming damages? If so can you post up a copy of that letter as well (suitably redacted)?

I shall be out all tomorrow so may not get back to the thread until late Thursday, but hopefully others will look in.

[thequeenisclarice]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

In response to all questions:

I'm afraid your posts are confusing, so let's go back to the start.
There was an incident, in which your vehicle was hit from behind while you were stationary.
I was parked in a bay on a dead end road where the third party drove down the dead end road and instead of turning around, reversed all the way down the road hitting my car and the car next to me which was empty. The driver was a young boy and an older woman, who I think is his mother. He admitted liability and told me to phone him later and gave me all his details. When I phoned he then said he wasn't paying so I phoned my insurance to make a claim. Because I suffered injury which I felt a few days later I went to a personal injury company to deal with my injury and also my motor damage.

I received a letter a month ago where the third party have claimed that they also were injured but it gave me details of the third party and the birth date claims the man is 40 years old when the boy who hit me was around 20.

Were there witnesses, if so did you get their names and addresses?
There were three witnesses at the scene, and I asked all of them to be witnesses and they have given statements and are being used in this process.

What damage was done to your vehicle?
There was damage to the bumper of my vehicle, it had a hole in it from the impact and I had to get a new one.

What damage was done to third party vehicle?
The third party's vehicle has a long scratch on it where it scraped across my car.

Did you or your passenger(s) (if any) suffer injury?
Myself and my passenger suffered injuries to our necks and backs. It did not need ambulances at the scene.

Did you report incident to your insurers?
The incident was reported to the insurers the evening that it has happened.

Did you make a claim against your insurance?
I have gone through Nesbit Law Group to deal with my injury and motor damages.

Did you make a claim against third party?
Yes I have claimed that they are liable for my motor damage and personal injuries as he asked me to phone him in the evening after the accident to talk about it where he then said he was not paying for the damage, even though at the scene he accepted liability.

Can you post up a copy (suitably redacted) of the letter recently received from third party solicitors.

Has the third party ever written to you, holding you responsible for the incident and claiming damages? If so can you post up a copy of that letter as well (suitably redacted)?
The letter I received was about 15 pages with the third party holding me responsible, so I have posted the significant pages.

Attached is documents from the defendant. That is HIS history of the incident, his claim against me and his "injuries"

[des8]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

You say: " I phoned my insurance to make a claim"
and then:"ater I went to a personal injury company to deal with my injury and also my motor damage.

Were you claiming against your insurers AND the third party?
Were the Nesbit Law Group instructed by you or your insurance company?


If by you and not your insurance company, then immediately notify your insurers of this development, and tell them you have instructed the Nesbit Group to pursue your losses (I assume your insurance is only third party, fire and theft).

If your insurers instructed the Nesbit Group let both know about this.

In both instances keep a note of your conversation(s) and confirm them in writing.

As you have witnesses to the incident I wouldn't worry too much about him interfering with them.
Presumably you or the Nesbit Group have written statements from the witnesses.

[wales01man]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

If the OP and £ witnesses state the driver was young not older like his father would be would that not be strong evidence?

Is this time to inform the Police there must be an offence here?

[thequeenisclarice]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

If the OP and £ witnesses state the driver was young not older like his father would be would that not be strong evidence?

Is this time to inform the Police there must be an offence here?

I believe this is strong evidence too, however I am worried that the father will forge witnesses by asking people to say that he was the driver at the scene. If he has already lied about his identity and "knows what he is doing" then I feel like he will do this - then it will be my word against his. I hope this is not the case.

My solicitor has requested formal identification documents from his solicitors for me to see a photo so I can officially approve or deny that it was him - how would I know when to contact the police? I would have thought my solicitor would have mentioned this to me when I told him that the man making the claim against me is not the same person as the driver at the scene.

Thanks all for your help and apologies for the confusion.

[thequeenisclarice]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

You say: " I phoned my insurance to make a claim"
and then:"ater I went to a personal injury company to deal with my injury and also my motor damage.

Were you claiming against your insurers AND the third party?
Were the Nesbit Law Group instructed by you or your insurance company?


If by you and not your insurance company, then immediately notify your insurers of this development, and tell them you have instructed the Nesbit Group to pursue your losses (I assume your insurance is only third party, fire and theft).

If your insurers instructed the Nesbit Group let both know about this.

In both instances keep a note of your conversation(s) and confirm them in writing.

As you have witnesses to the incident I wouldn't worry too much about him interfering with them.
Presumably you or the Nesbit Group have written statements from the witnesses.

Thank you des8, the evening where myself and the driver could not come to an agreement, I phoned my insurance to inform them that I was in a minor accident and reported the incident.

When I realised I had injuries a few days after, I decided to go to Nesbit Law Group from my own accord, and informed my insurers that they will now be dealing with my case, both medically and my motor damage.

My insurance company are aware that Nesbit Law Group are dealing with my case, my insurance is fully comprehensive.

My solicitor rang me last night and told me that if it goes to a hearing, that I will have to be present with this unknown man claiming to be the driver (the father). I don't really feel comfortable with this however I will do what is best for the case and anything that will have this man caught for his lies.

[des8]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

As the third party is now making a claim against you, you must inform your insurers.
Ask them if they wish to defend the claim, or are happy to allow the Nesbit Group to do so on their behalf.

Inform them initially by phone, but confirm your conversation by letter (obtain proof of posting from PO - free) and keep copy

It could well be the insurers will want to deal with this claim against you themselves, in which case you may want to consider asking if they will takeover your claim against the third party.
There may however be ramifications with Nesbit if you need to cancel your agreement with them.

PS is the person at Nesbit dealing with your claim a qualified solicitor?

[thequeenisclarice]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

As the third party is now making a claim against you, you must inform your insurers.
Ask them if they wish to defend the claim, or are happy to allow the Nesbit Group to do so on their behalf.

Inform them initially by phone, but confirm your conversation by letter (obtain proof of posting from PO - free) and keep copy

It could well be the insurers will want to deal with this claim against you themselves, in which case you may want to consider asking if they will takeover your claim against the third party.
There may however be ramifications with Nesbit if you need to cancel your agreement with them.

PS is the person at Nesbit dealing with your claim a qualified solicitor?

Hi Des,

Thanks for the reply and sorry for the very late reply, I've actually got a court date set in a few months to settle this through a hearing.

The person at Nesbit is a qualified solicitor, and I have to keep my agreement with them or else I will have to pay the costs which will be expensive. So unfortunately can't give this to the hands of my insurers again.

The accident happened in 2013 and is only just going to court, but I am confused as to why the father (the one making the fraudulent claim about being a driver and injured) has not looked to settle this before going to court? Surely he is only getting himself into a tough situation when he appears in court with me and I can physically see it's a different person?

My solicitor is requesting identification from the third party, for me to look at and confirm or deny that this person was indeed the driver or not. It has taken a while to obtain this because my solicitor said the third party will most likely only provide the identification once the court date has been set/legal proceedings have commenced.

Recently, my solicitor informed me that he is relying on one witness from the scene of the accident. Despite this being clearly impossible (he can't have had a legitimate witness at the scene since he was not even the driver, the witness can't have seen an accident between two people that did not happen) I am worried that although I have witnesses who saw the driver was a young boy, now he has claimed he has a witness too, won't I need to do more to prove that he was not the driver? I can't imagine what else I could do, I didn't anticipate this would happen, but I feel like if both sides have witnesses to say he was AND wasn't the driver, won't they cancel themselves out?

I am just worried that he has taken it this far, seemingly without a worry that he is making a fraudulent claim, which makes me think he may have a chance to get away with it?

[des8]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

You did tell your insurers that a third party has made a claim against you, didn't you?

The result will depend on who the judge believes.
As you were stationary, parked in a bay, and were hit from behind it would be interesting to see how the third party claim you were responsible for any alleged injuries.
Also there is no reason why you should lie about the identity of the third party, and this will be obvious to the judge.
On the contrary there could well be a reason for a father to try and defend his son (uninsured & no licence?), his wife for allowing herself to be carried in a vehicle driven by such a driver, and the father for allowing his son to drive whist uninsured and unlicensed. They have all committed offences!

[Openlaw15]

Re: Person Who Hit Car Lied about Identity

Hi Des,

Thanks for the reply and sorry for the very late reply, I've actually got a court date set in a few months to settle this through a hearing.

The person at Nesbit is a qualified solicitor, and I have to keep my agreement with them or else I will have to pay the costs which will be expensive. So unfortunately can't give this to the hands of my insurers again.

The accident happened in 2013 and is only just going to court, but I am confused as to why the father (the one making the fraudulent claim about being a driver and injured) has not looked to settle this before going to court? Surely he is only getting himself into a tough situation when he appears in court with me and I can physically see it's a different person?

My solicitor is requesting identification from the third party, for me to look at and confirm or deny that this person was indeed the driver or not. It has taken a while to obtain this because my solicitor said the third party will most likely only provide the identification once the court date has been set/legal proceedings have commenced.

Recently, my solicitor informed me that he is relying on one witness from the scene of the accident. Despite this being clearly impossible (he can't have had a legitimate witness at the scene since he was not even the driver, the witness can't have seen an accident between two people that did not happen) I am worried that although I have witnesses who saw the driver was a young boy, now he has claimed he has a witness too, won't I need to do more to prove that he was not the driver? I can't imagine what else I could do, I didn't anticipate this would happen, but I feel like if both sides have witnesses to say he was AND wasn't the driver, won't they cancel themselves out?

I am just worried that he has taken it this far, seemingly without a worry that he is making a fraudulent claim, which makes me think he may have a chance to get away with it?

Costs

Yoursolicitor can only claim for the costs of his services up to the date of you transferring to another, ie the insurance company should you choose to. Was it a conditional fee agreement with the solicitor?

Tort law

The law generally is that driver 1 must have breached their duty (legal responsibility to other drivers, ie driver 2), the breach must be linked to the injuries (causation). If driver 1's breach caused the injuries complained of to driver 2, then driver 1 is simply liable by way of paying damages (compensation) to the driver 2 and his/ her occupant/s personal injuries arising through the collision. Your facts, driver 1 struck your vehicle whilst it was motionless in a parking bay by or near the school. The particular collision details are that driver 1 was driving without due care and attention as he was driving in reverse motion but lost control, striking your car from behind as well as another behind you (ie before he hit yours. How fast was the young boy reversing, it must have been rather fast to lose control to collide with your vehicle and the other innocent 3rd party's vehicle. Whether father was driving or son was driving, no matter who admits to driving, one or both of them are liable for damages you suffer. So, it's either a claim against the father's insurance company or the son's. The fact that son has a history of driving problems indicates it's more likely to be him driving. If the facts were that the father has a bad driving history, vice versa

Criminal law

Was the driver reported for driving without due care and attention, or dangerous driving? If the father accepts he was the one driving and the evidence based on witness accounts is that he was not, he and his son, his wife (potentially) are all liable for fraud. Whoever was driving should be charged with driving without due care and attention.