Beware - car crash scammer opposite Co-op

[buddug]

I've just had a run-in with a car crash scammer. I'm wondering if anyone else might have had a similar experience. I parked opposite the Co-op in Lordship Lane (10.15pm) where I was going to buy some dog food. I started parking behind a man, with plenty of room behind me, but he then indicated he was pulling out, so I waited until he did so and went into his space easily, so I was nowhere near the car behind me. Actually, even if he hadn't pulled out I would have had plenty of room to park.

When I got out, a man, who looked more Middle Eastern than Turkish though, with black hair and was quite smartly dressed in a black suit) said to me: 'You hit my car'. I laughed and said I was at least a meter away from it and could in no way have hit it and I then had a close look at the front of his car, to make a point, and told him it didn't even have a mark on it. When I came out of the Co-op, a white accomplice of his, or someone he'd paid with a beer (he was drunk and had a newly poured pint of beer on his table outside the restaurant) said to me: 'You hit his car twice, I saw it.' I then laid into him for lying and asked if his full beer glass had just been bought for him by the scammer. Interestingly, a waitress came out of the restaurant and told this man to sit down and shut up, so he obviously had form, bless him. I then thanked her and drove off. The man who made the initial accusation was nowhere to be seen at this point. It might have been a one-off, but do watch out. I shall be warning my insurer tomorrow.

[Huggers]

I had a similar thing parking at the southern end of Peckham Rye and builders leapt out and said I had hit a sports car behind me. I was nowhere near it and there was no mark. I got my phone out and said I was phoning my insurers and they went back inside. I warned my insurers that I thought it was a scam. I don't think the men even owned the car! This was a couple of years back.

[buddug]

Thank you for that Huggers. It's a huge scam. But this one in Lordship Lane seemed adept at it, and even 'paid' an accomplice 'witness'. Damn their eyes! Be on your guard, East Dulwichians! And take photos. Unfortunately, I didn't have my mobile with me to do that.

[dimples]

My husband has had incrediable problems with the insurance when out of the blue someone has accused him of clipping his car in under hill road one day when he hadn't even used his car that day and we don't even live on that road so really don't know how they managed that but in the end once we'd had loads of phoning around the insurance can down !

[James Barber]

If you have a high end car that you service via an authorised garage they'll download lots of car data - that data is usually stored in Europe on the Channel Islands - so Police can't do a mass trawl of speeding, etc. So it may be possible to ask an authorised garage to report on certain days car data in the cirucmstances you described dimples.

[JohnL]

dimples Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> My husband has had incredible problems with the

> insurance when out of the blue someone has accused

> him of clipping his car in under hill road one day

> when he hadn't even used his car that day and we

> don't even live on that road so really don't know

> how they managed that but in the end once we'd had

> loads of phoning around the insurance can down !

This is wasting your time however - maybe a whole weekend -

I'd be tempted to charge it at an hourly rate. :)

[dimples]

Sadly no flash car just bog standard ! But thankyou for info

[lpool]

We had an incident last week which I couldn't decide was genuine or a scam. Someone had parked part way across our driveway. We managed to get pass it when going out but when came back had a note through our door saying we had hit their car. The irony was that firstly, the car was illegally parked, and secondly, we had been forced to turn left because of the way it had been parked, making it impossible for us to have caused the alleged damage.

[stringvest]

I have dash cams fitted back and front, they come on with the ignition. I also have a battery voltage protector installed so they can be left on if I am in a vulnerable location, whilst leaving enough battery to start the car.

[stevie23b]

A