Beware con man at car park: makes false accusations of damage to his car

doubleglaze

A friend of mine - an honest man going about his lawful business- parked his car correctly in a carpark space outside a supermarket in west Galway City a few days ago.

A man was sitting in a car in the adjacent car parking space and falsely accused my friend of scraping his car.

He created a very intimidating scene, asking a third party whether she had seen his car being scraped (she didn't) , threatening my friend with an insurance claim, taking photos repeatedly of both my friend, his car, car registration number, insurance disk, etc. He basically created such a scene that, to save embarassment, a weaker individual might just have caved in and thrown a few euros at him to shut him up (probably your man's aim from the start). He was so harrassing and persuasive that a less alert driver might start questioning whether he really had done it.

My friend has reported him to Salthill Garda Station, along with his car registration number. The Gardai examined my friend's car and found no evidence that his car had impacted on another car. My friend also had his (new) car examined by a mechanic who found not a single mark on it. My friend then reported the matter to his insurance company who sent out a representative. The rep examined his car, took photos of it and was satisfied that it was not in contact with any other vehicle.

This was Irish and was wearing calf-length pants. He might be aged 25- 35 years.

Just warning ye- there's all types out there. Beware!

cfeeneyinterior

I reckon best thing would be to say nothing.... take out your phone and call the guards. Should quieten him pretty quick

Sponge Bob

What kind of car did the conman have ??

doubleglaze

Going from memory (friend told me a few hours ago, so I forget the details) I think he said it was a 1986 (!) Ford Focus. Will ask him again tomorrow.

Sponge Bob

Feckin thing ain't even worth the new claims bonus on a typical comprehensive insurance policy

kinetic

"calf length pants" say no more!

alimegs

should have handed him €20 and said, here i'll buy your car off ye

scholar007

doubleglaze wrote: »

a 1986 (!) Ford Fiesta.

An '86 Fiesta? Fcukin hilarious! :D:D

Did yer mate keep a straight face while said conman was accusing him of damaging his vehicle?

Seriously though, its probably not even registered to him and likely has no NCT or insurance. He probably gets dropped off from a tow truck every morning and picked up again every evening.

JohnCleary

If anything like this ever happens anyone, just call the Gardai. If the person genuinely thinks you damaged their car the will have no problem hanging around

Discodog

Given how common this has become in the UK we should all be wary. There have been a lot of UK cases where two lads overtake you & then jam on the brakes. There is always two of them so that they have witnesses. They then threaten to call the police, as you are technically in the wrong, & ask for cash. They tend to select vulnerable victims.

arandale

Also beware of cases of a car overtaking you and the driver pulling the handbrake, yes its always two and they prey on older people.

galwayrush

About 3 years ago i was driving along Westside with wife ,when a car started reversing at high speed towards us, we easily avoided it as thankfully the road was quiet at the time. Went to Mill St. to report it, garda says we were the 4th to report the same stunt and he supposed they better get a squad out there to have a look.....

doubleglaze

Am informed it was a Ford Focus, not a Ford Fiesta.

Unrealistic

doubleglaze wrote: »

Am informed it was a Ford Focus, not a Ford Fiesta.

In which case it is at least 12 years younger than 1986 I guess.

amiable

As far as i know Ford didn't make the Focus til either 1998 or 1999:)

xflyer

Something similar happened to my wife but then girlfriend in Dublin once. As she was reversing out he placed his car behind her. She tipped him slightly and he made all kinds of threats. But a witness intervened and told him he knew what he was up to. So he retreated.

In Galway I ran into an old ratty Fiesta who stopped suddenly on the old monagessha (spelling) roundabout. He had some excuse about some car coming onto the roundabout. I was furious even though I had ran into him. I smelt a rat straight away and called the Garda. Some of his friends turned up mysteriously quickly. As it happens my sister in law turned up too. I introduced her as my solicitor, she is a lawyer actually. Never heard another word. Which confirms my suspicions.

Unrealistic

Unrealistic wrote: »

In which case it is at least 12 years younger than 1986 I guess.

amiable wrote: »

As far as i know Ford didn't make the Focus til either 1998 or 1999:)

Exactly. 1986+12=1998.

amiable

Unrealistic wrote: »

Exactly. 1986+12=1988.

???????

scholar007

arandale wrote: »

Also beware of cases of a car overtaking you and the driver pulling the handbrake, yes its always two and they prey on older people.

- Overtaking and pulling the handbrake - sounds like a recipe for a pile up!