Friend claiming for false whiplash

LegacyUser · 15-06-2019 10:28am #1

Regular user going unreg for this.

With all the talk of 'Ireland's Claim Culture' in recent weeks, I would like people's advice re my own situation.

My friend (27) had a small car crash on the M50 several months ago. The girl behind her accepted full liability. My friend put in a claim for whiplash immediately afterwards. She attended the doctor to have the attendance on record, and with the sole intention of claiming whiplash. She has no more whiplash than the man on the moon!

I meet up with this friend regularly (2/3 times weekly) and she is constantly talking about how much she is looking forward to her 15k payout (her solicitors confirmed this would be the approximate payout). It infuriates me, as I know she is conning the system, and I sit there listening to her brag about her big payout when 1) I know it is all a con and 2) Big payout for her, increased premiums for the rest.

I am seeking advice as I just hate listening to con artists like this. It is making me reconsider our friendship.

Big Bag of Chips · 15-06-2019 11:30am

https://www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/office-of-corporate-communications/news-media/guidelines-for-the-reporting-of-suspected-fraudulent-insurance-claims.html

Abba987 · 15-06-2019 11:41am

Big Bag of Chips wrote: »

https://www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/office-of-corporate-communications/news-media/guidelines-for-the-reporting-of-suspected-fraudulent-insurance-claims.html

Exactly.

Id say your friendship is irreparably damaged too. Couldnt be listening to that and have any respect for someone

dudara · 15-06-2019 11:45am

I think you know the answer to this one, you’re probably just struggling with making the decision.

If your friend is making a fraudulent claim, then that’s a criminal offense. You need to report it to the Gardaí. You can also report it anonymously to insuranceconfidential.ie if you’d find it easier.

In either case, it will be investigated to see if her claim is fraudulent.

Also, I’d personally end the friendship.

Arrival · 15-06-2019 2:32pm

Inform her she's a scumbag, explain how ***** doing this increases premiums for everyone and then cut her out of your life. Only people with terrible morals and a serious lack of honesty would be able to actually consider even submitting a false claims like this, and someone who goes ahead and does it and brags about it afterwards is human trash, why would you consciously continue being associated with such?

Ursus Horribilis · 15-06-2019 4:17pm

I'd say "I thought you were better than that rather than going down the road of calling her a scumbag. She knows she's gaming the system and that she's joining the ranks of people who've made fraudulent claims. She's a bigger eejit for bragging about it too, which says a lot about her character. Is €15k really a big payout though? It's a nice sum of money to get for nothing but it's not going to change anyone's life.

I'd be reporting her too, though I'm not sure if it'll stop her getting her money. Whiplash seems to be one of those injuries that's difficult to disprove and she knew what to do from Day 1. But what do you have to lose? It's obvious that you've gone off her as a person (it happens) and that she has broken your friendship.

Rubberchikken · 15-06-2019 4:24pm

listening to her but not saying anything isnt going to stop this.
if you feel strongly enough about what she is doing then you need to say that.
if you want to continue being friends with this person then you need to consider that too.
good luck. its not easy to deal with someone you know is lying.

suicide_circus · 16-06-2019 11:27am

if you reporter her and also end the friendship, she'll have a good idea who reported her.

if you report her and stay friends with her, thats devious and two faced.

if you stay friends and dont report her, you'll have to listen to her crow over her ill gotten gains.

the last option is to not report her but to end the friendship saying "sorry i feel really strongly about this, i cant stay friends with a scam artist".

tough one alright! best of luck

MissShihTzu · 16-06-2019 9:03pm

Whilst I agree with suicide circus, I think your friend is stupid enough to brag all over the shop about 'her' money. So I don't think it would necessarily come back to you.

But I'm with the others - You know what you need to do!

Good luck!!

Doctors room ghost · 16-06-2019 9:09pm

<SNIP>
No personal advice offered. Please read the forum charter before posting again.
dudara

Panthro · 16-06-2019 9:10pm

Report her. End the friendship.

If she figures out it was you who did the right thing then that's a bonus IMO.

What's the worst she can do realistically? Bitch to mutual mates how you did the right thing and stopped her getting a fraud payout? Chances are you'll have people taking your side of the story over that spoofers, especially if they're car drivers who are aware of the price of a year's insurance. It ain't pretty!

Let her go and fcuk herself tbh.

17-06-2019 12:08am

I very much doubt reporting her will make any difference, there are blatantly fraudulent claims being paid out every day of the week so no reason why this would be any different.

I recently read a story where an insurance company was paying out for a person not even in the car, despite the guards having attended etc and having a record of it but the insurance company still paid out as they claimed it wasn’t worth the hassle of pushing back.

Insurance companies are <SNIP> and the legal system isn’t much better.

17-06-2019 12:16am

Octavia Chubby Spinach wrote: »

I very much doubt reporting her will make any difference, there are blatantly fraudulent claims being paid out every day of the week so no reason why this would be any different.

I recently read a story where an insurance company was paying out for a person not even in the car, despite the guards having attended etc and having a record of it but the insurance company still paid out as they claimed it wasn’t worth the hassle of pushing back.

It’s as good as a civic duty at this stage to report people like this. Ignoring it is like sweeping the dirt under the rug. We all know it’s going on all the time but nothing will change until the numbers are there on record to force it to happen.

OP, this friend is taking money from your pocket, your family and friends. Report her, please.

dudara · 17-06-2019 12:19am

A reminder to all posters that we are here to offer constructive, helpful advice to the OP. If you want to give out about the insurance industry, go somewhere else to do it.

dudara

17-06-2019 10:06am

OP, you posted because this bothers you.

If it bothers you, report it. It will be anonymous, and you're not throwing her under the bus, you're only prompting an investigation. If she gets into any trouble it won't be based on your report, it will be because she made a fraudulent claim and bragged about it.

It's not just the insurance premiums either. The person involved in the incident shouldn't have to take responsibility for injuring someone if they didn't. And what if it was a young driver, in trouble with her parents, terrified she hurt somebody, etc.? Your friend probably just sees a free payout.

Emme · 17-06-2019 12:22pm

OP I would reconsider your friendship with this person but phase it out gradually, don't suddenly cut contact.

I would definitely report her if it can be done confidentially.

We are too reticent about reporting fraud in Ireland and this is why the country is so expensive all round. If this happened in another country you wouldn't think twice about reporting her.

Oink · 17-06-2019 12:32pm

OP, if you decide not to report her, you can keep her in mind next time your insurance goes up...

Eric Cartman · 17-06-2019 1:11pm

Report her. This kind of nonsense is the biggest driver of higher premiums in ireland and is distorting the market for all of us, on top of it being illegal.

ManOfMystery · 18-06-2019 11:36am

Report her. No time for that kind of behaviour. An elderly woman drove into the back of me on the M50 about 10 years ago at probably 40-50mph, there was substantial damage to both vehicles but she'd been distracted by police sirens behind her (as I was looking in my mirror, I could see her looking in hers as she got close to me) and it was an honest mistake anyone could have made. My neck felt absolutely fine and I saw no reason to make any claim - money earned fraudulently like that never leads to anything good.

Noo · 19-06-2019 4:12am

ManOfMystery wrote: »

Report her. No time for that kind of behaviour. An elderly woman drove into the back of me on the M50 about 10 years ago at probably 40-50mph, there was substantial damage to both vehicles but she'd been distracted by police sirens behind her (as I was looking in my mirror, I could see her looking in hers as she got close to me) and it was an honest mistake anyone could have made. My neck felt absolutely fine and I saw no reason to make any claim - money earned fraudulently like that never leads to anything good.

Had nearly the exact same thing happen, I watched the guy come up behind me while he was rubbernecking a broken down car in the hard shoulder. I had an appointment with my physio a few days later anyway for an unrelated knee injury and mentioned what happened so she grilled me about any pain that I had, had a bruise on my hip from the seatbelt and sore arms muscles because I tensed up holding the steering wheel when I saw what was coming. But nothing I would describe as whiplash. Because the accident was on work time my boss even said I could've claimed the physio appointment through work cover, but I couldnt bring myself to do that either as I only mentioned it to my physio because I had a scheduled appointment anyway.

gctest50 · 19-06-2019 4:20am

Oink wrote: »

OP, if you decide not to report her, you can keep her in mind next time your insurance goes up...

Profits have jumped by a staggering 1,300 %
!!!!!!!

17 general insurers in this market made combined operating profits of €227m in 2017, the latest date for overall data on the sector.

dublingirlx · 19-06-2019 2:25pm

I think people are missing a big factor here too. This girl might be a fraudster but so is the so-called GP she attended who helped her fill out her insurance claim report with her 'non-existant' injuries. I don't know who maddens me more.

jimmycrackcorm · 20-06-2019 10:57pm

dublingirlx wrote: »

I think people are missing a big factor here too. This girl might be a fraudster but so is the so-called GP she attended who helped her fill out her insurance claim report with her 'non-existant' injuries. I don't know who maddens me more.

The doctor can only go based on what the patient says, there is no tell treat for whiplash.

Op. Next time your friend brags about her claim, remind her that she is stealing money from, you, I and everyone who drives with her fraudulent claim.

ILoveYourVibes · 21-06-2019 2:43am

If she was a good friend to me I would keep her and just let it go.

If she wasn't a good friend to me i would stop hanging around her.

We are all a little hypocritical for our friends.

But that doesn't seem to be your way.

Just go with your gut and what you feel about it.

Just be sure it bothers you long term.

This is going to pass. AS A WHOLE PERSON...what do you feel about your friend? Not just this one incident?

If you keep saying 'Oh what she/he is doing affects us all' ...well you might end up being a very lonely person.

Some people are like that about recycling or the unemployed ..or being vegan etc. Everyone has to behave perfectly around them.
They end up kind of lonely.

23-06-2019 3:23pm

Not sure how reporting it will help. Unless you record her saying she has no whiplash or doing backflips the insurance can't prove she doesn't have it. Doctors are complicit in this.

Arrival · 23-06-2019 3:36pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

If she was a good friend to me I would keep her and just let it go.

If she wasn't a good friend to me i would stop hanging around her.

We are all a little hypocritical for our friends.

But that doesn't seem to be your way.

Just go with your gut and what you feel about it.

Just be sure it bothers you long term.

This is going to pass. AS A WHOLE PERSON...what do you feel about your friend? Not just this one incident?

If you keep saying 'Oh what she/he is doing affects us all' ...well you might end up being a very lonely person.

Some people are like that about recycling or the unemployed ..or being vegan etc. Everyone has to behave perfectly around them.
They end up kind of lonely.

There's a big difference between someone who'd fall out with a friend over not recycling or being vegan and making fraudulent insurance claims. Pretty sad to read you wouldn't have the backbone to call such a ****ty person out, this is why people continue being like OPs friend, they're not made feel ridicule and shame for their shameful actions

ILoveYourVibes · 25-06-2019 10:49am

Arrival wrote: »

There's a big difference between someone who'd fall out with a friend over not recycling or being vegan and making fraudulent insurance claims. Pretty sad to read you wouldn't have the backbone to call such a ****ty person out, this is why people continue being like OPs friend, they're not made feel ridicule and shame for their shameful actions

I am not going to lie if I felt the friendship was important I would keep it.

rondog · 25-06-2019 3:10pm

OP -call the insurance fraud confidential line and report her.Leave it to them to catch her out.If they dont,you tried.
You could probably keep her as a friend knowing you did what you could.

Ursus Horribilis · 25-06-2019 4:40pm

My insurance renewal letter arrived in the post recently. Going by the quote I got on that and what I've been quoted elsewhere so far, I'd happily pick up the phone and report her myself.

Friend claiming for false whiplash

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