A LOCAL man is warning residents about a scam whereby drivers are deliberately crashing into other vehicles on roundabouts around Frome in order to pressure them into handing over cash.
The ‘hot spot’ areas seem to be mainly roundabouts – in particular the Frome Flyer, the Whiterow Farm Shop and Beckington Services roundabouts. Drivers say that the individuals stop suddenly on these roundabouts to create low speed road collisions and then ask for either cash or insurance details.
Tom, who has asked to stay anonymous, lives in Frome and was the victim of one of these incidents. Tom said, “I was driving a loan car, as my car was in for service, on the White Row roundabout. As I entered onto the roundabout slowly, the car in front of me suddenly stopped without warning, leaving me with no time to react, and I went straight into the back of him.
“The man in the car beckoned me with his hand to follow him and I did. The man’s English wasn’t very good, but I tried to ask him why he stopped so suddenly, and he said he had to, as a car had swerved in front of him – now I know that isn’t true as I watching closely.
“Now, the assumption when you go into the back of someone else’s car is that you are the one at fault – these people are preying on that. We exchanged insurance details, but when I went back to the garage and explained what had happened to the mechanics, alarm bells started going off.
“I noticed on the sheet of paper that he had given me, that he had written something on it before, as there were indentations on the sheet. So, I got some charcoal and rubbed in on the paper to see what was there and to my surprise, I saw insurance details, but for someone with a different name, car reg, car, telephone number and even insurance company.
Tom added, “A few days later, I saw on Facebook that someone was involved in a similar accident and I noticed that it was the same car and man that had hit me, with the damage from our accident still there!
“After chatting to the woman involved, I found out she had an identical experience to myself. There was superficial damage to both cars, but the man has since put in an extortive claim for £4,000 for personal injury.
“This is how they get you – they either put in a claim for a ridiculous amount, or go for a quick-hit whereby they are just asking for cash to pay for the cost of fixing the car.
“The main cars that these schemes are carried out with are white BMWs, Volkswagen Passats – all old vehicles and dark colours that are cheap to buy and expensive to repair.”
Tom continued, “The guy that has been posted all over Facebook has been involved in loads of accidents over the past few months, and he seems to have a different number plate for each accident as a way to stay under the radar. I believe this group are running multiple plates through multiple insurance companies for the same vehicle.
“There has probably been loads more incidents, it’s just that people aren’t reporting it – if you don’t live in the area and are just passing through and this happens to you, you’re not likely to post on Spotted Frome Facebook page or ring the police, are you?”
Police are “apathetic”
Tom has since raised the issue with the local police, but was disappointed with their response. He said, “The police have told me they have checked the registrations and they are all taxed and MOTd but that the registrations are from outside the Avon and Somerset force area, so they don’t have the resources to deal with it. They are still asking for more information and to keep reporting if something happens again but their attitude just feels really apathetic.
“If the police wanted to be proactive, they would sit some police cars on some of the hotspots to try and catch these guys. It’s my opinion that if these people are using cars to cause damage, then surely it’s a weapon. They’re happy to sit in a van and catch someone doing 35, but they’re doing nothing to stop real criminals.”
There have been many reports of these incidents on the Spotted Frome Facebook page, with many saying they had a similar experience. The news even reached the national news organisations as ITV News West Country ran a report earlier this month.
Advice if you are a victim
Ben Fletcher, director at the Insurance Fraud Bureau said, “We have sadly seen a rise in reports of suspected ‘Crash for Cash’ scams around the town of Frome, so it’s crucial for community members to learn the signs of this dangerous scam, so they can protect themselves from falling victim and report evidence.
“Whilst we urge drivers to be vigilant, we also want to stress the importance of not confronting anyone who is suspected of being involved in this scam as it could put people in harm’s way. If anyone believes that they have been induced into a car crash, they should remain calm and exchange details as legally required.
“We are looking at the scams being alleged, and any findings will be shared with our police partners. Evidence of ‘Crash for Cash’ scams can be reported to our confidential Cheatline (powered by CrimeStoppers) on 0800 422 0421 or at insurancefraudbureau.org”.
