Ambulance chasers (compensation culture)
Yesterday my wife took a call from alledgedly from my insurance re accident 2 years ago to close the case she told them to call back when I was at home.
When I receivded the call I was asked me to confirm if my car was occupied at the time of the accident which i did , then she said can you confirm your car is now repaired .. At which point I said excuse me if you are involved with my insurance co. you surely would know the car was written off , then she said I may be entitled to compensation. I then asked if they were responsible for the unsolicitaed texts to my mobile regarding compensation I have been receiving frequently for eons , lost the rag and said ur only ambulance chasers - At this point the caller hung up Number witheld on 1471 (probably switchboard)
I'm raging ! Accident was nothing woman behind me accidentaly took her foot of brake on hill at lights , she bumped/moved me about 5 ft but damaged my boot so it wouldn't close , fix was more than car was worth end of story. Nobody injured she admitted fault ,
No wonder insurance costs are getting outrageous , but whos selling the details the insurers , vehicle recovery agents , replacemnt hire car ? Arghhh - sorry for rant but!!!
They never give up. Once, I received 4 calls in a space of 5 minutes. My OH gave them an earful. We're still getting the calls. But now, as soon as they ask for me by my name, I simply say "wrong number" & hang up.
I dunno prof, pretty sure the insurance companies have been passing on contact details, I never used to get these calls and then I had a small, no damage bump in 2010 and all of a sudden they started coming in thick and fast. I believe the insurance companies get a cut from the compensation firm. My current company is proudly boasting that they no longer sell these details on, which implies they have been in the past.
Possibly, but some are definitely cold calls. I haven't had car insurance for about 6 years prior to December this month (didn't have a car), but I still got calls all throughout this period.
Probably a combination of some who just call on the chance of something having happened and some who actually have some details. However, certainly the insurance company won't have been passing on any specific details of any accidents you've had (well, assuming they're operating legally anyway).
I'm curious, assuming there was also no injury, why involve the insurance company if there was no damage?
As I now work from a home office a lot, I'm suddenly exposed to far more of these cold calls (and they are cold calls in our case). I just put phone down.
Mind you, these people bother me marginally less than the fraudsters trying to scam computer/password details. They obviously get hung up on in seconds here, but I fear for the more vulnerable/gullible people whom really believe it's someone genuine calling. Nasty, nasty people, whom should be prosecuted out of existence 
Agreed, they almost caught out my Dad as, by an extraordinary coincidence, he had been talking to Microsoft earlier in the day and was expecting them to call him back. Naturally he assumed that it therefore was someone from Microsoft until they said something slightly suspicious and he caught on to it - fortunately before giving away any passwords etc.
A workmate of mine recently had an accident,was hit at a junction by another car,his car was damaged but no injuries,after a few days (and probably after seeing certain tv adverts) he suddenly developed a sore neck and is now pursuing a claim for whiplash,sickening really. Genuine injuries fair play but spurious claims just drive up the costs for everybody.
Some bank's bona fida cold calls get their own customers into bad habits.
My wife's bank (NatWest) called her with an 'offer' and proceeded to ask her security questions. Obviously she immediately ended the call by saying that they shouldn't be encouraging customers to give out such information during unsolicited calls.
She phoned the NatWest telephone banking line - just after the call - and established it was them who made it (it was logged with time and agent etc.) then complained.
How can banks (like NatWest) tell customers to exercise care in whom they give details to, and then go against their own advice by calling customers and asking for security details over the phone during 'marketing' calls?
I'm curious, assuming there was also no injury, why involve the insurance company if there was no damage?
No damage to my car, a small piece of trim detached itself from the front of the other guy's car, I suggested he just clipped it back on but he wouldn't have it, not surprisingly the "damage" came to nearly 600 quid.
I was mildly surprised his wife didn't try to claim whiplash, the speed she dashed out of her car the bang on my window and scream abuse at me she could have seriously hurt herself...
Some bank's bona fida cold calls get their own customers into bad habits.
My wife's bank (NatWest) called her with an 'offer' and proceeded to ask her security questions. Obviously she immediately ended the call by saying that they shouldn't be encouraging customers to give out such information during unsolicited calls.
She phoned the NatWest telephone banking line - just after the call - and established it was them who made it (it was logged with time and agent etc.) then complained.
How can banks (like NatWest) tell customers to exercise care in whom they give details to, and then go against their own advice by calling customers and asking for security details over the phone during 'marketing' calls?
Have had the same from HSBC and also complained in a similar vein. Wouldn't even tell me why they were calling until I answered the security questions! Call ends here!
I suggested that they should have some kind of password to give ME to prove they are genuine. iii sharedealing do it that way.
I had a call last week "about the accident I had in my car"
Told man I have not accident and to s*d off!
It was an international call, so it is obvious they are just use random dialing machines to generate cold calls.
This is defiantly insurance companies passing on your details for referral fees. I know this as I am authorised to act on behalf of my son on his insurance policy and my mobile is on as the contact. Someone hit him in 2009 and I still get calls asking for him by name on my phone. If not his insurance company, where else would they get his name and my number????
You missed the point, I have not had any accidents!
It was an international call, so it is obvious they are just use random dialing machines to generate cold calls.
They have to be international to get around TPS registered numbers. Companies in the UK can have a £2,000 fine for calling numbers that are TPS registered. Foreign companies cannot be prosecuted.
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It's just opportunists - they don't actually know you had an accident. All they do is claim they know you did - the people that haven't tell them they're mistaken and they apologise and hang up. The people that have however can then be tricked into giving out the details and then they can try and sell their services. Best bet is to always get the caller to tell you the details - if they don't know them, you know it's just a cold call. I normally just tell them politely that they're wrong repeatedly until eventually they give up.