A couple of days ago I mentioned I'd be posting my story about how someone tried to scam me three times one evening during a road traffic incident. It's a hilarious story that I find very entertaining, and I hope you will as well. Get your cola and some popcorns!
The image above was created by https://deepai.org. The photo below is the guy who tried to scam me. I didn't want to put his photo as the first image in my post, he's not exactly angelic.
The Bump
A few years ago during Covid, we couldn't go anywhere due to lockdown. I didn't have a car anyway, so it didn't make much difference. When lockdown finished, I was so bored of staying local, I hired a car for a week to get out and about with my husband and Snowpea. One evening we were out for dinner. After dinner, just as I had pulled out from the car park, my husband said he couldn't find his mobile headset. He wasn't sure if he'd left it at the restaurant or if it was in the car somewhere. I quickly pulled over to one side, and turned on the interior lights for him to look for it. Suddenly I felt a very gentle bump in the front of my car!!
After I pulled over I didn't put the hand brake on and didn't have my foot on the brake either. Ok, my bad, I should have done either one for safety purposes, but it was a flat road and there was no rain or wind that evening. My car had rolled ahead, very very very slowly and kissed the car in front. It was a very small impact, like someone had rocked the car by hand. I immediately reversed back and got out of my car to check both vehicles.
Scam 1
It was dark so we switched on our mobile phones to check both vehicles. Mine was fine. To be honest I wasn't expecting any damage as my rental was a small vehicle and the impact was so light. Then I checked the other vehicle, it was a taxi, a bigger and sturdier vehicle than mine. The driver wasn't around. I checked carefully for dents, and of course there wasn't any either. From my car rolling forward, to me reversing back, and getting out to check the taxi, I reckon it was about a minute and half. Suddenly, the driver appeared from his car.
Under UK traffic law, if you're involved in road accident, both parties must exchange details for the insurance company to deal with any claims. In reality, if the incident is very minor and there's no damage, particularly no injuries involved, both parties may deal with it privately. If one party is clearly at fault they might agree a compensation on the spot to save claiming off their insurance which will lead to their premium going up the next year.
When the taxi driver saw us - female driver, Asian couple, rented vehicle - he probably thought we were tourists. He asked for my details and said he'll check his vehicle and let me know tomorrow for any damages to his car. I smelled something cooking immediately and was pretty sure he was thinking of scamming me. Big big mistake nuthead, I'm not a tourist, this is my neck of the woods!!!
I said to him, let's check for any damages first. He said he didn't know now, but will know tomorrow and kept on asking me for my details. Tell me, if he doesn't know what the damages are now, how will he know tomorrow? Check the video below.
After refusing to give him my details until we determine what if any damages are, he suggested we call the police. He must think a tourist would panic if the police were involved. Fine, I said. I called the police and explained the situation, and that I was worried the driver is going to scam me. The police explained if there's no death or injury in a traffic accident, no damage to property and the vehicles aren't obstructing traffic, the incident is treated as low priority. The police will be here whenever they have time. I knew we were in the busy city centre, the police were always busy and it could be one or two hours. That was fine with me, it was a nice evening and I wasn't in a rush to get home.
Scam 2
After a while, the taxi driver got a little restless with waiting. He got out of his taxi and started moaning about the long wait and that he might have whiplash. Whiplash is when you hurt your back from the impact of the car behind crashing into you.
The impact of my car rolling into his is so minor, I was driving a small vehicle, much smaller than his. There's no way it would cause a whiplash. Plus I doubt he even felt the impact. Don't forget it took him a whole minute and half to realise what had happened and get out of his car. This is the second time he's trying to scam me. I suggested we should go to the hospital immediately for a check up, but of course he gave me a load of bullshit on why he can't go.
Take a look at this video, does this look like someone who's injured his back?
Scam 3
We must have been waiting for about an hour by now and the taxi driver must be kicking himself for suggesting to call the police. He pestered me to exchange details again but I insisted on waiting for the police. He said I wasn't doing myself any favours by waiting and I was wasting both our times. I got plenty of time to waste moron 😂
Then he moaned about how he's got all his apps open and he can't take any orders because he's got to wait here. It was so hilarious, but not as hilarious as when he said he's going to claim me for loss of his earnings!!! What a total jerk. He's the one who suggested calling the police, thinking I'm a tourist and would panic. And now he's shot himself in the foot because if he leaves, his cunning plan will flop quicker than crypto in a bear market. See how desperate he's getting.
The police arrived
Eventually the police arrived, what a relief! Not that I was worried, it was just annoying having to deal with a scammer. I immediately told the police what had happened, including all his attempts to scam me. The police took one look at both vehicles and the road conditions, and I sense they probably figured out the whole situation immediately. They approached the driver and I stood quietly to one side 🍿🍿🍿.
Taxi driver gave his version of the story and emphasized how he thinks he might have whiplash. The policeman asked the driver how many years he's been driving. I can't remember his reply. The police said, "Both you and I know there is no way you can get a whiplash from such a minor incident" Taxi driver went all quiet. Then the police asked him if he's on the job right now. He said yes. "Where's your taxi ID badge? Why aren't you wearing it?" No answer again. I didn't get the rest of the conversation between them, but I didn't think the taxi driver was having an easy time 🙃
The police doesn't mediate between parties as this is considered a private matter, they just need to make sure we exchange details which I was willing to do. Once that was done we all left. What a tiring couple of hours. It was about 11pm when I finally got home and was quite exhausted.
The next morning
The next morning, even before I got out of bed, I had a couple of missed calls and voicemails on my phone. It was from the car rental company. Someone had left them a few voicemails very early in the morning, before their offices had opened, claiming there was an accident with one of their rentals the previous night. Could I please take my rental into their office for inspection? WTF!!!
When I got to the rental company, I repeated my whole story again. The guy from the rental company checked my vehicle and couldn't see any damage. They said the guy who left the voicemails made it sound like it was a serious accident 🙃 Of course he would! He's trying to scam me and the insurance company. The rental guy figured out his plan as well and reassured me that they would deal with the guy. And if there was any compensation payout it would be from their insurance. He said I'll still have to report the incident to their accident hotline, something that I had overlooked the previous night as I was so tired.
I called the accident hotline as soon as I got home. The agent was very understanding, they probably hear about these scams all the time. They reassured me that I wouldn't be liable for anything. Luckily I had a lot of footage to back up my story and sent it all over to them.
It's been over 3 years since this little episode. I haven't heard back from the car rental or insurance company, hopefully the scammer got what he deserves - nothing.
Scammers are everywhere in life, in fact if you're reading this story not from my account @livinguktaiwan, then you're reading a scammer's post. Make sure you don't support them and please let me know.
Hope you enjoyed your popcorns.