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AKA: The Tale of the PS2.
MI: Momma Insured
ODI: Older Daughter Insured
YDI: Younger Daughter Insured
SI: Son of Insured
C#: Vaious Consultants
TH: TimmyHate, your favorite fraud busting knucklehead
It was a lovely afternoon when the call first came in. C1 gets the call. ODI called because her lovely car had started smoking while she was going away for the weeked. C1, concerned naturally, organises a claim, offers to get the vehicle towed and generally is polite and helpful. ODI sats that MI and SI were coming to tow the vehicle back to their home. C1 lodges the claim, gives them the details, and says that we would get the vehicle assessed as soon as possible.
Later than same day, ODI calls again. They towed the car home, when they noted the car was up in flames! The Fire department comes, extinguishes the blaze and all of that. Ok, fine, we take the details of where the car is now and get our assessor to go and have a look still.
The following week we get a call from MI. MI tells C3 that as ODI was going away for the weekend, the car was packed with stuff and gives us an inital list of about 10 items. C3 takes the time to lodge this claim, requests a list of all the items and any proof of purchase etc.
Time passes, the car claim is settled by a payment to the finance company, and the list of items that were in the car when it went up in flames increases. One item that was added was a Playstation 2 console the YDI had asked ODI to take to SI to sell on (Auction Site) - where it had previously been listed. Included with all of this were the photos that MI had told us, point blank, were the photos taken to list on (Auction Site). We are working to get all of the claim settled - noone seems overly concerned with this claim...
...until the fateful afternoon that TH gets involved (thunder crashes). MI calls up to say they are having trouble getting the trademe confirmation that the PS2 was no longer listed. TH (in an attempt to be helpful) runs a metadata search on the photos supplied for the PS2....and whats this? They were taken 2 weeks after the fire. How strange. TH then advises that they'll get a 'claims specilist' to come out and help.
MI is then confronted with this information by the Investigator...and tries to blame YDI. Investigator, TH and the Fraud Team all believe this is a crock. MI also says some interesting things to the Investigator about the car fire that preceeded this all - my favorite? "We had so many troubles with it, if I had a lighter I would have set it on fire myself". Although the confusion about where the fire extinguisher supposedly came from was entertaining - in the first call we asked how the fire was put out, ODI asked MI in their native tongue what to say, then (without waiting for the answer) said "With a fire extinguisher". MI was then heard (clearly) to yell "NOOO!".
Net Result:
2 Declined claims
Approx $10,000.00 being paid back to insurance company
MI Fired (she worked for the bank who sells our insurance).
MI puts in a baseless claim that the investigator intimidated her
TH gets kudos from all and sundry
ETA: Oh and the title is only becuase we couldn't actually PROVE that they torched their own car. Otherwise thats a nice, fun charge for our friendly neighbourhood policeman to be involved in.
MI: Momma Insured
ODI: Older Daughter Insured
YDI: Younger Daughter Insured
SI: Son of Insured
C#: Vaious Consultants
TH: TimmyHate, your favorite fraud busting knucklehead
It was a lovely afternoon when the call first came in. C1 gets the call. ODI called because her lovely car had started smoking while she was going away for the weeked. C1, concerned naturally, organises a claim, offers to get the vehicle towed and generally is polite and helpful. ODI sats that MI and SI were coming to tow the vehicle back to their home. C1 lodges the claim, gives them the details, and says that we would get the vehicle assessed as soon as possible.
Later than same day, ODI calls again. They towed the car home, when they noted the car was up in flames! The Fire department comes, extinguishes the blaze and all of that. Ok, fine, we take the details of where the car is now and get our assessor to go and have a look still.
The following week we get a call from MI. MI tells C3 that as ODI was going away for the weekend, the car was packed with stuff and gives us an inital list of about 10 items. C3 takes the time to lodge this claim, requests a list of all the items and any proof of purchase etc.
Time passes, the car claim is settled by a payment to the finance company, and the list of items that were in the car when it went up in flames increases. One item that was added was a Playstation 2 console the YDI had asked ODI to take to SI to sell on (Auction Site) - where it had previously been listed. Included with all of this were the photos that MI had told us, point blank, were the photos taken to list on (Auction Site). We are working to get all of the claim settled - noone seems overly concerned with this claim...
...until the fateful afternoon that TH gets involved (thunder crashes). MI calls up to say they are having trouble getting the trademe confirmation that the PS2 was no longer listed. TH (in an attempt to be helpful) runs a metadata search on the photos supplied for the PS2....and whats this? They were taken 2 weeks after the fire. How strange. TH then advises that they'll get a 'claims specilist' to come out and help.
MI is then confronted with this information by the Investigator...and tries to blame YDI. Investigator, TH and the Fraud Team all believe this is a crock. MI also says some interesting things to the Investigator about the car fire that preceeded this all - my favorite? "We had so many troubles with it, if I had a lighter I would have set it on fire myself". Although the confusion about where the fire extinguisher supposedly came from was entertaining - in the first call we asked how the fire was put out, ODI asked MI in their native tongue what to say, then (without waiting for the answer) said "With a fire extinguisher". MI was then heard (clearly) to yell "NOOO!".
Net Result:
2 Declined claims
Approx $10,000.00 being paid back to insurance company
MI Fired (she worked for the bank who sells our insurance).
MI puts in a baseless claim that the investigator intimidated her
TH gets kudos from all and sundry
ETA: Oh and the title is only becuase we couldn't actually PROVE that they torched their own car. Otherwise thats a nice, fun charge for our friendly neighbourhood policeman to be involved in.
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