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I would contact her insurance and say she thinks its a scam and that there were only three people in the car. Did she take any photos of the damage?If she's lucky her insurance company may be tackling this type of fraud, but legally she would still be at fault as she went into the back of the car. So it will depend on the attitude of her insurance despite the awful trick this person has played on your BD. Hope they are tackling scams

Hi corkwing this happened to me a few years agoI repaired my car without claiming but unbeknownst to me the other driver went to my insurance, not sure how he got the details as I only passed over my name and address. I think you have to inform your insurance company even if you don't claim or it can cause problems when renewing.By the time I found out he'd claimed and even though I had photos it was too late, he didn't even claim to repair his car which actually wasn't damaged apart from the bumper was dislodged.If I was her I'd run it all through the insurance and if shes got legal advice on it she could use thatDon't let her go to one of these solicitors that get paid through the claim though to manage it, get the insurance to fight itSuze x

This happened to my dad a few years ago. Apparently this was the third claim this man had made for whiplash in a year but it was still paid out!New scam, flashing lights to signal you can pull out of a side turning then driving into you.I despair!! Xx

What nasty drivers there are out there pulling these scams-I'd never heard of it before.Hpoefully the insurance companies are on to itGood Luck - I hope your BD is OK- it must have been a big shock & very distressing x

If she does put it through her insurance she should make her version of events clear. (after all insurances love any excuse not to pay out..). We had someone exaggerate a claim (they exaggerated the damage done to their car). We stood our ground with a only a witness who arrived after the event and the insurance did not pay out.Maybe the person who stopped can help by writing a report to back up your claim. Your daughter could explain that she went to the police (did the police even give you a crime number or take any details?) These people may already be under suspicion and the more people report them the better.Good luck x

sorry to hear this Like Twink we had someone exaggerate their claim too. I only scratched their car when parking outside our house. We said we would pay for repairs but then they said that they would not get a courtesy car and be without 'wheels' for three days so we said okay we'll go throuogh insurance.Later we started getting multiple calls to say we could claim for passengers in our car as they must have been hurt by the impact, judging by the damage done to the other car!! It didn't matter if we hadn't had to go to the hospital etc etc, the money is set aside etc etc.So I have had to endure these calls and keep saying NO ONE was hurt we are NOT going to put in a claim. There are some honest people in the world etc etc.

Thanks for the responses.As someone who was brought up to be honest - lying was one of the things we got walloped for - I absolutely HATE this kind of thing.I've ordered an in-car camera for her to protect her should it happen again...Love,Corkwing

Watched a fascinating documentary on this the other week, I think it was called Crash for Cash. Some people are making a fortune - they highlighted a family who would do emergency stops to get people to run into them. They had a car hire company and a garage, so they did all the work and billed the insurance companies, then claimed for injuries. The police reckoned they had made half a million from it already...I am appalled that the police didn't take it seriously. The programme hinted that it was being rigourously targeted by police all over the country :-(

Something similar happened to me. I DID pass it on to my insurance company. Strangely enough, the person NEVER claimed!!! She will only lose her no claims if a claim is made. So in my case I kept my no claims. I was younger at the time it happened. I would definitely contact the insurance company. Make very good notes on what happened. Include diagram of the accident. And, include the comment by the driver of the other car who said that similar had been tried on them - do you have their details to get them to confirm. Also state that your BD went to police. I am assuming police will have at least logged that she went.I would not deal with people claiming direct but with the insurance company.Its horrible thing to have happen. Best wishes,Minnie x

Hi -I've managed to talk to her properly now. They have claimed from the insurance company. My daughter has talked to them and they seem sceptical of the claim: they've noted that they haven't claimed any damage to the car and as the only damage to my daughter's car is a cracked bumper, the evidence suggests that the speed of impact was too low to cause any injuries. I do hope that they refuse to pay out.She has passed on the details of the other witnesses who sound very co-operative.My ideal would be that these people get prosecuted for attempted fraud and the driver be done for dangerous driving.Love,Corkwing

I once had a minor collision with a taxi - it was his fault and he was very apologetic. But when he put his report in to the insurance company, suddenly he had a witness, another taxi driver, and they were saying it was my fault!I was sure that my insurance company (Direct Line) would see through this, but no, they basically told me that they had no reason to disbelieve the other party and they were going with their version of events! The girl on the phone did agree with me that it was ridiculous, but she said it was going to be too much work for them to fight it as the costs involved were quite low (this was a long, long time ago and there were no whiplash injuries being claimed for).I was furious. Luckily we had a no claims insurance so didn't lose out but I felt so tricked.Insurance companies often just take the easiest way for themselves. We also had an incident once where an uninsured driver pulled out into my car, which was being driven by my sister-in-law. The insurance company just decided to pay out and not follow up re the uninsured driver, as she was renting and they told me that there was no chance that they would get their money back by pursuing her. We were okay because there is some fund which pays out in these cases but again I was astonished that they just take a view on the basis of the costs involved, and often they will do what they want regardless.

Sounds awful, but it does seem to be something that is becoming a big problem these days.Hope your DD ok.http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theoneshow/consumer/2008/09/15/crashing-in-on-crime.html

How awful! I also watched a programme on this a couple of weeks ago and it made me so cross. It showed a woman who had driven onto a motorway (another hot spot for this sort of thing apparently!) and the car in front suddenly stopped. The police were very aware it was probably a set up.This sort of thing risks lives! Did you hear about the young lady who died trying to set one of these up? So silly, but its the word we live in now. Cash for claims!