Can they get away with this??

Question

In April my younger brother bumped into a police car whilst waiting at some traffic lights. They were both stationary and he took his foot off the brake and rolled into them. The copper went mad at him and then took his details but stated that as NO DAMAGE WAS CAUSED it was not a massive deal. A month later he got a letter saying no further action would be needed but be more careful in the future.
7 months later he gets a call from his insurance company telling him the police have put in a claim against him. This is for damage to the offside rear.
A) The police themselves stated there was no damage
B) He did not hit the offside rear
C) It was 7 months ago!

It seems to me that they have reversed into something and have decided to pass blame to somebody else.
Can they really get away with this?? How can you argue against the police??

Thanks for all the replies guys.
He did have a couple of friends with him at the time but like everybody says, it's the police's word against a few 18 year old boys.
No contest!
I'm sure he will fight it as much as he can though. I will be encouraging him too anyway.

In response to charlotterobo:

It has been 7 months! Even the insurance company have stated that it happened in April. This is exactly my point!!! It happened so long ago and they have only just acted on it!

Answer 1

My best ideas have already been stated by others: Sending police letters to insurance, getting attorney, in other words, doing anything possible to fight it. Equally, as others have said when involved with the police, it can be a loosing battle.
Also, if insurance is worth much, they will want a report stating the date, of the time of day this was supposed to have happened, etc. I would let them know they have no business paying under the circumstances.
Best of luck to you and your brother. Let's face it, of all people to hit, the only ones that might have been worse to hit would have been a police supervisor or a D.I. Really, much better luck from here on to both of you.

Answer 2

The first thing he needs to do is find the letter they sent saying no further action was being taken .
Secondly , i find it hard to believe that it has been 7 month`s here's why , Every day before a police officer start`s his routine he has to do a visual check of his vehicle tyre`s/light`s / damage etc he then has to log that vehicle out and sign for it !
When the vehicle is returned at the end of the shift The next officer does exactly the same thing , these log sheet`s are stored on computer by the officer who is in charge of the issuing vehicle`s ,
As all Police vehicle`s are on a lease They get inspected every 3 month`s by the dealership they came from ! IE: Jenning`s/Reg Vardy etc , ( so this is an independent inspection from the police ) Any damage is then logged and repaired before it is returned to the police ,
The fact you are saying that is has been 7 month`s just cannot be true !
I would speak to your Brother and ask him the truth about what really happened as what he is saying just does not make any sense at all !

Answer 3

Here is the answer to your question:

Your brother damaged the police car. Simple as that.

The fact that it has taken 7 months for the insurers to contact you is irrelevant. What is likely to have happened is that the vehicle was repaired straight away and the insurer or claims handling agents for the police force aren't the speediest of companies and have only just got all their documentation in order and presentated it to your brother's insurers.

7 months really isn't a long time in claims. By law, you have 6 years to put in a claim for property damage.

I see this happen ALL the time at work. People "think" they caused no damage to the vehicle they have hit. Yet 99% of the time, they have caused damage.

Does your brother know for certain he caused no damage? Is he a qualified motor engineer? Did he get underneath the vehicle and check that the rear bumper was still aligned and attacthed properly? No he didn't

Modern cars are VERY easy to damage. Most bumpers are plastic, and can be damaged simply by pressing hard on them with your hand. Now imagine what damage your brother's 2 ton car could cause simply by rolling into one.....

There is also a common misconception that "all insurance companies arte out to rip you off" Well they're not. And if your brother's insurance company have any doubts about the police's claim, they simply won't pay it.

However, do you really think a police force are going to commit fraud by putting in a false claim??

As difficult as it may seem to believe, your brother has caused damage to a third party vehicle through his own negligence. This is why he has insurance, to cover him when he makes a mistake!

Answer 4

He needs to take that letter to the insurance company. I doubt the statute of limitations has run out in just 7 months, and the police stating there was no damage at the scene doesn't matter much (he can always claim he found it later). However, the fact that he didn't hit the part of the car they claim was damaged means that he shouldn't have to pay. The insurance company should be taking care of this claim and he needs to work with them.

Answer 5

Hey there i'd be talking to a lawyer because its a bunch of B.S 7 months down the road they deside to take action LOL they should have done something right then and there i know its not going to be easy to win against the police now did your brother have anyone with him at the time for a wittnes that may help or just take your losses it will be cheaper then trying to fight it but take that letter to a lawyer stating no further action would be needed and see what the lawyer has to say about it now i'm guessing to cop did something to his patrol car and now is blaming it on your brother cops are shady like that well not all cops but most of them

Answer 6

First of all, how old is your brother? Because if he's a minor of course they will try to screw him over! (I know this because I am a minor and I was driving my dad's car home from wall mart and a cop pulled me over cause my dad's car didn't have insurance, the cop had no reason to even check me out besides that fact that i look young! And now I'm on 5 months of probation and have a $200 ticket!) My advice is to get the paper work that states "no damage was caused" and if so, where he actually hit it. Also state to whoever is sewing/filing a claim against him, that it happened 7 months ago. Besides that, cops are not out to protect us, they are screwing us over like they did to me!

Answer 7

If the police are claiming for damage they would have to produce documentation issued at the time and they will not be able to do this so they cannot claim

Ask the insurers to seek documentary evidence
it does beg the question how did they get his insurance details, because thye must have had reason to ask for them at the time and documented them?

Answer 8

I'd be inclined to send a copy of the letter stating no further action to whoever signed it (probably an Inspector) with a copy of the letter from your insurance company and ask how can this be? It seems they are trying it on. CAB or a solicitor should be able to advise you further. Good luck.

Answer 9

The police are screwed. If they are involved in an accident (with or without blame) they cannot take any legal action themselves. They should have got an officer who wasn't at the scene to investigate the accident no matter how minor. They are trying to bully you into admitting guilt. Get yourself a lawyer.

Answer 10

If he still has the letter saying that no further action will be taken then take it to a solicitor or citizens advice.
Without it not much hope, ask to see photographic evidence of the actual crash and the damage.