Gang of drivers deliberately causing crashes with women drivers as part of insurance scam reported in Peterborough

Following a warning about a group of men who appear to be targeting lone women drivers in order to make fraudulent insurance claims, the Peterborough Telegraph has been informed of incidents taking place in the Peterborough area.
The roundabout on the A47 at ThorneyThe roundabout on the A47 at Thorney
The roundabout on the A47 at Thorney

The newspaper highlighted earlier today, Tuesday March 4, incidents taking place in neighbouring Northamptonshire, where a car full of men suddenly braked on a roundabout despite there being no traffic oncoming, causing a crash.

The Peterborough Telegraph has now received reports of the same happening on the A47 Thorney bypass.

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Mrs Harris said: “This happened to me last night, Monday, on the Thorney Bypass.

“It was a dark blue car with at least four foreign looking men in it. It happened around 5.40pm last night. The car came around the first roundabout as approaching Thorney, obviously not a lot of traffic generally comes right around that roundabout, but that’s when I noticed the passengers.

“I then carried on over that roundabout onto the bypass. At the next roundabout I was turning left, he appeared to be going straight on, looked right, nothing was coming so he entered the roundabout. I looked right again, it was still clear so I started to enter the roundabout and he slammed his breaks on. I slammed mine on just in time thankfully.

“I was shaken and was too busy asking my children in the back if they were ok. It all happened so quickly. But then the car moved on and I carried on my way home, which thankfully wasn’t far.”

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Our journalists also spoke to two women in neighbouring Northamptonshire.

One described how a car with no brake lights stopped suddenly on the roundabout despite there being no traffic oncoming, causing her to run into the vehicle in front.

“I pulled over then three men got out. Instantly, you stop and think, ‘it’s a scam’. But with a daughter in the car, you just want to get away,” she said.

“They’re very calm, over-friendly at times. They got annoyed when I saw to my daughter, who was crying, rather than giving them my details.

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“They obviously don’t want you to call the police so they try to be nice.”

The woman later saw on Facebook that two other women, also travelling alone, had had similar experiences.

The second woman with whom we spoke found herself behind the men’s car at the roundabout and described their technique for inducing the accident.

“We came up to the second roundabout, everything was fine, they went. Then all of a sudden, as you go to make your final check to your right for oncoming traffic, they slam on their brakes so that you go into the back of them.

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“Thankfully, I barely touched them so there wasn’t much damage, and someone behind me witnessed it and pulled over.

“The men were very insistent that the witness should leave, that she didn’t need to be there and that everything was fine.”

The woman who was targeted by the men was wary because she had read about similar incidents happening at the roundabout. She noticed that the driver did not take any photos or assess the damage, and she described him as “strangely calm.”

“He had a piece of paper and a pen ready to go and all he was interested in was taking my details,” she said.

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“Before the woman stopped both of the men got out the car as if to intimidate me, as soon as the witness got out of her car, the passenger jumped straight back in and just didn’t say a word.”

She believes that the men could be seeking to get money off people if the gang don’t end up making a claim against the women - because he tried to ring her several times to tell her that his car bumper was hanging off.

She knew he was lying, however, as she had taken photos immediately after the accident. These incidents come after the police issued a warning about ‘cash for crash’ incidents back in February this year.

The police do not typically handle these types of issues because they are considered insurance fraud, and are therefore primarily managed by the insurance companies.

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The police advised motorists involved in these types of accidents to use their phone to capture as much photographic evidence as possible, providing it is safe to do so.

They also recommended fitting a dashboard video camera. If you believe you are a victim of a cash for crash the police advise reporting the incident to them, alerting your insurer at the earliest opportunity, and checking they will not automatically pay out a claim without an investigation.

More information can be found at https://www.insurancefraudbureau.org. The Insurance Fraud Bureau works with insurers and the police to identify where the trends are.