Couple ordered to pay £3k after trying to defraud RSA

A husband and wife from Birmingham have been ordered to pay exemplary damages of £3,000 to the driver that crashed into them after trying to defraud RSA.

Judge HHJ Gregory at Walsall County Court found that Parveen Akhtar and Mohammed Khan were “fundamentally dishonest” when they submitted a personal injury claim after being hit by RSA-insured driver Rebecca Ball in an accident on 17 July 2013, and ordered them to pay damages to Ball.

The couple also ordered to pay indemnity costs after the judge found them to be “complicit in a criminal conspiracy to defraud” RSA.

In the accident, the Ball’s car hit the back of the vehicle being driven by Akhtar. The couple claimed that Khan was a passenger in his wife’s car, and the collision was sufficient to injure both claimants.

The claims were defended by law firm DWF, which made a counterclaim for exemplary damages.

In the court on 10 July this year, the judge found that Akhtar and Khan had lied about their accident histories.

Also, when the parties exchanged details after the crash, Ball could not see Khan in the vehicle, neither at the time nor after following the vehicle for several miles after the crash.

In addition, photographs taken at the scene showed no damage to either of the vehicles.

The judge found that the collision was not likely to have caused injury, and was satisfied that Khan had lied about being in the car to secure compensation.

RSA counter-fraud head John Beadle said: “It is pleasing to see that where fraudsters fail in their attempts to commit fraud that the courts are willing to penalise them in this way.

He added: “We are in the process of submitting the claimants’ details to the Insurance Fraud Register.”

Partner in DWF’s counter-fraud team Stuart Poole added: “Securing a finding of fundamental dishonesty and being awarding exemplary damages in addition is something we hope to see more of in the future in fraudulent motor cases such as this.”