Latest news with #carDamage
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Woman's anger after BMW keyed ‘down to the metal' by ‘lowlife'
A woman is having to fork out more than £2,000 after her car was keyed 'down to the metal' during a country music event. Scarlet Marie spent the day at Country Road Festival at Silverlake Stadium on Saturday with her partner and friends. But what started as a fun day out quickly turned into a nightmare after her white BMW 1 Series was keyed. Her car was one of 20 that were targeted in the seemingly unprovoked attack on a road off Stoneham Lane. Scarlet Marie's damaged BMW (Image: Scarlet Marie) The 24-year-old said: 'We had a really nice day at the festival, and as we walked back to my car, someone pulled up to us to say all the cars had been keyed. 'I saw my car had a big scrape across it, and then we saw that the other 20 odd cars parked on the road had also been keyed. 'Every single car parked on this side ride by Trojans Rugby Club had been damaged. 'It is the last thing you expect, and it is crazy that someone would do this.' Scarlet said she and other drivers were advised to park on this road near the stadium after the car park for the event reached capacity. She added that no properties were blocked in or affected by the row of cars. READ MORE: Police launch investigation after window smashed in late night incident Scarlet said: 'I bought my car four months ago as I received a good bonus at work. 'I have always looked after my cars, but someone decides to go and do this. 'Everyone works hard to buy a car but there is a lowlife out there keying them. 'It is going to take me a couple of months to save up and pay for the repair, which is estimated to be more than £2,000. 'The cut is so deep it cannot be polished out; it has gone right down to the metal, according to my garage.' Hampshire police confirmed the incident is being investigated. A spokesperson for the force said: 'We have received reports that approximately 15 to 20 cars were keyed in Stoneham Lane, Eastleigh. 'This is thought to have occurred between 4pm and 9pm on Saturday, August 2. 'Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police on 101, quoting 44250347302.'
RNZ News
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Warning insurance 'white lies' can have big repercussions
Photo: 123rf A couple who tried to get two different instances of car damage fixed in one insurance claim have had their claim declined and their insurance cancelled. It's prompted a reminder that being dishonest with insurers can have wider repercussions. The case was dealt with by the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO) scheme. The couple made an insurance claim saying their car had been damaged when the man drove it into a fence at a friend's house. They said the front driver's side and left passenger door were damaged. But the repairer told the insurer the damage seemed to be three separate incidents, the right front corner, the left sill and the tailgate. The insurer asked the man to provide a signed statement and diagram of how the damage happened. He said he hit bricks on the left-hand side of the driveway, then the front right side and then the letterbox, which dented the back of the car. The woman sent photos of the damage. The insurer investigated and said there was no sign of a letterbox in a position the car could have hit. The couple admitted the damage to the back of the car happened at a supermarket a few days later. Their claim was declined and the insurer also cancelled their insurance. They complained to IFSO. The woman said she thought the damage happened at the same time and apologised when she found out otherwise. But IFSO backed the insurer. Ombudsman Karen Stevens said insurers were entitled to decline a claim and cancel a policy if a false statement was made. "The test for a false statement is whether the statement was wrong, whether the person knew it was wrong when they made it, and whether it was relevant to the claim," she said. "Even if [the woman] had not known how the damage to the back of the vehicle occurred, as the driver of the vehicle, [the man] knew when and how the damage occurred. He knowingly gave a false statement when he claimed he 'dented the back when he hit their letterbox'. "The false statement was relevant to the claim, because it indicated [he] had attempted to include damage from another event in the claim, to avoid paying a separate policy excess. "This was enough for the insurer to decline the claim and cancel the policies." She said the case was a reminder that these sorts of "little white lies" could have serious long-term consequences. "Last year we had a case where a man was flagged on the Insurance Claims Register (ICR) after he lied to his insurer about his car being damaged in a flood. This left him not only uninsured but also facing the imminent risk of losing his house because his mortgage was dependent on having insurance," she said. Glen McLeod, head of Link Advisory, said people who could not get insurance would not be able to buy a property, either. But he said there were often ways to get insurance via an insurance adviser, if it was proving difficult through other channels. The Insurance Council of New Zealand runs a claims register designed to detect and prevent fraud, including non-disclosure and "double dipping". It gives insurers information about people's claims history. Claims that have been flagged as a concern by an insurer stay on the register indefinitely. "Trust is a basic foundation of insurance for both the insurer and the customer. While the decision not to offer cover is never taken lightly, a history of fraudulent behaviour can seriously undermine that trust and present a risk to the insurer, potentially making it difficult for someone to obtain insurance in the future. It's important to be upfront and honest with your insurer," a spokesperson said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
