"15. The First Part 20 Defendant was at all material times driving a prestige vehicle, namely a BMW 3 Series, registration LR17 OBY (hereafter "the Claimant's Vehicle"), in which the Claimant was allegedly a passenger. The Claimant's Vehicle is alleged to be worth£13,036.56 . 16.The Second Defendant owns Iveco Daily Motor vehicle registration number BT15 VLA (hereafter "the Defendant's Vehicle"). The Defendant's Vehicle was fitted with a Global Positioning Satellite tracking device which reports the time and location of the Defendant's Vehicle. The Defendant's Vehicle was also fitted with a forward- facing dashboard camera which is wired into the Defendant's Vehicle's ignition. 17.The Claimant alleges a collision took place between the Claimant's Vehicle and the Defendant's Vehicle on Chinnor Crescent, Greenford, London, UB6 9NZ, at approximately 21.40 on03 August 2019 . 18.On or about the afternoon of03 August 2019 , the First Defendant, during the course of his employment, drove the Defendant's Vehicle from the Greenford Depot. 19.At 06:5904 August 2019 the First Defendant made a report of the collision to the Second Defendant. In his report the First Defendant provided a false registration number for the Second Defendant vehicle as 'BT15TWK'. 20.At 22.3116 August 2019 Progress Vehicle Management on behalf of the Claimant made a report of the collision to the Second Defendant. A copy of that notification is appended to this Defence. 21.As a result of the First Defendant's report of the false registration number the Second Defendant was prevented from obtaining the dashboard camera footage of the collision. 22.The Second Defendant avers that the Claimant and the First Part 20 Defendant in the Claimant's Vehicle intentionally drove into collision with First Defendant in the Defendant's Vehicle, with the express intention of enabling the Claimant and the First Part 20 Defendant, to pursue claims against the Second Defendant. 23.The collision occurred in circumstances where the Claimant, the First Part 20 Defendant and the First Defendant were acting unlawfully in that they caused damage to the Defendant's property. 24.Further, the Claimant, the First Part 20 Defendant and the First Defendant conspired with each other and/or other persons whose names are presently unknown to the Second Defendant, to cause the Second Defendant loss by presenting dishonest claims for damages. 25.The Claimant and the First Part 20 Defendant may not profit from or bring a cause of action founded on their unlawful conduct. 26.Further and in the alternative the Second Defendant avers that the collision was not a result of the negligence of the Second Defendant's servant or agent acting within the course of his employment. The acts of the First Defendant were deliberate. The First Defendant was acting outside of the course of his employment. Accordingly, the Second Defendant is not vicariously liable for the actions of the First Defendant. 27.Following the collision, the Claimant's Vehicle was allegedly recovered, stored and repaired by Hano UK Limited operating from 2 Creek Road, London SE8 3EL with a second premises at 7 Belvue Road, London, UB5 5QJ. Hano UK Limited is owned and directed by Argosh Rasheed Nori and registered at 7 Westmoreland House, Cumberland Park Scrubs Lane, London, NW10 6RE."
"Whilst we did admit liability, we raised serious causation in regard to the injuries as not all the damage reported on the engineers report was caused by our bus and was pre-existing. Our bus only connected with the wing mirror of the vehicle the claimant was traveling. No further response from TP sols after we raised causation. Credit hire was also rejected based on the same points as the vehicle was roadworthy with the damage we caused."
"3. On August 3 rd 2019 at 9.30-9.45, my husband and I were on our way back from seeing a friend. We chose this day as on the same day around 10.30pm my husband and I were going to meet someone (potential employee) at a restaurant she had chosen…… 5.My husband and I were driving down a main high road when a Tesco vehicle reversing out of a left side street crashed into my passenger side of the vehicle. (The route he was backing out of was a no through route). After the accident once we wrapped our head around what happened I cancelled my meeting with the young lady as all I wanted to do was get to a hospital. I was 7 months pregnant at the time of the accident and was trying to arrange employment for my Minicab office that was due to open in November 2019. 6. I never left the vehicle at any point once the accident occurred and my husband which was driving the vehicle at the time got out and took photos of the vehicle and exchanged information with the Tesco driver. Knowing the vehicle was a Tesco van I did not feel the need to call the police as Tesco is a very large organisation. 7. I was really distressed as I had a miscarriage before my pregnancy at the time and could only think about the safety of my unborn child. My husband then took me to the hospital in a rush (North Middlesex Hospital) so I could be sure my baby was fine, which thankfully he was. The next morning Hano Auto's which I have been using for a while came to collect my vehicle." 8. Hano Auto's was first recommended to me by a friend as I used to own a moving service. They were used for repairs and maintenance of my vehicles. A few days later we requested a hire vehicle….."
"2. On the 3 rd of August 2019 around 9:45pm in the evening I was driving with my wife from her friend's house to meet a potential employee for my wife's new minicab business that was due to commence trading in November 2019. 3.While my wife and I were driving down the main road in Uxbridge (UB6) a Tesco delivery vehicle reversed back from a side road with no exit signs and hit my car from the passenger's side. I pulled over and got out of my vehicle to take photos of the accident damages to my vehicle and the Tesco vehicle. 4. We exchanged information with the Tesco Driver and I left the scene. 5. At the time of the accident I was more concerned about the well being of my wife and baby as she was heavily pregnant at the time of the accident. I drove my wife straight down to the hospital to ensure she and my baby were okay. 6. Due to the incident my wife and I both suffered whiplash. 7. The next day Hano Auto's came to collect my vehicle."
"This statement relates to my involvement in five road traffic incidents which occurred during my employment with the Defendant/Part 20 Claimant, Tesco Stores Limited. The incidents occurred on12 July 2019 ;3 August 2019 ;5 October 2019 ;6 December 2019 ; and2 January 2020 . I will give details about each of these crashes in this statement but at the outset I want to say each and every one of those incidents was staged by others and which I took part in. The collisions were set up so that compensation claims could be brought against Tesco Stores Limited and they were in no way genuine….. I cannot remember when I was originally approached and asked to take part in these incidents, but it must have been before July 2019. I was approached when I was driving out of the Greenford depot in one of the delivery vans one day. I was just about to start my delivery route for the day and as I was driving out of the depot I had to stop at the junction to wait for traffic to clear on the main road. I remember that there were temporary traffic lights on the main road so traffic was heavy, and I had to wait quite a long time to get out of the junction. Two men walked up to my van. From memory they were stood at the side of the road. I had never seen them before. They tapped on the van's window, which I then opened and they began speaking to me. I talked to them from the cab of my van. I believe one man was Eastern European, and the other was Asian. They were of a similar age, in their late 20s and dressed casually. I only know them as 'Nik' and 'Dee'. 'Nik' was the Eastern European man and 'Dee' was the Asian man. I remember that 'Dee' had a beard. I do not know their full names. They asked me if I wanted to make some money and explained that to do this, I would need to help them by crashing into other cars so they could bring claims. They told me that they would pay me£200 for each incident. I told them that I thought it was risky and that I was worried about getting caught. They told me that there were quite a few drivers that were doing it and there was limited risk. They said that they knew Tesco's procedures and that they would sort out the rest. I agreed to do it and gave them my telephone number so they could contact me. This conversation lasted around 5-10 minutes…. After this initial meeting, they would call me on my mobile and ask if I was working. If I was on shift, they would ask me to tell them, from my delivery sheet, where I would be at a certain time. It was usually towards the end of my shift, after my last delivery. I would tell them where I would be, and they would meet me at that location. 'Nik' and 'Dee' turned up at the scene, always in a black Mercedes. I don't know the registration number of this car. They would be accompanied by another vehicle which would be driven by somebody else. 'Nik' and 'Dee' would come over to the van to tell me how to crash into the other car and would then watch the 'incident' from the side of the road. After I hit the other car with the Tesco van I did not get out of the van. 'Nik' or 'Dee' would come to the window of the van and take one of the 'Collision report Forms' or 'Bump Cards' which the drivers are supposed to fill out in the event of an incident. They would walk over to the car that I hit and talk to the driver of that car through the window and take their details and write them on the Bump Card. I did not write any of the Bump Cards relating to any of the staged incidents. They were all written by 'Nik' and/or 'Dee' at the scene. 'Nik' and 'Dee' attended every staged incident that I was involved in. I would then report the crash to the Sopp and Sopp incident report line as normal and then return to the depot to report it to my manager and fill in an Incident Investigation Form."
"This crash occurred at the junction of Bledlow Rise and Chinnor Crescent, Northolt, UB6.It was a Saturday evening shift and I was driving an Iveco delivery van registration BW15TWK. 'Nik' and 'Dee' met me at Bledlow Rise and Chinnor Crescent as agreed. They were with a blue BMW, which was the car which was to be involved in the incident. Again, I did not get a good look at the occupants of the car, but I think that there were two people, a man and a woman. I was told that this was the car I had to collide with. This time I was told to reverse out of the side road into the side of the BMW. I knew this would not have been picked up by the dashcam because there was no rear facing cameras fitted to the Tesco Van. I was again passed the Bump Card that had been filled in by Nik and Dee and I was given£200 in cash at the scene as payment. I reported the incident to the Sopp and Sopp incident line and filled in the Incident Investigation Form when I returned to the depot. I again lied during the call and when I reported the crash to make it seem like it was a genuine accident. I understand that claims have been submitted to Tesco by a Mr Mustafa Zada and a Mrs EdaYaman. I can't say whether Mr Zada was the driver of the blue BMW involved in the incident or whether this was the lady that was present. I can confirm that this was not a genuine incident, it was pre-arranged, and I was paid money to crash into the other car."
"(3.1.2) There are four different damage profiles on the side of the BMW. I have listed these below with my comments. (3.1.3) There is light vertical dent on the nearside roof rail. This has been caused by an impact from above to the edge of the roof. The dent is consistent with the edge of the roof being struck with an instrument with a straight edge. This dent has not been caused as a result of any contact with the Tesco Iveco. (3.1.4) The next area of damage is on the forward section of the nearside rear door and the rear edge of the front door immediately behind the handle. There are three identifiable separate impacts into the doors. (3.1.5) There are no horizontal lead in or lead out contact marks in these separate areas of damage to the door and these three areas of damage are consistent with being incurred when the BMW was stationary. (3.1.6) There is nothing on the rear body profile of the Tesco Iveco that would be consistent with causing these different types of impact damage into the door panel. These separate impact areas are not compatible with being caused as a result of contact with the Iveco. (3.1.7) These areas of damage are more consistent with deliberately inflicted damage to the door by striking the door in in the three areas of maximum deformation. (3.1.8) The next area of damage is the light horizontal scratches that commence behind the nearside rear door handle and pass through the quarter panel onto the outer face of the nearside rear lamp. (3.1.9) Comparison with the sample BMW illustrates that this damage would be at a height between 80 and 90 cm from ground level. (3.1.10) There is nothing at that height, or anywhere, on the Tesco Iveco that could cause this horizontal array of light scratches on the BMW quarter panel. (3.1.11) I have considered the horizontal impact profile on the BMW door and wheel arch. (3.1.12) Using the sample BMW, I have established that this horizontal impact profile would be between 60 and 65cm from ground level. (3.1.13) The sample Tesco Iveco measurements illustrates that this would be between the upper and lower profiles of the rear crossmember on a Tesco Iveco. (3.1.14) While this damage height is not obviously compatible, I have considered if the upper or lower profile of the crossmember could have been at a matching height if other unknown variables such as loading, road surface undulations, tyre pressures etc had an influence on the vehicle heights and I cannot rule out this possibility. (3.1.15) One additional discrepancy in this damage to the BMW is that if this damage were caused by contact with the rear crossmember on the Tesco Iveco there would be two parallel contact areas the same distance apart as the upper and lower profile on the rear crossmember. The photographs illustrate that there is only one horizontal contact to the door and wheel arch. (3.1.16) If this area of the BMW did contact the end of the crossmember on the Iveco then I would have expected there to be damage in two places as the light bar forms a U shape profile and if the lower profile of the light bar contacted the wheel arch, then the upper part of the light bar should have contacted the BMW higher up. (3.1.17) If the alloy light bar on the Iveco did cause this damage to the BMW, then there would have been some damage to the light bar and it would probably have been distorted forwards. (3.1.18) After considering these profiles of the damage on the BMW and the rear body profile on the Iveco and the discrepancies in the heights and the absence of any damage further up that would be caused by contact from the upper U profile on the rear crossmember, I have concluded that on the balance of probability this damage to the rear edge of the door and the quarter panel would not be consistent with being caused as a result of either rear corner of the Iveco. (3.1.19) I have considered the damage to the BMW bumper as illustrated in the photographs. The direction of the bumper bracket fracture indicates that this has occurred as a result of the bumper being pulled outwards not rearwards. (3.1.21) There is no damage to the forward edge of the bumper which would be consistent with any contact between the bumper and the Iveco. (3.1.22) The absence of any contact damage to the bumper forward edge or outer face leads me to conclude that this bumper bracket fracture was not caused as a result of contact with the Tesco Iveco, and it could be deliberate damage caused by pulling the edge of the bumper outwards. (3.1.23) The damage to the alloy wheel spoke is too low down to be contacted by the rear profile of the Tesco Iveco. (3.3.3) I am of the opinion that the damage to the BMW nearside roof rail, the forward section of the nearside rear door, the rear section of the front door, the rear bumper and the light horizontal scratches on the nearside rear quarter panel leading into the nearside rear lamp have not been damaged as a result of contact with the Tesco Iveco because the damage profiles are completely different and these areas of damage on the BMW cannot have been caused as a result of contact with the rear body profile of a Tesco Iveco. (3.3.4) I am of the opinion that the horizontal impact profile to the rear wheel arch and rear edge of the nearside rear door is not obviously consistent, but I cannot rule out the possibility that contact has occurred with the end of the alloy crossmember on the Iveco. I am of the opinion that this area of damage is unlikely to have occurred in this incident, because of the discrepancies in the heights and profile but I cannot rule out the possibility."
"In certain circumstances a court may be entitled to draw adverse inferences from the absence or silence of a witness who might be expected to have material evidence to give on an issue in an action. If the court is willing to draw such inferences they may go to strengthen the evidence adduced on that issue by the other party or to weaken the evidence, if any, adduced by the party who might reasonably have been expected to call a witness. There must, however, have been some evidence, however weak, adduced by the former on the matter in question before the court is entitled to draw the desired inference. In other words, there must be a case to answer on that issue. If the reason for the witness's absence or silence satisfies the court then no such adverse inference may be drawn. If, on the other hand, there is some credible explanation given, even if not wholly satisfactory, the potentially detrimental effect of his or her absence of silence may be reduced or nullified."
"Our client was a passenger in a vehicle correctly proceeding along Bledlow rise when the third party driver suddenly reversed their vehicle and collided into our client drivers vehicle…. the full extent of our client's injuries are yet to be fully determined. However at present our client advises that they have upper and lower body pain. Furthermore we are presently unable to confirm dates of any attendance at the GP, nevertheless we shall inform you of the same in due course." 2.Ms Yaman submitted a Claim Form and Particulars of Claim in which she alleged the following statements of fact: "6. On3rd August 2019 on Chinnor Crescent, Greenford a collision occurred between the two said vehicles. The circumstances of the accident were that the 1st Defendant reversed out of a side road and collided with the claimant's correctly preceding vehicle. 7. The accident was caused or contributed to by the negligence of the 1st Defendant". 3.Ms Yaman submitted a medical report by Dr Irfan Akhtar , in which she alleged: "… the vehicle was moving slowly. It was hit on the passenger side… The claimant is unsure how much damage was caused to the vehicle. She is not sure whether it has been repaired. The claimant recalls being thrown mainly forwards during the impact…. suffering with "neck pain and stiffness", "pain in the thoraco-lumbar spine…. 2 days time off work…..prevention of sports and leisure activities."
"Our client was correctly proceeding along Bledlow rise when the third party driver suddenly reversed their vehicle and collided into our client drivers vehicle…. the full extent of our client's injuries are yet to be fully determined. However at present our client advises that they have upper and lower body pain. Furthermore we are presently unable to confirm dates of any attendance at the GP, nevertheless we shall inform you of the same in due course." 2. Mr Zada submitted a medical report by Dr Irfan Akhtar in which he alleged: "… the vehicle was moving slowly. It was hit on the passenger side…. The claimant is unsure how much damage was caused to the vehicle. He is not sure whether it has been repaired. The claimant recalls being thrown mainly forwards during the impact… suffering with "neck pain and stiffness…pain in the thoraco-lumbar spine…soft tissue injury to the right thigh/hip…. ongoing time off work….prevention of sports and leisure activities."
"A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence."
"(1) A person to (a) dishonestly make a false representation, and (b) intend, by making the representation— (i) to make a gain for himself or another, or (ii) to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss. (2) A representation is false if— (a) it is untrue or misleading, and (b) the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading. (3) "
"As I have said, this case is a paradigm one for the award of exemplary damages. As to the amount of such damages, as was stated by Arden LJ in Ramzan v Brookwide at [82], the sum must be principled and proportionate. As in that case, given the need to deter and punish the outrageous conduct and abusive behaviour in the present context, the principled basis is to make a punitive award. The respondents have chosen not to place before the court any evidence as to their means so that it is not appropriate to limit the amount of any award by reference to ability or inability to pay …. Given the seriousness of the conduct of the respondents and the need to deter them and others from engaging in this form of "cash for crash" fraud, which has become far too prevalent and which adversely affects all those in society who are policyholders who face increased insurance premiums, I consider that the appropriate award of exemplary damages is that each of the first, second and third respondents should be liable to pay£20,000 ."