The longer I live, the more I despise liars. I always have, but over the years, the intensity of my disgust with people who lie becomes more pronounced by the day. It's to the point where it has almost become an obsession with me!
My current disgust is grounded in my husband's recent little fender-bender. The guy who hit Jim admitted on the scene that he was at fault, and later to me when I showed up. The accident occurred virtually around the corner from where we live, and without going into boring details of how it all happened, the fault was clear. And admitted. Several times.
I advised Jim to call the police (just so it would all be on record), and then jumped into the car to go over there. I was concerned about his neck... The guy apologized TO ME (as I said above) for being at fault, and the three of us waited for the police to arrive.
One cruiser went past us, but slowed long enough for the officer to say that the "accident" cruiser would be there shortly. Apparently there was some other incident at the the far end of the same street.
A second cruiser passed, and that officer (a woman) repeated what the first officer had said, then headed towards whatever was happening at the end of the road.
So, we continued to wait, and finally the third cruiser arrived, and said that he was there for the accident. That's when I left...
I shouldn't have!
Apparently, the officer (probably distracted by whatever else was going on) told Jim that since there weren't any injuries, and since they'd exchanged insurance information, it was all good, and no reports needed to be made. Once Jim was home, he called our agent who said, "Well, since the other party has admitted fault, just call that agent, and go forward."
That's what Jim did.
By the next day, the other guy had changed his story, saying that Jim (who was taking a RIGHT turn towards our house) had suddenly, inexplicably turned LEFT into him (an ice cream truck) even though a LEFT turn into the LEFT lane would have taken Jim in the OPPOSITE direction of our house!!
The guy's insurance agent drove the route, came by our house (and could see that his customer's story wasn't logical, given the location of the accident to our house), took pictures (the damage is in the BACK of the car), but because there's a dispute, Progressive may go with their lying SOB client!
Something similar happened to me about fifteen years ago when a car backed out of a parking space, and directly into the side of my car, as I passed behind them. They apologized on the scene, but by the next day had changed their story for their insurance company. They said that I had driven into THEM. Oh, really?? I didn't know that my car had the ability to drive sideways, like a crab!
So, here we are, and we may be out of pocket over all of this. Or, we could hire an attorney to fight it. Or, we could have our agent fight it, and if we lose, then our rates will go up. Nice...
And this is just one example of how people lie without blinking an eye. I'm SO sick of it! What happened to the simple concept of integrity?
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Oh my goodness Moore...I wish your husband had thought to take pictures. You remind me that I need to go buy one of those disposable things so that I can put it in my glove box for such situations.
OMG, what a jerk. Too bad you can't get everyone to boycott this guys ice cream truck. Its annoying to think that such a jerk is dealing with our children on a daily basis.
My husband did take pictures, but only of his damage. The pictures were taken with his cell phone, and were only of his damage, and were mostly to show the kids what happened. There wasn't any "accident site" to memorialize because both Jim and the liar had pulled off the road. (It was rush hour.)
The liar's insurance agent came to our home, and took his own pictures of Jim's damage with a camera that he said shows a lot of detail It SHOULD be clear from the damage what happened, and it SHOULD be clear from all other evidence what happened. They just don't want to pay, and they may not have to because no witnesses stopped.
However, there is other evidence that we can present (won't bore you guys with all of the allegations), but we're determined to fight this.
There was a time when insurance companies would cancel a policy holder's insurance if they lied about what happened with an accident, but I guess that this practice got flushed when someone decided that the financial bottom line was more important than corporate accountability.
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Oh, Moore, so sorry for this grief. What happened to integrity? Very good question!
We've had a few brushes in this area, and never a good experience. Keep us posted on the outcome, good luck, and keep the faith - karma rules. :)
Good outcome is that Jim is fine - his baby car isn't, but that's replaceable, non? Put feet up, have a sip of something comforting, and curse the system.
