Dishonest claimant fails to secure £126,000 after ‘staged’ imagery was uncovered

A South London moped driver has failed in his bid to falsely obtain more than £126,000 from insurer Direct Line and left with a £30,000 legal bill, after investigations by Clyde & Co identified photographs submitted as “evidence” by the claimant had clearly been staged.

The claim arose from an extremely minor incident which took place in February 2022. Fabiano Pereira Da Silva, a 24-year-old Bexley resident and part-time delivery driver, was riding a moped on the A223 Bexley High Street in extremely slow-moving traffic. Immediately behind Mr Da Silva was the defendant, Direct Line’s insured, who was driving a BMW.

Around 500 metres from a mini roundabout, the defendant found himself to be stationary. Having looked up and noticing the traffic ahead had started to crawl forwards, he then took his foot off the brake pedal. As the BMW was an automatic, it rolled forwards where it very lightly tapped the rear of the claimant’s stationary moped. Contact occurred at such a low speed that the claimant remained seated throughout. The only damage was to the bracket of the back box of the moped, estimated to be worth around £60, which the defendant offered to replace.

However, Da Silva, went on to submit a claim to Direct Line alleging that the collision was so severe in nature, that he was thrown to the ground causing injuries to his left leg and neck. This was despite not visiting his GP after the incident. The injuries, and alleged travel anxiety, were valued at £3,500. 

Further damages were sought in the sum of £121,759 for credit hire between 9 February 2022 and 9 May 2023 after Da Silva claimed the moped had been written off in the incident, plus recovery and storage fees of £1,174. In total, the amount being claimed came to £126,433, with a further £50,000 held in reserve against his solicitors’ costs. 

To support his version of events, the claimant submitted a series of photos, allegedly taken at the scene. However, an investigation by Clyde & Co’s motor fraud team, identified that the imagery provided by the delivery driver was not only staged but taken in an entirely different location to the scene of the incident on Bexley High Street. After we disputed the claim, on behalf of Direct Line, Da Silva sought to settle for a lower figure, but this was refused.

Ultimately, Da Silva dropped his claim before the matter reached trial at Dartford County Court. As a result, it’s estimated that he faces legal costs of around £30,000 for the failed claim.

Partner Sarah Hill, said: “They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case the claimant hoped his staged photos would be worth tens of thousands of pounds in unmerited compensation. This outcome should serve as a warning of the robust approach we will take to continue to expose the behaviour of dishonest individuals seeking to make spurious and exaggerated claims.”