Hire charges – Autofocus and the Insurers – The Conspiracy !
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
AUTOFOCUS AND THE INSURERS – INDUSTRIAL SCALE PERJURY
Autofocus is a company that employed agents to produce reports for Insurers intended to demonstrate that the hire rates claimed by Claimants after an accident, could have been mitigated. They would inter-alia provide “evidence” to show that hire could have been secured at cheaper rates. As a consequence, many claims for hire have been reduced by Courts and as a consequence of not recovering a reasonable amount in hire :
(a) Part 36 offers have not been beaten (which would have been but for the report of Autofocus)
(b) As a consequence of 1 above, Claimants have been ordered to pay costs from the date when such offers could have been accepted.
Fair enough one might think – that’s what Courts do. However, why have the Courts preferred the evidence of Autofocus over the perfectly good evidence of Claimants insurers ? Probably because it comes naturally to District Judges to penalise Claimants and bend over backwards to accommodate the Insurance industry.
Autofocus reports have been relied upon in excess of 4000 cases.
However, recently in the High Court, Lord Justice Moses declared himself “flabbergasted” by evidence against Autofocus which “if proved, it is difficult to think of a more serious conspiracy” and “We are talking about industrial scale perjury”.
To summarise, the High Court has evidence to demonstrate “Industrial scale perjury” on the part of Autofocus who at the very least are agents of Insurers (if not even more closely connected). As agents, they in effect stand in the shoes of the Insurers and those insurers are vicariously liable for the actions of their agents. This means that at least a dozen insurers are vicariously responsible for allowing Courts to be hoodwinked by their agents and for a super-sized perjury and / or conspiracy ! In addition, they ought to ready themselves for a charge of perverting the course of justice.
So lets get this straight….potentially, Insurers are facing some of the most serious criminal charges as a result of their underhand conduct. Will any CEO’s go to prison for depriving Claimants and hire companies of their expenses ? Will there be any comeback for those who have had to pay adverse costs for not beating offers ? Will insurers be compelled to pay back any of the costs and hire charges that they have procured illegally ? Unlikely….no, its much easier for the press and the lower level judiciary to continue to peddle out the nonsense about a “compensation culture” instead of admitting that Insurers are manipulating the judicial system and using their might to influence the views of the public.