NEWS – “without comment”
CIE spent over €286,000 in three years on private investigators to look into fake claims on trains and buses
By: Gordon Deegan
Buzz.ie
28 MAY 2021
The total on average comes to just over €30,000 per company per annum, “which is a modest expenditure, and which is entirely justified in protecting against such claims”.
Corporate Communications Manager Barry Kenny said that the bill “represents an investment in the interests of our customers and the company alike in protecting the companies from exaggerated or fraudulent claims”.
The spend by CIE on private investigators (PIs) into exaggerated or fake claims totalled €286,264 over the past three years.
The spend covers the outlay by CIE’s three companies, Iarnród Éireann, Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus.
In a letter to Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy, CIE’s Data Protection and Communications Officer Paul Johnston said the spend to May 1 concerned 220 “engagements”.
Corporate Communications Manager Barry Kenny said that the bill “represents an investment in the interests of our customers and the company alike in protecting the companies from exaggerated or fraudulent claims”.
He added the total on average comes to just over €30,000 per company per annum, “which is a modest expenditure, and which is entirely justified in protecting against such claims”.
Fraudulent
“The investigations team have used this type of service over many years in situations where we have suspected that an exaggerated or fraudulent claim is being made,” he explained.
“The activity ranges from reviewing publicly shared material, such as posts on social media, or targeted surveillance, and has many times provided us with hard evidence to refute such allegations.”
Giving one example where a private investigator’s work has paid off, Mr Kenny said that in that particular case a bus “was in a relatively minor collision with a car”.
“However the claimant maintained he couldn’t bring himself to drive again such was the psychological effect of the accident, and he could no longer work because he drove for a living,” he said.
“Our PI came back with evidence which refuted this and resulted in a claim for future loss of earnings in the sum of €400,000 falling away from the case — one case in which our outlay in PIs over three years is saved and more.”
Mr Kenny added: “While out and out fraud is a very small percentage of cases, exaggeration has been a major problem in this sector for years.
“As long as this continues to be the case, the PI will be an important tool in the defence of such claims.
“We do have the benefit also of CCTV footage from our vehicles and premises which is a huge deterrent in terms of out and out fraud, and which are currently being employed in a number of cases.”
Full Story: https://www.buzz.ie/news/cie-spent-over-286000-three-24203165