She's Absolutely Steaming Over A Prang She Never Had
Newcastle Herald
Thursday December 2, 2004
A WOODBERRY woman is angry that police gave incorrect information to an insurance company that led to her being accused of a driving offence she did not commit.
Christine Byrnes, of Lawson Avenue, said she was stunned to receive a phone call this month from a representative of insurance company AAMI, asking her what she intended to do about an accident at Blacktown in September. "I told him I'd never been to Blacktown," Mrs Byrnes said. "But he wouldn't believe me. He was very aggressive and said he knew it was me because the police had given him my phone number."Mrs Byrnes asked for, and received last week, a copy of the incident report supplied by the police to AAMI.The report describes an accident late one night in Blacktown, where a woman with the same name as Mrs Byrnes allegedly collided with a parked car.The address of the at-fault driver is listed as being in Blacktown and none of the other identifying details match Mrs Byrnes."It isn't my licence number, it isn't my address. I don't drive a red Commodore. Obviously somebody in Blacktown has the same name as me, but I think it's pathetic that the police have handed out my phone number without checking properly," she said."I finally managed to persuade the insurance company it was a mistake, but I've had nothing like an apology. "I can't believe they can barge in and turn your life upside down, then expect you to clear your own name when they could do it in a few seconds with a phone book."The Herald contacted a representative of the NSW Police Service who said the problem came about as a result of human error."We are very apologetic about it," he said. An AAMI representative said the incident was deeply regretted. It was a result of wrong information from police and a company manager would be contacting Mrs Byrnes with a formal apology.
© 2004 Newcastle Herald