If you run your own business, then you already know that shoplifting and theft are two major areas of profit loss that CCTV installers can help to curb. However, one seldom-mentioned profit loss area that CCTV can help with is the false claims that are made by customers, passers-by and sometimes even staff.
With a good-quality security camera installation, any type of business can ensure that they are able to monitor events as they happen in (or around) their premises. As a result, they will be able to correct any issues, attend incidents and have the evidence to hand to prevent them from being victims of false ligation and theft. All of this will make for a better run, safer environment for staff and customers to operate in.
So in this blog, we’re going to highlight several recent ‘compensation claims’ that turned out to be scams – only identified as which, by the presence of CCTV cameras.
How CCTV Installers Have Helped Businesses In 2019.
‘The Customer Trip’.
Slips, trips and falls are amongst the most claimed-for compensation. Whilst many will be genuine cases that cause untold damage to a person’s health, they do present anyone with nefarious intentions with an unsophisticated way of making a false compensation claim.
In April, a Bradford woman was given a suspended prison sentence after CCTV footage showed her (with the help of two other women) staging a ‘fall’ over a multipack of orange juice in a locally-owned supermarket. Farida Ashraf had hoped that the claim would be paid out without ‘any questions being asked’ – but the incident (which happened in 2013) led to a legal wrangle that took SIX YEARS to straighten out, costing tens of thousands of pounds in the process.
This report by the Bradford Telegraph and Argus states that Ashraf did not contact solicitors about her ‘injuries’ for around nine months, which led to prosecutors to theorise that she had hoped that ‘memories would have faded by then’ and ‘the CCTV footage would have been erased’.
Fortunately for the Al-Halal supermarket and their insurance company, a suspicious member of staff had kept the footage which showed her accomplices (who haven’t been identified) moving the multipack for Ashraf to ‘fall’ over. The CCTV showed that she ‘tripped’ over the cartons, without falling to the floor – making it somewhat hard to believe that the incident caused her to suffer from the shoulder, shin, calf and hip injuries she claimed.
‘The Staff Slip’.
In an ideal world, we would like to trust everyone that we meet – especially the people we employ, but reality is somewhat different, sadly. With a decent insurance rate often being challenging to obtain, the last thing a business needs is for any easily avoidable health and safety incidents to occur. This will only work to drive up the rate they need to pay for insurance.
In February, an office worker from New Jersey in the United States made international headlines after he poured ice onto the floor of his work’s canteen before staging, what the Daily Star described as an ‘Oscar-worthy performance’ and ‘slipped’ over onto the floor. We know all this as the cameras put there by CCTV installers captured everything!
In August 2019, Alexander Goldinsky pleaded guilty to ‘third-degree insurance fraud by admitting he staged the incident and gave false information to medical personnel’. According to the Bridgewater Courier News, he faces a ‘non-custodian probation and will be ordered to pay $563.49 in restitution to the health insurance company’.
‘The Choking Fit’.
CCTV in pubs and restaurants can be used for more than just ensuring public safety, as this establishment in Ireland proves. In June 2019, a customer at the Judge Roy Beans pub in Newbridge claimed (according to the pub owner) that she had ‘accidentally eaten shards of glass that were in her meal’. On inspection of security camera footage that covered the premises, it showed the woman take an object out from under her garment, place it in her mouth and feign a choking fit.
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According to pub owner Vivian Carroll, the footage captured what was considered ‘typical behaviour’ that her and other publicans encounter on ‘a weekly basis’. After the police were called to take the woman’s details, Ms. Carroll commented, “If it wasn’t for the security cameras, I could possibly [sic] have faced a massive claim”.
The Vintners Federation of Ireland, the national trade organisation for pubs in the country, said that the footage highlighted the threat posed to the industry by false compensation claims. VFI chief executive, Pádraig Cribben commented, “The so-called ‘compo culture’ stems from the fact that people think they can get away with making outrageous insurance claims, a belief supported and encouraged by some within the legal sector and facilitated by insurers settling dubious claims”.
Those were just three recent examples of how CCTV installers can help a business to avoid falling victim to false ligation. If you run your own business, regardless if it’s a retail store, pub, restaurant, health club or public institution, why not consider improving the set-up of your security camera infrastructure with us here at Tellivue?
Protect Your Business, With Modern Security Camera Technology.
Over the last two decades, the Tellivue team have been providing the latest in security camera technology to a wide array of public and private buildings. Whether it’s retailers or governmental buildings, school and colleges or pubs and restaurants; no matter the task at hand or your particular requirements, our track record stands as a testament to the high-quality CCTV installations we are able to produce.
To learn more about how we can help you to improve your building’s security, please feel free to give our CCTV installers a call on 020 7846 3300. Alternatively, you can send any questions via e-mail to [email protected] and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible.
