We have a carpet in our house which I loathe. It's flowery and awful and I can't bear to tolerate it for much longer - it was in the house when we moved in and we can't afford to replace it at the moment. It's all over the living room, dining room, up the stairs and on the landing.

My plan was to drop a tin of gloss paint on it and claim for a new one on the house insurance. Cockers won't let me though cos he's scared - which is most unlike him btw.

So. Would you? Have you? Did you get away with it?

Share your scams here.

:D I thought about the exact same thing as the carpet in the hall and stairs in this house was truly hideous - it was yellow and red and brown - I kid you not.

In the end though I just couldn't bring myself to do it, I'm a rubbish liar generally and although I honestly don't think I'd have felt too guilty I just didn't have the nerve.

I just ripped it up instead and as a result of that I still have no carpet on my stairs, but even no carpet is perferable.

Anyway so I've got no real business in here never having scammed my insurance so I'll be moving along now :D

Yes - done it. Or something similar anyway. It increased the monthly payments of the houseld insurance by a negligable amount, but we got a new carpet for the hallway, stairs and landing.

It wasn't a scam - it really was a genuine spillage of beetroot juice on the stairs. But the result was the same as if we'd dropped gloss paint. We claimed, we got paid, we got a new carpet. No problem. So if you acidentally spill gloss paint on the hallway stairs......

Figaro, I'm liking the cut of your jib

beetroot juice ...

How old are you Fig?

*snigger*

I have to hold my hand up to the tin of paint 'accident' too.

We blamed the toddlers we had at the time, tsk, milling around whilst we were trying to decorate so they wouldn't be brought up in a hovel....oopppss the lid was left of the paint for a spilt second and 'oh dear'....

result - one new carpet hall, stairs and landing.

Do they not send an assessor in to check the age/condition of the carpet and then pay like for like?

Dammit, now I'm really jealous, I should have been braver, more accident pronw... something. Oh well I know for next time. I say go for it then Floops - only you should publically state on here first that you're not going to do any such thing!

I would never do such a thing. i was just testing the morality of the forum :pimp: .

Don't mind if they do like for like - valuewise, cos the existing carpet is very good quality and only 2 years old, it's just most offensive thing ever designed. Surely they don't replace pattern for pattern?? :shocking:

How old are you Fig?

*snigger*

Old enough to know the benefit of a healthy diet, but young enough to be looking forward to kids and reaching the pinnacle of my career.

Do they not send an assessor in to check the age/condition of the carpet and then pay like for like?

They didn't in our case, but different insurers might have different approaches to settling claims I suppose.

I doubt they'd bother for the cost of a hallway carpet though. Loss adjusters charge a fortune so I'd think their services would probably only be required for claims of a significant value.

Old enough to know the benefit of a healthy diet, but young enough to be looking forward to kids and reaching the pinnacle of my career.

Hang on a minute......do I know you? :glare:

Hang on a minute......do I know you? :glare:

Well, what do you think?

Do they not send an assessor in to check the age/condition of the carpet and then pay like for like?
They did to us. They actually asked us to leave the carpet in situ for the assessor to look at.

Obviously once I had explained that they would be coming out to assess all the carpets in the house if I did that, then they saw the logic of us removing it to the back garden.

Hmmm, I might have to scarifice a pair of toddler's shoes and get her to march around in the paint a bit before I call them then....:cool:

I was advised to over estimate a jewellery theft following a break-in because 'you always forget to declare something'

The estimate I gave resulted in the break-in making the front page of the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Worst bit was when the assessor came round to interview me and I was in the middle of describing an antique fob watch thingie - and realised I was wearing it :unsure:

They paid up :w00t:

But the guilt, Fee, how do you live with the guilt?

1. Tot up your home insurance payments over the years
2. Bank the cheque
3. Go shopping

:huh:

:cool:

Still on insurance, do you claim for any and every thing? Or just not bother with the small things? Gigi managed to break both Cockney's pairs of glasses last week, rendering him more or less stuffed. After deducting the excess on our policy, a claim would only get us £40 back and he thinks it's not worth the hassle.

I say ********, let's have the £40 :cool2:

Nah, wouldn't bother claimng £40. Wait and go for a biggie....

But you can have both? Why not?

I thought he tripped up when he was carrying a pot of paint, which then fell on his glasses and burst open?

Which of course he absolutely did. He may also have broken the computer in his fall :w00t:

The paint can then bounced through a window, landed on the car, splattering the remaining contents on the exterior house paintwork as it passed by.:bag:

............ dripping over the brand new motor mower and driveway in its path. :shocking:

Damn, that was a big tin of paint.

But very expensive. Pity it rolled away and got lost, with Floopy's diamond ring stuck to the side it, having come off as she made an heroic lunge to prevent any damage occurring.

Don't spose the piano would have got damaged would it?]

Only it needs a tune and I can't be arsed to find a tuner.

Well of course, you couldn't see the piano, because it was obscured by all the dust and plaster caused by the ceiling falling in, caused by the overflowing tap in the bath which Gigi left running when she was unattended because you were trying to save her Daddy's life..........

Are we done yet? :unsure:

I want 10% and no names mentioned :pimp:

floops. I'm with Fee...give her 5% and me 5% and I'll help you come up with a heart rendering and money worthy tale!!:devil:



(Coastie's not the only 'writer' of fiction on the board!!):ninja:

But I don't want to make any money on the deal, I just want rid of this feckin awful goddarned carpet :cry:

Well you ninny, just do the deed and then when the assesor comes round, tell him "Look (bat eyes innocently), I know people try to scam y'all all the time, but my demon child has just RUINED my carpet and ALL I want is the carpet replaced, no change in my pocket, just the new carpet. I'm really an honest girl like that." And don't let up the innocent act, even though it'll be REALLY hard!!:w00t: :sun:

You have no idea how hard it would be for me to do 'innocent' :bag:

Plus my delightful daughter has developed of knack of saying 'mummy did it' when anyone asks her anything, so I'd have to farm her out for the day in case she dropped me in it.

Still need to convince Cockers though.