Crime Bigmotor chief to resign in repair fraud scandal

[thomas]

The president and the vice-president of one of Japan's biggest used-car retailers and workshop chains, Bigmotor Co., resigned after revelations that employees routinely damaged automobiles sent in for accident repairs and passed the inflated costs to insurance companies. The report said Bigmotor required repair shops to secure about 140,000 JPY in profit on each vehicle from service fees and parts. Workers would whack vehicles with a golf ball in a sock, scratch them with a screwdriver or intentionally break headlight covers to inflate insurance bills. The report said such practices began before 2020.

Bigmotor Co. President Hiroyuki Kaneshige claimed he didn't know of those practices.

Bigmotor chief resigns over car repair insurance scam | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

Bigmotor chief to resign in wake of repair fraud scandal

Employees were found to have intentionally damaged the vehicles of some customers in order to charge excessive repair fees and make fraudulent insurance claims.

www.japantimes.co.jp

 

[thomas]

Following a stream of whistleblowing from current and former Bigmotor employees and allegations against its management, ranging from executives' verbal abuse of workers to inappropriate action relating to car purchases, the government has launched a full-scale investigation against Bigmotor. Several major insurance firms might be involved, too.

Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. and other major non-life insurance firms had introduced Bigmotor repair shops to policyholders who had accidents or other vehicle issues. In addition to loaning dozens of employees to Bigmotor, it has emerged that the insurers recruited new policyholders through the dealer. This type of mutual back-scratching may have been a breeding ground for illicit acts.

Editorial: Japan's widening Bigmotor scandal demands deep investigation - The Mainichi

The scandal at major used car dealer Bigmotor Co., which padded claims to non-life insurance companies, is widening. To dispel drivers' concerns, it i

mainichi.jp

On top of those murky business practices, investigators also look at allegations that trees and bushes planted near Bigmotor sites have disappeared "due to the over-zealous application of an obsessive no-dirt, no-weeds policy, even if the greenery was not company property."

They are pursuing reports that trees and other vegetation disappeared along public roads near Bigmotor outlets. The plants either died--herbicide is suspected--or were cut down. For example, after the deaths of 17 trees lining a sidewalk in Ota, Gunma Prefecture, an investigation revealed traces of herbicide in the soil. The sidewalk ran alongside a national road--and just happened to be right in front of the big, bold signs advertising a Bigmotor outlet. A report of property destruction was filed with Gunma prefectural police. Trees also disappeared outside two Bigmotor outlets in Osaka city. Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama said on 27 July that legal action would be taken if it turned out the trees were intentionally killed.

New Bigmotor allegations: local trees poisoned, neurotic cleaning | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[thomas]

New allegations against Bigmotors are surfacing almost daily: consumer centres across Japan have received numerous complaints from people over dealings with Bigmotor Co. amid the significant used car dealer's fraudulent auto insurance claims scandal.

A 30-year-old man from Chiba Prefecture recently told the Mainichi Shimbun that he was pressured to purchase a used car from Bigmotor. "I suspect that the company has been doing improper things apart from the (false) insurance claims," he said.

The man was behind the wheel during a crash around the summer of 2021. As the accident was likely to develop into a civil lawsuit over the allotment of fault, a lawyer asked him to submit the appraisal value of his car before and after the accident. The man called a Bigmotor dealership in Chiba Prefecture and explained his request in detail, to which the dealer gave a positive response. He immediately drove to the store to get his car assessed. When he arrived, however, a male staffer told him that he needed to buy a vehicle to have his car evaluated. As he'd been planning to replace his car anyway, and thought he would feel bad if he just asked for assessment, he asked for a list of used cars on offer. One vehicle that caught his eye was at a Kyushu outlet in southwest Japan. He told the staffer, "I'd like to see the car in advance," but the worker responded, "You can't see it until after it's been delivered to you." As the employee tried to move ahead without a trade-in contract, the man gave up on the appraisal and tried to leave as quickly as possible. "I'll just get a preliminary screening for a car loan," he told the Bigmotor worker, filled in a document, and left. About an hour later, a loan screening company called his mobile, and told him that he had passed the screening and the contract procedure would move forward. "I only asked for a preliminary screening, but the dealer moved on to the actual contract without my consent," he complained to Bigmotor customer service. That evening, he drove home only to find the same Bigmotor worker waiting for him. The worker leaned toward his car window and unleased a stream of abusive language, including, "You've got to be kidding me!" and, "Don't underestimate me."

Customer tells of predatory sales tactics, verbal abuse at Japan's scandal-hit Bigmotor - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- Consumer centers across Japan have been getting numerous complaints from people over dealings with Bigmotor Co., amid the major used car deal

mainichi.jp

 

[musicisgood]

The world is so full of corruption these days it's just getting pathetic.