I mentioned it to my dad (who is the most paranoid man I have ever met but is often right) – he told me to check the insurance before I hired it. I heeded his advice and got the owner to send over the rental and insurance documents. With my dad in my ear, I went through the paperwork with a toothcomb – everything checked out. In particular, the insurance (from a well-known insurer) was fully comprehensive for the rider of the rental bike, so long as they had a full licence.
I paid my money, picked up the bike and went out for the day. The first three hours were amazing. But the next three hours involved police and a long bus ride home as it set off an ANPR camera for no insurance. I showed police the policy I had received from the rental company, but when they checked it, the policy did not exist. They seized the bike, hence the bus ride.
Since then, I have been ghosted by the rental company man (I have no idea if he got his bike back), and when I checked with the alleged insurer they told me it must be a fake document as they have no record of the rental company. I have also received a court summons for riding without insurance. As none of this is my fault, I plan to defend this. Will I succeed?
Answer
I am surprised the renter hasn’t had a proper slap off someone. Unfortunately, having no insurance is a strict liability offence so the court will have no choice but to find you guilty, despite the fact you rented it in good faith. But all is not lost.
From what you have said, you can put forward an argument for ‘special reasons’ because you relied on the rental company to insure the bike (and you checked the documents). If you can make out ‘special reasons’, while the court will have to find you guilty, it will not give you penalty points and a fine.
To successfully argue ‘special reasons’, it must: be a mitigating or extenuating circumstance; and not amount in law to a defence to the charge; and be directly connected with the commission of the offence; and be one the court ought properly to take into consideration when imposing sentence.
From what you’ve said, I think you have a very good chance of avoiding points and a fine. But make sure you get legal representation because your case will need preparation and proper presentation in court.
I also suspect the rental company has committed a number of offences with forging insurance documents, so report them to police.
Finally, you could consider going after the rental company for civil damages – ie, the money involved in dealing with the fallout. But think carefully about that because you could end up throwing good money after bad chasing a sham rental company for money.
Andrew Prendergast
RiDE – July 2026
