car damage while being serviced

[DESAMAX]

Hi i brought my car to a service centre to be serviced, left my car in perfect condition on their parking bay ready for when they could start on it.

I had a couple of calls from them during the day saying i needed minor things done.

when i went to collect my car i had a walk around it and noticed part of the wing hanging off.

i went back inside and asked them to come and look at the damaged, one of the guys put it back temporarily for me as he was doing it i noticed that the bonnet was badly out of line, the garage said they did not know how this could have happened .

Their forecourt is shared other motor trades although they have their own marked parking bays. They had CCTV i asked them to view it but they said it was not recording. I went to a crash repair garage and ask them to have a look and they found the head light fitting were also broken in the bonnet. the garage wont admit or denie to me and said i should Wright to their customer services dept.

at no times during the calls from the garage did they mention the damaged wing.

 

Any advice or help on this matter would be very much appreciated.

[Conniff]

The serviceing garage are aware that it was damaged whil in their care.

 

If they are refusing to put it right, get a price from a bodyshop and present that to them saying they have 10 days in which to bring your car back to the condition it was in when you took it to them, or your will take it for repair to the bodyshop and present them with the repair bill.

[heliosuk]

That might work Conniff but in this case it looks like it might be a shared carpark unlike a stand alone repairer such as a franchised dealer where it would be clear cut. I don't think the same responsibility applies here. I might be wrong though.

[DESAMAX]

Thanks I'm waiting for estimate from the body shop. I'm drafting a letter to their head office ,

I worried they will not accept liability.

[DESAMAX]

Heliosuk they had their own parking bays for their customers clearly marked .

[heliosuk]

And you parked in one?? Not said in your OP but on the basis that you did as is a shared car park might prove a bit of a problem. Technically could be like you parking in a shopping centre car park. Who do apportion blame to then?

[2ltr16valve]

And you parked in one?? Not said in your OP but on the basis that you did as is a shared car park might prove a bit of a problem. Technically could be like you parking in a shopping centre car park. Who do apportion blame to then?

 

Where the car was left I would see as irrelevent .... being, he left his car in thier care, to be returned in the condition it was left in. While in their care it was damaged, how or where this happened I would say is neither here nor there... the fact still remains the damage occured in thier care.

[heliosuk]

It doesn't work like that. If on an individual premesis then I would agree but in this case the OP has said there were other trade premesis. I honestly think that pursuing this will end up nowhere. There are too many ifs and buts. As I state, if the premesis are exclusive then there is no question, the car is in their care but as the OP points out it seems to be a shared car park on private ground where spaces have been allocated to a particular company. I don't believe this is enforceable in law.

 

Yes it was in their care but I cannot see how they are responsible for damage caused by a customer from for example a neighbouring company.

[DESAMAX]

DESAMAX 15:12 Yesterday

 

Hi i brought my car to a service centre to be serviced, left my car in perfect condition on their parking bay ready for when they could start on it.

 

 

Just to clarify the workshop is at the rear of a petrol station, but sectioned off with about 10 parking bays clearly marked . Other firms are on the site behind the workshop with their own access to the left of the workshop. The bay I parked in was for customers of the workshop, on the right of the workshop.

 

I hope I'm not confusing things, and thanks for the help on this matter

[grahamengineering]

You need to look around the parking area or in the reception of the garage. Most places have signs saying you park at your own risk. This absolves the garage of any responsibility other than its minimum duty of care while working on your car. It could be that another customer has hit your car and then made off.

 

All I can see you being able to do is letting your insurer sort it out. Thats what you pay them for.

[patdavies]

Most signs state "At owner's risk" which is, at best, ambiguous (owner of the vehicle or owner of the car park). In any case, as with private parking, the driver may not be the owner and cannot enter a contract on thier behalf.

 

Case law has previously held that such blanket signs are almost irrelevant.

[grahamengineering]

Most signs state "At owner's risk" which is, at best, ambiguous (owner of the vehicle or owner of the car park). In any case, as with private parking, the driver may not be the owner and cannot enter a contract on thier behalf.

 

Case law has previously held that such blanket signs are almost irrelevant.

 

Try taking tescos to court the next time your car is scatched by a dopey muppet with a trolly in their car park. You, me and the rest of the world know tesco will not repair your car.

 

As for the owner might not be the driver. Unless the car had been stolen then the owner had given the driver the authority to drive (or park) on their behalf and as such the driver would be considered the owners agent. Following your theory if a car was impounded for being illegally parked by someone other than the owner then the owner shouldn't get a ticket and a recovery fee. Doesn't happen does it!

 

Unless the OP has proof the garage caused the damage then it is an insurance job. This country is getting ridiculous that it is always someone elses fault. We are turning into the USA.

[patdavies]

Try taking tescos to court the next time your car is scatched by a dopey muppet with a trolly in their car park. You, me and the rest of the world know tesco will not repair your car.

 

But the major difference is that I have not placed the vehicle into Tesco's care for work to be done nor allowed any Tesco employee to drve it

 

As for the owner might not be the driver. Unless the car had been stolen then the owner had given the driver the authority to drive (or park) on their behalf and as such the driver would be considered the owners agent. Following your theory if a car was impounded for being illegally parked by someone other than the owner then the owner shouldn't get a ticket and a recovery fee. Doesn't happen does it!

 

Try going over to the parking forum. The major hurdle that private parking companies have is that English Law does not allow somebody to enter a contract on behalf of somebody else without specific authority.

 

The parking/towing you are talking about is where statute applies rather than contract. You are incorrectly conflating the two.

[Conniff]

For those that received the post from mikejameskaaz - he is a spammer and has been banned.

So not only is it his 'very first'post, it is also 'his very last'

[grahamengineering]

But the major difference is that I have not placed the vehicle into Tesco's care for work to be done nor allowed any Tesco employee to drve it

 

 

 

Try going over to the parking forum. The major hurdle that private parking companies have is that English Law does not allow somebody to enter a contract on behalf of somebody else without specific authority.

 

The parking/towing you are talking about is where statute applies rather than contract. You are incorrectly conflating the two.

 

If you were using that argument, then the garage could fairly say then that the person who booked the car in and dropped it off didn't have the authority to do so if they weren't the car owner. Hence it shouldn't of been there in the first place. But lets not deviate, Lets assume it is the owner that dropped it off as they were going to be paying the bill. Common sense, common law and indeed the courts will not hold the garage accountable if they have taken what is considered reasonable care.

 

You are assuming the car was damaged by a garage employee. They by the sounds of it are saying it was damaged by someone else using the car park. As I said before unless the OP can prove that the garage was negligent and because of this the car was damaged then they are unlikely to win.

[heliosuk]

As a Service Manager many years ago, I had a not too similar instance of this. Customer dropped car off night before and was damaged overnight. We denied liability but was ruled that because the premesis was open to do this and the keys had been placed in our letter box we had responsibility for the care of the car just as though we had responsibility for the cars displayed on the forecourt. Further at another dealership, a customer did same thing and posted keys through letterbox. Thieves retieved said keys and nicked the car. Again it was the dealerships fault.

 

In each case the land was owned by the dealership.

 

So in this case where the land ownership/rights might be in doubt how is it justified that the garage is at fault?