Estate agent sign fell on car and scratched it

Estate agent sign fell on car and scratched it

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Discussion

DannyScene

Original Poster:

6,596 posts

154 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
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Last night an estate agents sign fell over onto my mates car bonnet and has scratched the paint
What are his options? I'm guessing he can't claim from the estate agents or do they have to ensure the signs are secure or something?

TwigtheWonderkid

43,248 posts

149 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
If it fell because it wasn't erected properly he may have a case. If it fell because of high winds or kids messing about, then he'll have to suck it up or claim off his own policy.

hdrflow

854 posts

137 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
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You could just email them and see what they say. An estate agent sign fell onto my door once and after I emailed them they apologised and simply didn't erect it again. No harm done in my case though.

They're usually erected by (what I assume to be) contractors rather than the estate agency so they may contribute something towards repairs.

No harm in trying anyway.

CMYKguru

3,017 posts

174 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
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Would suggest getting in touch with the agent, most of them have contractors that erect the signs on their behalf.

Might be worth noting that you are quite well heeled in Facebook and twitter and it would be unfortunate if they were seen to fob you off over such an incident.

Twitter gets things sorted quick. But i'd talk to the agent first.

Mr Taxpayer

438 posts

119 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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The estate agent is vicariously liable for the action of the contractor. There are laws concerning the hiring and competence of contractors. Even if the contractor were incompetent, the agent is liable because they appointed the contractor to do the work. High winds don't come into it; the contractor (and thus the agent) has a duty of care to ensure that signage will not cause harm in any reasonably forseeable conditions. It would not be difficult to argue that high winds are reasonably forseeable in winter. Should this have been your mate's small child struck and injured by the falling sign, you'd be straight on the phone to a personal injury solictor. All the heads for a claim under the tort of negligence are there. The agent and contractor had a duty of care to those who may be affected by their actions. They negligently breached the duty of care and harm or damage occured as a result of the breech.

Your mate should do the following...
Notify the agent that the damage has occured and how, and that you (he) intend to recover the cost from the agent.
Get a couple of quotes for the repair and give the agent the option to name a garage to give a quote too.
Agree which garage will do the repair and invite the agent to pay.
Should the agent not want to pay, inform them that you will be persuing them through the Courts for the cost.
Go to https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome which is the HM Courts Small Slaims court online. It'll cost you £60 to register the claim but this will be picked up by the agent when you win.

Edited by Mr Taxpayer on Friday 24th October 09:40

Bat21

647 posts

247 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
The Estate Agent or his contractor will be insured for such an event, contact the agent, they will either deal with it or get their contractor to contact you. Simples

TwigtheWonderkid

43,248 posts

149 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
Mr Taxpayer said:
High winds don't come into it; the contractor (and thus the agent) has a duty of care to ensure that signage will not cause harm in any reasonably forseeable conditions. It would not be difficult to argue that high winds are reasonably forseeable in winter.
We're not in winter, we're in autumn. Early autumn at that. And we've had some exceptionally high winds for the time of year, due to hurricane gonzalo. Also, round my way, removing estate agent boards seems to be a favourite pastime of bored teenagers. Christ knows why.

It'll all come down to negligence. If the contractor has done nothing wrong, he, the agent or their insurers will not be liable.

DannyScene

Original Poster:

6,596 posts

154 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
Thanks for the advice guys!

I have told my mate to make contact with the estate agent, I'll update the thread as I get more information from him

ETA: My mate has rung the estate agents and in his own words 'They weren't dheads about it' and are going to his tomorrow to check the damage for themselves, sounds positive IMO

Edited by DannyScene on Friday 24th October 11:35