Car Wash Damage

[450chim]

Hi ,
I've got a problem with a car wash which has badly dammaged my Wifes' X5 paint work.

We know the car was fine prior to the wash and we reported the dammage to the wash attendant.

As you would expect the car wash company (***) are not accepting any responsabilty and after exchanging numerous letters and having the car inspected by a specailist we have now reached an impass.

I guess my only recourse now is to take legal action but this would be risky as I don't see how we can prove it was this wash that did the damage.Apart from we never go to any others in the area.

The car wash to which we refer is *** in Harrogate ***********

Two questions

1.HAS ANY BODY OUT THERE HAD ANY TROUBLE WITH THIS WASH!

2.ANYBODY GOT ANY IDEAS OR ADVICE AS TO HOW TO PROCEED.

THANKS

Edited to comply with PH rules and to prevent you jeopardising any legal action you take

Edited by PetrolTed on Monday 20th November 11:09

[StuB]

No idea of that location, policy here is no naming and shaming, so I suggest you edit your post.

On the second, I can only suggest small claims court based on what you've said. If you have recent evidence of the car's good condition (part exchange quote?), then I'd suggest you have a good chance.

Might also be worth contacting a consumer watchdog program or local papers, making sure the owners are aware of your next steps. No point putting your £ into it, but a bit of background and bad press for them might help.

[jagdpanther]

Ive no advice, but I can offer sympathy as I too have used car wash's before which scored the hell out of the boot of my big 7!!!

[hot66]

My parents in law had their cars paint damaged by the car wash @ Morrisons in Darlington. In their case the water wasn't turned on & the car was left with all the paintwork lightly scratched. They managed to get something sorted. I'll ask them & find out for you.

[Zad]

Unfortunately, I suspect that somewhere close to the car wash there will be a sign saying "we accept no responsibility for damage, use is at the drivers risk" or similar.

[450chim]

Hi Chaps,

Thanks for the support I'll mull it over again,proably go down the small claim route to be honest,of course I could just claim on my insurance but some how I don't see why I should have to cover damage carried out by a known third party!

Stu B I've already used the paper angle trying to contact others in the area,but this hasn't worked .

[snorky]

as far as I am aware those signs aren't worth much legally.....surely it is reasonable to think the car wash ( if working correctly ) will not damage your car, if it did then it was faulty and they are liable...

[MitchT]

Someone I know rented a place and couldn't get his deposit back because the landlord said he'd damaged something that he hadn't. He took the LL to the small claims court and won even though is was difficult to prove that he was in the right. He passed me the following links which he says will be useful to you...

www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/claims/howclaim/forms.htm
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index

I'd also head down to the wash and hunt around for disclaimers about damage. Make an exact note of them 'cause they're the first thing the proprietor will want to draw a court's attention to. If you can be forearmed with some argument as to why any disclaimers aren't worth jack it might help you.

[450chim]

I'm still going ahead with persuing the claim,from what I've found out the diclaimer signs ain't worth that much as you point out if the car wash is working correctly you shouldn't have any damage,they are mainly there to discourage people from attempting to claim.

It's now fast becoming a matter of principle,I can quite easily afford to fix the car without claiming on the insurance but why the hell should I pay for this.

I'll have a look at the web site thanks again guy's

[steve f]

its always somebody elses fault lets try and get some money from them i personally hate this sort of stuff its getting like the usa more and more in the uk

if you was so bothered about your car you should of washed it yourself instead of being lazy

[StuB]

Steve, aren't you being little harsh there? 100% consistent yes, but perhaps a tad judgemental?

I know I'd be totally pi$$ed off if my pride & joy was badly scratched by a car wash. Cars get dirty very quickly this time of year, so it's hardly a crime to get it done in a car wash is it?

I will of course now be citing this thread everytime someone says my car's are dirty, too cold to wash, too dangerous in a car wash

[steve f]

probablay wash a bit harsh but the world is now full of it was somebody elses fault so i want compensation every car wash has a disclaimer outside i was once in a car wash years ago in a 280 capri listening to music till it ripped the electric ariel off as it was up as the sterio was on

[tvrbob]

This is a matter of Civil Law so don't worry about proof. Civil Law does not call judgement on the basis of 'beyond reasonable doubt'. The principle argument in Civil Law is based on 'Balance of Probabilities'. Provided the JP believes that there is more likelihood that the damage was done at the car wash than somewhere else, he won't need proof, his belief will be sufficient for judgment to be made.

[wiz 1]

Personally I never use car washes unless one opened up nearby like this !

[url]http://medialunchbox.com/asx/624.asx[/url]

[snorky]

yeah but in this case it sounds like it WAS someone elses fault - saying he should have washed it himself is silly.....sometimes the only way to get firms to take notice IS to sue them

[450chim]

Stevef,

Just to clarify a point I don't need to take these people to court to gain money ,I'm quite capable of rectifying the car myself . However I don't belive Companies who offer a service and cause damage to property shouldn't get away with it.

It is simply unacceptable that any damage caused by a third party should be written off.By the way the attitude of the Company concerned has been appauling to say the least.

With regard to washing the car ourselves put it this way it's my wifes car, we both work and simply do not have the time to prat about washing the car unfortunately our time is spent working .

TVR Bob is absolutely correct and I will be taking civil action.

Hope this clarifies your simplistic view of the roblem.

Cheers matey!

[tvrbob]

450chim said:

TVR Bob is absolutely correct and I will be taking civil action.

Stick it to em. These companies need to understand that they have a responsibility of care for those people who choose to pay for their services. There was discussion about disclaimer notices earlier on the thread, civil law is very clear on this point, you cannot avoid civil duty by posting a disclaimer notices. These notices mean nothing.

[MitchT]

steve f said:

probablay wash a bit harsh but the world is now full of it was somebody elses fault so i want compensation every car wash has a disclaimer outside i was once in a car wash years ago in a 280 capri listening to music till it ripped the electric ariel off as it was up as the sterio was on

Well if it was someone else's fault then they should pay. Look at it this way... If one person does something wrong and another person suffers as a result, who should suffer the cost? The victim? I don't think so. I fully agree that we don't want to end up like the USA where there are ridiculous court cases such as the one where a woman sued a carpet shop owner because she broke her ankle in his shop after tripping over her own four year old son who she was allowing to run riot... but when there is clearly a perpetrator and a victim it should ALWAYS be the perpetrator who pays. Also, comparing the scratched X3 to your broken ariel isn't really relevant. Your ariel shouldn't have been up whereas you can't argue that the X3 shouldn't have been in a car wash... After all, that's what a car wash is for... washing cars! I'm not in favour of a litigeous compensation culture but I am 100% in favour of the cost of someone's lost being charged to the party that caused that loss.

[450chim]

Hi GUY'S JUST A QUICK UP DATE WON'T BORE YOU WITH ALL THE DEATILS BUT MANAGED TO SETTLE OUT OF COURT ONCE THEY REALISED I WASN'T RIPPING OFF.

CHEQUE ARRIVED THIS MORNING -NEEDLESS TO SAY WITH NO LIABILITY ADMITTED,THAT'S FINE BY ME JUST GET THE DAMMAGE REPAIRED.

THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT.

[TonyHetherington]

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