Dangerous rental van
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Discussion

Venier

Original Poster:

48 posts

80 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
A friend of mine hired a transit to transport goods across the country.

During the journey a wheel came off on the motorway almost causing an accident but my friend was very shaken up.

Does the hire company have a duty of care to ensure the safety of the vehicles they hire out?

My friend has also suffered significant consequential loss for the failed delivery.

Where does responsibility lie and would he have grounds for compensation?

Thanks

Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

290 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
Popcorn at the ready.

The very mention of the word compensation rolleyes It would be damages in this country.

No he has no claim for consequential loss. It'll be in the small print of the rental agreement. As will the loss of the wheel being an 'act of God' or something.

Your 'mate' has no claim for anything. Move on.

Venier

Original Poster:

48 posts

80 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
Tyre Smoke said:
Popcorn at the ready.

The very mention of the word compensation rolleyes It would be damages in this country.

No he has no claim for consequential loss. It'll be in the small print of the rental agreement. As will the loss of the wheel being an 'act of God' or something.

Your 'mate' has no claim for anything. Move on.
Let’s say you hire a car to drive your family to Euro Disney. You’ve spent quite a bit on accommodation and entrance tickets. You guys are going to have a great weekend away!!

Cruising happily at a steady 70, a wheel comes loose and you, because of your elite level driving skills, manage to steer your family to safety. You’re a hero!

However you and your family now have to wait several hours to get yourselves towed home. Oh no! And what about your weekend away that you’ve saved up for?

Act of god? Or maybe you’d be thinking that that hire company perhaps should have performed a safety check on the vehicle before renting it to you.

And what about all that money you’ve spent on your weekend away?

Act of god.



Edited to add - tyre smoke - if you want to be a clown, go to clown school. As far as I was aware this is a section of the forum where people can discuss potential legal issues, so if you’ve nothing constructive to add, then just stay away from the keyboard. Clown

Edited by Venier on Wednesday 13th July 08:26

Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

290 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
I'm not arguing with you. I'm just pointing out you haven't a snowball in Hell's chance of any come back.

In the instance above, that's what holiday insurance is for.

Just to humour you, you would need to prove that the hire company didn't carry out a safety check prior to hire. Which you will never be able to do. You would also need to prove it was a failure due to their negligence which you also can't prove. And finally, components do fail, that is an Act of God.

I fully understand you're upset, but your idea that it's someone else's fault and you have some comeback on them is not going to wash.

Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

290 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
And your edit calling me a clown because you're not getting the answer you like tells me all I need to know.

If there's a clown here, it isn't me.

GranpaB

19,836 posts

65 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
Although i suppose there is a certain amount of personally making sure the vehicle is roadworthy etc etc, i am not so sure it covers going around with a torque wrench on all the wheel bolts, and the hire company should be responsible for some of the costs.

How old was the van OP?

markymarkthree

3,606 posts

200 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
This sentence says to me who the clown is here.

"During the journey a wheel came off on the motorway almost causing an accident but my friend was very shaken up."

Greendubber

15,261 posts

232 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
I'd be pretty annoyed if I'd hired a vehicle and the wheel fell off, it shouldn't happen.

Venier

Original Poster:

48 posts

80 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
Tyre Smoke said:
And your edit calling me a clown because you're not getting the answer you like tells me all I need to know.

If there's a clown here, it isn't me.
People come on here asking for advice because st has happened. The last thing they need if for some clown to get behind his keyboard calling for popcorn.

Not everyone is as worldly as you. Not everyone has the answer at their fingertips. A friend of mine asked me for advice so, not knowing the answer I thought I’d ask a wider community for advice, if there was perhaps someone who had dealt with a similar situation before.

I wasn’t expecting to be ripped for it, hence me calling you a clown.

Bottom line seems to be that a rental company haven’t bolted a wheel back on to a relatively new van. In other circumstances this could have caused serious damage and potential loss of life so I do agree with my friend and think that there is an element of negligence on the part of the hire company, although I stand to be corrected.

Venier

Original Poster:

48 posts

80 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
markymarkthree said:
This sentence says to me who the clown is here.

"During the journey a wheel came off on the motorway almost causing an accident but my friend was very shaken up."
Brilliant! smile

Dynion Araf Uchaf

5,165 posts

252 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
Tyre Smoke said:
And your edit calling me a clown because you're not getting the answer you like tells me all I need to know.

If there's a clown here, it isn't me.
oh yes it is....


duty of care - it may not be the hire company's fault that a wheel fell off, it might have been the garage they took the van to, to be serviced. Dealerships have a duty of care, they are supposed to quality check the work techs do, they might be liable if the wheel falls off and kills someone. I can assure you that the lawyers for the insurance companies will be looking to pin the blame somewhere.

As for this instance, your friend should tell them what happened, he can ask for the hirer agreement which normally has some notes made about condition of vehicle. He could ask them to explain why the wheel fell off (it might be that it previously had a puncture), however to claim compo he'd need to demonstrate a loss of some sort. Perhaps the cost of new pants? The hiring company should be challenged on this though - they may even welcome the feedback.

Thats What She Said

1,180 posts

117 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
Venier said:
Tyre Smoke said:
Popcorn at the ready.

The very mention of the word compensation rolleyes It would be damages in this country.

No he has no claim for consequential loss. It'll be in the small print of the rental agreement. As will the loss of the wheel being an 'act of God' or something.

Your 'mate' has no claim for anything. Move on.
Let’s say you hire a car to drive your family to Euro Disney. You’ve spent quite a bit on accommodation and entrance tickets. You guys are going to have a great weekend away!!

Cruising happily at a steady 70, a wheel comes loose and you, because of your elite level driving skills, manage to steer your family to safety. You’re a hero!

However you and your family now have to wait several hours to get yourselves towed home. Oh no! And what about your weekend away that you’ve saved up for?

Act of god? Or maybe you’d be thinking that that hire company perhaps should have performed a safety check on the vehicle before renting it to you.

And what about all that money you’ve spent on your weekend away?

Act of god.



Edited to add - tyre smoke - if you want to be a clown, go to clown school. As far as I was aware this is a section of the forum where people can discuss potential legal issues, so if you’ve nothing constructive to add, then just stay away from the keyboard. Clown

Edited by Venier on Wednesday 13th July 08:26
OP seems quite upset for his friend.

Your friend wont have a claim for consequential loss. The hire company should have that covered in their T&C's.

It's a horrible thing to have happen, and the hire company should certainly make sure their vehicles are roadworthy. At the very least least they should get the hire charge back. But anything else really would be goodwill.

It's strange that the wheel should suddenly just 'fall off'. I wouldnt have thought all wheel bolts just all back out at the same time. Did he not notice one of the wheels start wobbling around?

Other than that, what exactly would your friend like to be compensated for?

4Q

3,605 posts

173 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
Venier said:
Let’s say you hire a car to drive your family to Euro Disney. You’ve spent quite a bit on accommodation and entrance tickets. You guys are going to have a great weekend away!!

Cruising happily at a steady 70, a wheel comes loose and you, because of your elite level driving skills, manage to steer your family to safety. You’re a hero!

However you and your family now have to wait several hours to get yourselves towed home. Oh no! And what about your weekend away that you’ve saved up for?

Act of god? Or maybe you’d be thinking that that hire company perhaps should have performed a safety check on the vehicle before renting it to you.

And what about all that money you’ve spent on your weekend away?

Act of god.



Edited to add - tyre smoke - if you want to be a clown, go to clown school. As far as I was aware this is a section of the forum where people can discuss potential legal issues, so if you’ve nothing constructive to add, then just stay away from the keyboard. Clown

Edited by Venier on Wednesday 13th July 08:26
Wouldn’t your own travel insurance cover you in this scenario?

Anyway, to address your original point; you have almost no chance of claiming much other than a refund of the hire charge.

Venier

Original Poster:

48 posts

80 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
Thats What She Said said:
OP seems quite upset for his friend.

Your friend wont have a claim for consequential loss. The hire company should have that covered in their T&C's.

It's a horrible thing to have happen, and the hire company should certainly make sure their vehicles are roadworthy. At the very least least they should get the hire charge back. But anything else really would be goodwill.

It's strange that the wheel should suddenly just 'fall off'. I wouldnt have thought all wheel bolts just all back out at the same time. Did he not notice one of the wheels start wobbling around?

Other than that, what exactly would your friend like to be compensated for?
Loss of earnings and accommodation costs

55palfers

6,365 posts

193 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
How old / how many miles on the van?

Under manufacturer warranty?

Or an old mega mile heap with a dodgy MOT?

4Q

3,605 posts

173 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
Venier said:
Loss of earnings and accommodation costs
You need to be wary here as the last couple times I’ve hired a van it’s only been covered for carriage of own goods and has explicitly said not for use as a commercial delivery van. You might find the hire company claiming back off you.

Thats What She Said

1,180 posts

117 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
Venier said:
Thats What She Said said:
OP seems quite upset for his friend.

Your friend wont have a claim for consequential loss. The hire company should have that covered in their T&C's.

It's a horrible thing to have happen, and the hire company should certainly make sure their vehicles are roadworthy. At the very least least they should get the hire charge back. But anything else really would be goodwill.

It's strange that the wheel should suddenly just 'fall off'. I wouldnt have thought all wheel bolts just all back out at the same time. Did he not notice one of the wheels start wobbling around?

Other than that, what exactly would your friend like to be compensated for?
Loss of earnings and accommodation costs
Are both consequential...

markymarkthree

3,606 posts

200 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
I think a photo of your friends best compo face would be the best answer here. idea

Venier

Original Poster:

48 posts

80 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
markymarkthree said:
I think a photo of your friends best compo face would be the best answer here. idea
Are you tyre smoke?

Venier

Original Poster:

48 posts

80 months

Wednesday 13th July 2022
quotequote all
55palfers said:
How old / how many miles on the van?

Under manufacturer warranty?

Or an old mega mile heap with a dodgy MOT?
National rental company, commercial use, less than 3 years old