No entry sign fell from ceiling damaging my car...
Discussion
So a little bit of an annoying situation last night.
Driving through a well known shopping centre's multi story, the hanging no entry sign fell from the ceiling and hit my car damaging the paint in the process. I have it on my dash cam, you see it just fall and hit it right in front of the camera - as I'm driving up to it you can see it resting where someone has tried to just balance it on the top of the pole or something. I wasn't going through a no entry by the way, it's the correct way it was facing backwards like if anyone were coming toward me, they'd see a no entry sign hanging above them.
The car is 2 months old, it's not bad damaged but it's scratched the paint down to the metal, I'll take a photo today.
I have contacted said company, nothing back yet. I'm reluctant to go through my insurance because it's not that bad but it's the principal. They've not gotten back to me and when I phoned up, their first response was "you drove in to something, how's that our fault?" after explaining, she said she'd ask someone to call me back.
What can I do, if anything...
Driving through a well known shopping centre's multi story, the hanging no entry sign fell from the ceiling and hit my car damaging the paint in the process. I have it on my dash cam, you see it just fall and hit it right in front of the camera - as I'm driving up to it you can see it resting where someone has tried to just balance it on the top of the pole or something. I wasn't going through a no entry by the way, it's the correct way it was facing backwards like if anyone were coming toward me, they'd see a no entry sign hanging above them.
The car is 2 months old, it's not bad damaged but it's scratched the paint down to the metal, I'll take a photo today.
I have contacted said company, nothing back yet. I'm reluctant to go through my insurance because it's not that bad but it's the principal. They've not gotten back to me and when I phoned up, their first response was "you drove in to something, how's that our fault?" after explaining, she said she'd ask someone to call me back.
What can I do, if anything...
Call them again tomorrow. No doubt they'll have CCTV of the incident that they'll want to review and it might be worth you making a request for that footage, possibly with a Subject Access Request if they don't play nicely. If they don't get back to you then I'd be writing to them enclosing your evidence and giving them seven days to admit liability and agree to make arrangements to repair the damage at an approved repairer that will maintain any bodywork warranty, then take it from there.
Dogwatch said:
Or a compo law firm. Surprised they haven't phoned you already!
No he's had an accident. They only seem to call to ask about the accident you had 3 years ago. You know the one you have forgotten all about and that they have thousands of pounds ready to pay out to you for. Even if you could not possibly have been in the same country, let alone same county as the place the accident happened on the day they said it did....
You need to get an estimate for the repairs (you don't need more than one) then send the car park company a copy and say that you've taken legal advice and that the accident was clearly their fault for not having maintained the sign in a safe condition.
Say that unless they pay you the amount of the estimate plus whatever you estimate your other expenses to be (for example car hire while your own's being repaired) within 7 days from the date of the letter / email you'll issue a County Court claim for the amount of the damage and consequential loss.
Although you can't realistically expect them to pay within 7 days it should get them moving. They'll probably reply saying they've passed the letter to their insurers, and you'll then probably get a letter from the insurers offering a settlement.
If you don't get a reasonable response it's fairly easy to sue them through Money Claim Online - https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome - though in a case like this it can be tricky to ensure you're suing the correct defendant, so it should be a last resort. It'd also be sensible to come back for specific advice if you can't get a satisfactory settlement.
Say that unless they pay you the amount of the estimate plus whatever you estimate your other expenses to be (for example car hire while your own's being repaired) within 7 days from the date of the letter / email you'll issue a County Court claim for the amount of the damage and consequential loss.
Although you can't realistically expect them to pay within 7 days it should get them moving. They'll probably reply saying they've passed the letter to their insurers, and you'll then probably get a letter from the insurers offering a settlement.
If you don't get a reasonable response it's fairly easy to sue them through Money Claim Online - https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome - though in a case like this it can be tricky to ensure you're suing the correct defendant, so it should be a last resort. It'd also be sensible to come back for specific advice if you can't get a satisfactory settlement.
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