OpenReach indirectly dinged my car - thoughts?

[jonny142]

OP...I do really feel your pain .. Fight your corner ! , I'm currently taking a Seagull to the small claims court for pooping on my car and making a mark i can't budge ..

[thecremeegg]

mrbarnett said:

Not really sure where I stand on this one. My partner is working from home today and noticed workmen and traffic lights going up outside our house. Turns out BT OpenReach are digging up the road and pavement outside our house - it's the first we've heard of it.

My car is parked on my drive, but it's a short drive so its nose was pretty close to all the machinery digging up the pavement. A workman asks my partner to move the car in case it gets damaged. I think he was probably trying to be helpful, but the drive is tight, and the road complex with its sudden traffic light control. My partner doesn't really drive my car and hasn't ever manoeuvred it and in trying to get it out has dinged the bumper.

Now, obviously she has damaged the car, but she only damaged the car under the advice of a representative of BT OpenReach. They asked her to do something, with the suggestion that the car will get damaged if she doesn't comply, that has lead to the car getting damaged.

Had BT OpenReach made any attempt to contact us and explain their plans, I would have found somewhere else to store the car for the week and it would not be damaged, but they made no such efforts. Had they not chosen to dig up the road and ask for the car to be moved, it would not be damaged. Do you think I have a case to claim back the costs of repair?

Amazing

[Flumpo]

KP328 said:

Just wondering, was the BT van a Transit or a Vivaro ?

Classic.

[Aphex]

I'd count myself lucky she didn't park it in the living room

[Far Cough]

Do people really think like this nowadays ?

[lyonspride]

I blame the schools.......

[xjay1337]

mrbarnett said:

As an employee, if I instruct somebody to do something that has a negative consequence, surely my employer is liable?

Put another way, if an electrician advised you to touch a wire, and the wire turned out to be live and gave a shock, would the electrician not be liable? What if that person died?

Is your wife employed?

If not maybe she could put some time into driving lessons.

[WinstonWolf]

mrbarnett said:

Not really sure where I stand on this one. My partner is working from home today and noticed workmen and traffic lights going up outside our house. Turns out BT OpenReach are digging up the road and pavement outside our house - it's the first we've heard of it.

My car is parked on my drive, but it's a short drive so its nose was pretty close to all the machinery digging up the pavement. A workman asks my partner to move the car in case it gets damaged. I think he was probably trying to be helpful, but the drive is tight, and the road complex with its sudden traffic light control. My partner doesn't really drive my car and hasn't ever manoeuvred it and in trying to get it out has dinged the bumper.

Now, obviously she has damaged the car, but she only damaged the car under the advice of a representative of BT OpenReach. They asked her to do something, with the suggestion that the car will get damaged if she doesn't comply, that has lead to the car getting damaged.

Had BT OpenReach made any attempt to contact us and explain their plans, I would have found somewhere else to store the car for the week and it would not be damaged, but they made no such efforts. Had they not chosen to dig up the road and ask for the car to be moved, it would not be damaged. Do you think I have a case to claim back the costs of repair?

I'm only here for sts and giggles...

[parabolica]

KP328 said:

Just wondering, was the BT van a Transit or a Vivaro ?

10/10 for dragging that back into the PH conscious once more

[civicduty]

In answer to the title of the post

NO THEY DID NOT

HTH.

[donkmeister]

mrbarnett said:

My car is parked on my drive, but it's a short drive so its nose was pretty close to all the machinery digging up the pavement.

Not that it has any bearing on the liability matter, but is this a way of saying "the car was overhanging the pavement"?

Several houses near me, built pre-car, have drives that are shorter than an average car. Some householders choose a car that will fit their drive, others decide they will overhang the public ROW (in some cases causing an obstruction).

[Longtime Lurker]

parabolica said:

KP328 said:

Just wondering, was the BT van a Transit or a Vivaro ?

10/10 for dragging that back into the PH conscious once more

100% a transit here is a picture..

[stuartmmcfc]

Look on the bright side OP.
If the Openreach Guy was from mainland Europe then he won’t be around to give his so called advice in the near future.
Maybe,
Have you thought of suing the Government as their Brexit delay obviously caused your Wifes accident?

[drjdog]

Every snigger here is surely a step closer to divorce for OP.

[Funk]

mrbarnett said:

Not really sure where I stand on this one. My partner is working from home today and noticed workmen and traffic lights going up outside our house. Turns out BT OpenReach are digging up the road and pavement outside our house - it's the first we've heard of it.

My car is parked on my drive, but it's a short drive so its nose was pretty close to all the machinery digging up the pavement. A workman asks my partner to move the car in case it gets damaged. I think he was probably trying to be helpful, but the drive is tight, and the road complex with its sudden traffic light control. My partner doesn't really drive my car and hasn't ever manoeuvred it and in trying to get it out has dinged the bumper.

Now, obviously she has damaged the car, but she only damaged the car under the advice of a representative of BT OpenReach. They asked her to do something, with the suggestion that the car will get damaged if she doesn't comply, that has lead to the car getting damaged.

Had BT OpenReach made any attempt to contact us and explain their plans, I would have found somewhere else to store the car for the week and it would not be damaged, but they made no such efforts. Had they not chosen to dig up the road and ask for the car to be moved, it would not be damaged. Do you think I have a case to claim back the costs of repair?

They walk among us folks. Worse than that they can vote too.

[phil4]

mrbarnett said:

Put another way, if an electrician advised you to touch a wire, and the wire turned out to be live and gave a shock, would the electrician not be liable?

If the electrician knew it was live, or should have checked/known... then yes.

But the Openreach bod didn't advise your partner to ding your car, drive it into anything, or otherwise do something they could see would damage it. That's the clear difference from your example.

But taking it further, as a qualified driver who chose to take the Openreach bod's advice to move the car, it's down to them to decide if doing so is likely to cause some damage.

If someone asked your partner to jump off a cliff, would your partner jump?

Perhaps this would have reflected on you better if you'd phrased it as trying to find a way of claiming off their insurance, rather than it reading as though you're trying to actually blame them. Even then I think you'd have had accusations of fraud etc made.

[Pica-Pica]

Thoughts? My thoughts are unprintable.

[Vaud]

Did he "direct her" - i.e. use signals and instruction to get to move i.e. "bit more, left a bit, bit more, bit more, stop" etc

Or did he ask her if she would consider moving her car, which she then did under her own direction.

If it is the former that caused the incident then maybe you might have recourse.
If it is the latter then it is for your insurance, she drove into a static object under her own direction.

[Longtime Lurker]

phil4 said:

If someone asked your partner to jump off a cliff, would your partner jump?

Possibly not but if she was at a seaside event and somebody was directing the cars parking well that might be another story!!

[MDMA .]

Your Dad said:

mrbarnett said:

Not really sure where I stand on this one. My partner is working from home today and noticed workmen and traffic lights going up outside our house. Turns out BT OpenReach are digging up the road and pavement outside our house - it's the first we've heard of it.

My car is parked on my drive, but it's a short drive so its nose was pretty close to all the machinery digging up the pavement. A workman asks my partner to move the car in case it gets damaged. I think he was probably trying to be helpful, but the drive is tight, and the road complex with its sudden traffic light control. My partner doesn't really drive my car and hasn't ever manoeuvred it and in trying to get it out has dinged the bumper.

Now, obviously she has damaged the car, but she only damaged the car under the advice of a representative of BT OpenReach. They asked her to do something, with the suggestion that the car will get damaged if she doesn't comply, that has lead to the car getting damaged.

Had BT OpenReach made any attempt to contact us and explain their plans, I would have found somewhere else to store the car for the week and it would not be damaged, but they made no such efforts. Had they not chosen to dig up the road and ask for the car to be moved, it would not be damaged. Do you think I have a case to claim back the costs of repair?

I think the OP is being serious.