Eurotunnel security swab scratches to paintwork

[Leesyvista]

Hi guys. Im interested to know if anyone has experienced scratched paintwork from the Eurotunnel security swabbing. If so did you complain to eurotunnel with any success? Sadly on my LeMans trip this year I was siphoned out of the queue and swabbed with no explanation. I later found scratches the length of my car from bonnet to boot on both sides. I have photo evidence but as I didn't discover the scratches until I was back home in Manchester I didnt report it immediately. My fault I know. i should have acted faster to complain.

Anyone experienced anything similar?

Cheersl

[shtu]

Leesyvista said:

Hi guys. Im interested to know if anyone has experienced scratched paintwork from the Eurotunnel security swabbing. If so did you complain to eurotunnel with any success? Sadly on my LeMans trip this year I was siphoned out of the queue and swabbed with no explanation. I later found scratches the length of my car from bonnet to boot on both sides. I have photo evidence but as I didn't discover the scratches until I was back home in Manchester I didnt report it immediately. My fault I know. i should have acted faster to complain.

Anyone experienced anything similar?

Cheersl

No, but I'd be interested to see the damage caused. It's probably fixable.

[Leesyvista]

shtu said:

No, but I'd be interested to see the damage caused. It's probably fixable.

Yeah can probably be buffed out but thats not the point.

[Panamax]

I've been swabbed but never "from bonnet to boot" and never with any after effect marks.

Sounds most odd.

[Stella Tortoise]

They swab steering wheel and door handles don’t they?

[Jader1973]

Unless you’ve got photos of the car immediately before and after it was swabbed I suspect they’ll tell you to do one.

[Hammersia]

This is why I don't do drugs

[ImbackYo]

Hammersia said:

This is why I don't do drugs

Explosives.

[vikingaero]

It's entirely possible that a car can be scratched in this way. They tend to use the same swab on the steering wheel and door handles of several cars, so if the cars in front of you are dirty then dirt can be transferred. Not normally seen them swab body panels though.

[Welcome.]

Do you have photo evidence of the unscratched panels before they swabbed it?

Cant see you getting anywhere with it tbh.

[PSRG]

I thought that those checks were carried out by UK/French Border Control, not Eurtunnel, which doesnt allter the fact that the car has been damaged, but might impact on any recourse you have?

[Leesyvista]

PSRG said:

I thought that those checks were carried out by UK/French Border Control, not Eurtunnel, which doesnt allter the fact that the car has been damaged, but might impact on any recourse you have?

Yes I thought that too and actually contacted Border Force first but they sent me to Eurotunnel.

[Leesyvista]

Jader1973 said:

Unless you’ve got photos of the car immediately before and after it was swabbed I suspect they’ll tell you to do one.

Yeah they pretty much have done. I jsut wanted to know if its happend to others and if anyone had any recourse from ET.

[Earthdweller]

Border Force .. zero chance of any redress, just be grateful they didn’t decide to dismantle your car and leave you with a kit to reassemble by yourself

As an aside, once got stopped at Holyhead and directed into a shed where they stated the car was radioactive before running a scanner over it

[Chubbyross]

I very much doubt you’ll get anywhere with this. There will be so many avenues of denial they can go down and you’ll spend many, many hours on the phone and online simply trying to prove they did it and who actually is responsible. I suspect you’ll either lose the will to live or die of old age before you get anywhere. The best thing for your sanity is to walk away and pay someone a very small amount of money to buff it out with a polisher. The damage will just be to the clear coat and easily fixable.

[donkmeister]

Does the car have especially soft paint? I have had a dozen different cars swabbed and not noticed any scratches despite some of them having less than robust paint.

Don't suppose it was parked up while you went into the terminal, or someone brushed against it on the le Shuttle?

[ecsrobin]

Stella Tortoise said:

They swab steering wheel and door handles don’t they?

Yes.

Suspect the cause is not this.

[markcoopers]

I remember collecting a new to me used mildly exotic car for a run to lemans years ago. The relief of being swabbed and let go…. Never checked if the last owner was a terrorist or drug dealer.