A tree fell on my car. Where to start?

A tree fell on my car. Where to start?

Author
Discussion

creampuff

6,511 posts

142 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Wow, if had happened at B+Q, you could have chainsawed the tree, hammered the panels back out and then spray painted it again without even leaving the car park!

yellowjack

Original Poster:

17,065 posts

165 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Yes, it's a common misconception. You insurance covers your legal liability to third parties. If you are not legally liable, it isn't covered, which isn't an issue, because you don't have to pay.

With a couple of rare exceptions specified in law, unless you were negligent, you aren't liable.

In a case like this, a supermarket might choose to pay, thus it's a commercial decision to please a customer and earn some goodwill. But they will do that from their own pocket, their insurance won't cover it.
Is this last bit why the Commercial Manager at the store talked about "getting two quotes and going from there", with mention of their legal department?

I've still not phoned this in. I'm not sure whether to try to go with the "talk to Sainsburys" route, or just claim on my own insurance and let them settle liability with the company. I know I have to report it though, regardless of which way I decide to proceed. Still feeling really glum about this, and not sure which way to go...

TwigtheWonderkid

43,248 posts

149 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
yellowjack said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Yes, it's a common misconception. You insurance covers your legal liability to third parties. If you are not legally liable, it isn't covered, which isn't an issue, because you don't have to pay.

With a couple of rare exceptions specified in law, unless you were negligent, you aren't liable.

In a case like this, a supermarket might choose to pay, thus it's a commercial decision to please a customer and earn some goodwill. But they will do that from their own pocket, their insurance won't cover it.
Is this last bit why the Commercial Manager at the store talked about "getting two quotes and going from there", with mention of their legal department?

I've still not phoned this in. I'm not sure whether to try to go with the "talk to Sainsburys" route, or just claim on my own insurance and let them settle liability with the company. I know I have to report it though, regardless of which way I decide to proceed. Still feeling really glum about this, and not sure which way to go...
The bloke at the store won't have a clue about liability and negligence. And why should he? He probably thinks "Our tree, our fault". His legal dept will soon put him right.

Just do it all thru your own insurers. Suck up the excess. Get it repaired or written off and move on. BV was harsh but right. You could have been standing by the car, and be paralysed or have brain damage today. It's only a bit of metal.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Breadvan72 said:
1. Compensation means compensation. It is to make good your financial loss, here measured by the cost of repairing or replacing a car with a low market value. So, no, you can't have anything extra for your feelz.

2. Get a grip. It's just a car.
Thankfully 2018 arrives and normal service is resumed biggrin

Eyersey1234

2,895 posts

78 months

Friday 5th January 2018
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My stepdad bought a new Fiat Multipla in 2003 and when it was about 4 months old a shopping trolley rolled into it denting the front wing. Safeway's owned the shopping trolley in question and their insurance company were still fighting it when the car was traded in in 2009

Yipper

5,964 posts

89 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Sainsbury's broke your car. They owe you a new car.

Do not tell your own insurer. Do not make a claim.

Claim immediately from Sainsbury's. Today. Now. Don't faff about or show weakness.

TwigtheWonderkid

43,248 posts

149 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Yipper said:
Sainsbury's broke your car. They owe you a new car.

Do not tell your own insurer. Do not make a claim.

Claim immediately from Sainsbury's. Today. Now. Don't faff about or show weakness.
OP, PH golden rule, whatever this fking clown Yipper says is always bks. He's the PH village idiot. Take the opposite approach and you won't go far wrong.

TwigtheWonderkid

43,248 posts

149 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Eyersey1234 said:
My stepdad bought a new Fiat Multipla in 2003 and when it was about 4 months old a shopping trolley rolled into it denting the front wing. Safeway's owned the shopping trolley in question and their insurance company were still fighting it when the car was traded in in 2009
They were probably saying "we are not liable" and your stepdad had been listening to someone like Yipper.

PorkInsider

5,877 posts

140 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
OP, PH golden rule, whatever this fking clown Yipper says is always bks. He's the PH village idiot. Take the opposite approach and you won't go far wrong.
I can never work out whether his posts are supposed to be comedy or he actually believes the nonsense he posts.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Yipper says: dominate the Sainsbury's.

Pothole

34,367 posts

281 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
PorkInsider said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
OP, PH golden rule, whatever this fking clown Yipper says is always bks. He's the PH village idiot. Take the opposite approach and you won't go far wrong.
I can never work out whether his posts are supposed to be comedy or he actually believes the nonsense he posts.
He's certainly got stamina if it's just jokes.

yellowjack

Original Poster:

17,065 posts

165 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Breadvan72 said:
Yipper says: dominate the Sainsbury's.
Hmmm?

Frozen sausages won't be a problem then. But they've got no lawn into which I could hammer them. Shame the store is all on the ground floor really, as I could have tried "dominating the escalator" if it were a two-floor store...

frown

Richard-390a0

2,224 posts

90 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Yipper said:
Sainsbury's broke your car. They owe you a new car.
... & / or about a trillion nectar points or whatever their clubcard scheme is these days. wink

valiant

10,068 posts

159 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Should have taken some of the rotten tree away with you as evidence.

Then if Sainsburys mess you about, you can order a home delivery off them and when the van turns up you can go all John Cleese on it and give it a 'damn good thrashing' with the remains of their own tree!

When the police turn up you simply state the ancient legal precedent of 'calling it quits'.

this may or not be legally watertight


Toltec

7,159 posts

222 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
As others have said it is about negligence, if the tree was theirs, rotten and likely to break in normal weather conditions such as some of the storms we have had recently then it is going to be easier to make it their liability. You did get plenty of photos I hope OP?

I had a small tree land on one of my cars at work, the impact did not do much damage, but the branches spending all day waving backwards and forwards across the wing and bonnet did scratch the paintwork badly enough to need a respray. It was a healthy tree, but critically it turned out that the maintenance team had just cut through the roots on one side close to the trunk while digging a trench the day before so all it took was a moderate wind to knock it over.

Alucidnation

16,810 posts

169 months

Friday 5th January 2018
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Just let the insurance company deal with it.

Or are you hoping to get some compo?

Al U

2,311 posts

130 months

Friday 5th January 2018
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Just here to add a typical PH snobby response really.

'Tis a humble man that buys himself a used Mondeo as a "retitrement present".

ferrariF50lover

1,834 posts

225 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Hand it over to your insurer. Sounds like a write off I'm afraid.

The manager can say what he wants in order to placate a customer but in law, youl (or your insurers) will have to prove negligence of the tree owners to recover outlay from them. I suspect that's going to be hard. The tree may not have been in good shape but is it reasonable for the supermarket to have known about it before the event.

Unless they admit that the parlous state of the tree has been pointed out to them previously, I doubt they will be liable.

This is why we have fully comp cover. Because bad stuff happens and sometimes it's not anyone's fault.
Twig, you'll know. Why is this not an Act of God? Surely if a flood or a hurricane or a twister is outside the insurance remit, the wind blowing over an old, dead tree is too?

petrolbloke

502 posts

156 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Similar thing happened to my brother while his car was parked at work. In his case more than half the panels were damaged by the falling tree and the rear window was smashed. The fallen tree was rotten and his employer (or their insurers) paid for the repairs. I don't think he involved his insurers at all.

Assuming the tree was on the supermarket's land, I would pursue them/their insurers directly. Find reputable body repairers in your area and take the car to them to get quotes. If your car is not roadworthy/driveable then you could ask for a courtesy car to use until yours has been repaired.

If you get bother claiming directly then consider going to your insurers.

Super Slo Mo

5,368 posts

197 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Sainsbury's are pretty conscientious in my experience, at least, they have been well regarded by people I've known who work for them.

If it were me, and I appreciate you are not me, I would be phoning up their legal dept first. No doubt the Store Manager has already reported it, but you will get a much better idea of what they are willing to offer if you just ring them up.

Then if you don't get anywhere, get your own insurance company on the case. I would be surprised though if Sainsbury's don't just sort it out for you, although as has been mentioned, they're probably not liable, but as a customer relations exercise they might be willing to help.

You won't know unless you call them.

To be fair also, going and getting a couple of bodywork quotes isn't terribly difficult. I know it's not your fault, but you might have to meet them half way in terms of at least making an effort to solve the issue.