Car damaged by burning car parked next to it
Discussion
I woke up this morning to find a burnt out car in the car park outside. Unfortunately the car was parked next to my Mondeo which I have not used for some time as I drive my S everywhere. All the plastic components on the drivers side of the Mondeo have melted i.e. mirror, bumper, trim, door handles etc. The Mondeo is not taxed (its SORN) and it is not insured. Obviously the damage has been caused by the car burning next to it. I think I should be able to claim against the burnt out car, has anyone experienced anything similar to this? I'm not sure what to do next, should I call the local Police?
NickP_S2 said:
The Mondeo is not insured.
Ouch.
NickP_S2 said:
Obviously the damage has been caused by the car burning next to it. I think I should be able to claim against the burnt out car
Ought to be able to, I'd have thought, but be prepared for a long battle with the insurance company (assuming there is one and you can get hold of the details)
NickP_S2 said:
should I call the local Police?
Definately
It seems to me you need to prove negligence / a deliberate act against the person who set fire / caused the car next to yours to ignite.
If some toe rag was to set fire to my car and it e.g. damaged nearby property I fail to see why I or my insurers should pay for the damage caused to other people's property.
If some toe rag was to set fire to my car and it e.g. damaged nearby property I fail to see why I or my insurers should pay for the damage caused to other people's property.
Spoken to the police who confirmed that it had been reported as a crime at 5am this morning. They wouldn't tell me who owned the burnt out car. I think it belongs to a local resident, its a Vectra.
The police suggested that I contact the owner directly about insurance (once i figure out who the owner is). They also said that it should be possible to add the damage to my car to their claim.
Unless of course they don't want to play ball or are not insured. In which case it will be a day in court for everyone I guess.
The police suggested that I contact the owner directly about insurance (once i figure out who the owner is). They also said that it should be possible to add the damage to my car to their claim.
Unless of course they don't want to play ball or are not insured. In which case it will be a day in court for everyone I guess.
axj said:
It seems to me you need to prove negligence / a deliberate act against the person who set fire / caused the car next to yours to ignite.
If some toe rag was to set fire to my car and it e.g. damaged nearby property I fail to see why I or my insurers should pay for the damage caused to other people's property.
I agree with the point you make but essentially the damage to my car was caused by their car. Regardless of how/who/what set it on fire. What if the same thing happened in a legal context, i.e. you are sitting in a traffic jam and the car next to you is on fire, your car is damaged....
axj said:
If some toe rag was to set fire to my car and it e.g. damaged nearby property I fail to see why I or my insurers should pay for the damage caused to other people's property.
On the otherhand why should the owner of the property that got damaged pay to fix the damage. It's not his/her fault that sometoe rag stole your car and set fire to it! Thats why we have insurance....
This exact thing happened in my local pub car park and one of my neighbours cars got burnt. The owner of the burnt car (spontaneous combustion) turned up the next day, nobody got his name, spoke to the police and got his crime number for the insurance and then dissapeared......
The police wouldnt co-operate, there were no identifying marks on the car and no recourse for the neighbour - they had to fork out for repairs themselves and the landlord had to arrange disposal of the car himself.
Hopefully this wont happen with you because the owner will want to claim on insurance and the insurance company will collect the car, but you need to press to find the owner so you can claim off their insurance, for which they should be covered (damage to third party from fire). Good luck.
The police wouldnt co-operate, there were no identifying marks on the car and no recourse for the neighbour - they had to fork out for repairs themselves and the landlord had to arrange disposal of the car himself.
Hopefully this wont happen with you because the owner will want to claim on insurance and the insurance company will collect the car, but you need to press to find the owner so you can claim off their insurance, for which they should be covered (damage to third party from fire). Good luck.
Munter said:
On the otherhand why should the owner of the property that got damaged pay to fix the damage. It's not his/her fault that sometoe rag stole your car and set fire to it! Thats why we have insurance....
My experience of (third party ) insurers is that the first thing they do is try and avoid meeting a claim.
In the example I gave if I was not at fault for my car
catching alight then I doubt my insurers would pay,
particularly if e.g. it caused considerable damage to third party property.
Instead, if you had the appropriate insurance cover, then your insurers would hopefully compensate you save for any excesses + it would affect your claims record /possible no claims bonus.
NickP_S2 said:
It seems to me you need to prove negligence / a deliberate act against the person who set fire / caused the car next to yours to ignite.
If some toe rag was to set fire to my car and it e.g. damaged nearby property I fail to see why I or my insurers should pay for the damage caused to other people's property.
I agree with the point you make but essentially the damage to my car was caused by their car. Regardless of how/who/what set it on fire. What if the same thing happened in a legal context, i.e. you are sitting in a traffic jam and the car next to you is on fire, your car is damaged....
Surely from a legal perspective what has happened here is that some person or persons unknown have come along and caused damage to two cars?
If they had lit a fire between the two cars and damaged them both equally then you wouldn't be expecting to claim off the other innocent victim, would you? I don't see this as any different (and I suspect the insurance company wouldn't either - assuming there is one involved).
NickP_S2 said:
I agree with the point you make but essentially the damage to my car was caused by their car. Regardless of how/who/what set it on fire. What if the same thing happened in a legal context, i.e. you are sitting in a traffic jam and the car next to you is on fire, your car is damaged....
I have every sympathy for you ( see my response to Munter).
However, no blame no claim.
In the example you gave above, unless you could show e.g.a manufacturing defect , you would still have to pin down a third party who (negligently)caused or allowed their property to catch fire.
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