Valet Parking Damaged Car

[N88]

Hi everyone

I’ve just returned home from an overnight stay in York to find my car has been damaged by the valet parking.

I am certain the damage wasn’t there on arrival and that I haven’t done it myself on the drive home.

I’ve called them but only been able to speak to reception and I’m waiting for a manager to call me back.

The issue I have is that I didn’t spot it when collecting the car and I’ve now driven 80 miles home - so I’m expecting a lot of difficulty in getting them to take responsibility.

It’s white / sandy so seems to have been caught on a wall rather than another car. The car hasn’t recorded any video unfortunately and I’m unsure yet if they have cctv but will ask.

Unsure if I can mention the name of the hotel so I won’t for now.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[Jamescrs]

I think you have already pretty much summed up the position, the valet will no doubt deny causing the damage, it appears to be a minor light touch on a wall so highly unlikely any cctv if they have it will show anything untoward and you have driven 80 miles from the location before finding and reporting it so they will likely state it must have happened after it left the site.

No harm in trying to get it sorted but I suspect they will just deny it

[Dylano]

Unless you're prepared to go back there and check out exactly where the valet drove and parked your car and see if there's a suitable candidate for a low wall or concrete bollard I'd say your chances are pretty slim.

[untakenname]

Unless you have a dashcam I doubt it's going to be worth pursuing as it will be your word against theirs.

[QJumper]

You can always ask but, given that drove away and didn't notice till you got home, then you'll be totally dependent upon the goodwill of the hotel.

On a more positive note, I had similar damage when a car scraped me in a supermarket car park, and I was able to polish it out easily enough.

[Voldemort]

You are also unable to prove that the damage wasn't there before the valet parked it...

It's a suck it up buttercup situation that life occasionally gives us to remind us that st happens.

[addey]

I used the valet parking at Gatwick this week (not my choice, someone else booked it) and when I returned to the car I checked it over and discovered a decent size dent and scrape on the offside rear wheel arch. Feeling lucky that I spotted it before leaving the airport I went straight back to the valet parking office to notify them. The guy logged onto the computer and brought up the pics from when I arrived at the airport - you have to stop on the way in and 360 degree cameras capture the whole car - and I was shocked to see that the damage was there when I arrived! It must have happened in the previous couple of days and I just hadn't spotted it, despite obviously walking past that part of the car a few times a day. Obviously you don't have the benefit of any before pics, but my point is I was convinced that the damage had happened in their care, but it actually hadn't - I just hadn't noticed it. Of course its entirely possible that you are far more observant than me, but I think in reality you will have a very hard time proving when the damage occurred....

[babelfish]

addey said:

I used the valet parking at Gatwick this week (not my choice, someone else booked it) and when I returned to the car I checked it over and discovered a decent size dent and scrape on the offside rear wheel arch. Feeling lucky that I spotted it before leaving the airport I went straight back to the valet parking office to notify them. The guy logged onto the computer and brought up the pics from when I arrived at the airport - you have to stop on the way in and 360 degree cameras capture the whole car - and I was shocked to see that the damage was there when I arrived! It must have happened in the previous couple of days and I just hadn't spotted it, despite obviously walking past that part of the car a few times a day. Obviously you don't have the benefit of any before pics, but my point is I was convinced that the damage had happened in their care, but it actually hadn't - I just hadn't noticed it. Of course its entirely possible that you are far more observant than me, but I think in reality you will have a very hard time proving when the damage occurred....

But will the company the OP used have CCTV like yours to prove when it happened?

[Sheepshanks]

addey said:

I used the valet parking at Gatwick this week (not my choice, someone else booked it) and when I returned to the car I checked it over and discovered a decent size dent and scrape on the offside rear wheel arch. Feeling lucky that I spotted it before leaving the airport I went straight back to the valet parking office to notify them. The guy logged onto the computer and brought up the pics from when I arrived at the airport - you have to stop on the way in and 360 degree cameras capture the whole car - and I was shocked to see that the damage was there when I arrived! It must have happened in the previous couple of days and I just hadn't spotted it, despite obviously walking past that part of the car a few times a day. Obviously you don't have the benefit of any before pics, but my point is I was convinced that the damage had happened in their care, but it actually hadn't - I just hadn't noticed it. Of course its entirely possible that you are far more observant than me, but I think in reality you will have a very hard time proving when the damage occurred....

…perhaps they crashed it and put it back through the scanner.