Is Being Nice Taken as Weakness?
Discussion
Three weeks ago whilst working on a car in Tufnell Park - a busy area in North London - a Transit van clipped my mirror and damaged it. He didn't stop and had it not been for the traffic after he turned left at the end of the road, we wouldn't have been able to catch up with him.
My customer managed to record him on his phone as he turned left towards the station and he was the one who ran and caught up with him.
On closer inspection, it's a miracle how my mirror suffered nothing more than a scuff. It's an electric folding/heated mirror which houses DAB/GPS/phone antenna. His mirror was smashed to bits. The driver - an employee of a glazing firm - was reluctant to give any details (for reasons only he can explain) but I took it upon myself to phone their head office (after I finished my job).
I was calm and explained that he clearly had no intention of stopping (drove for a good 40m to make that decision before turning left onto a main road) however, if they would like to have a think about how they want to proceed, all I want is the (painted) mirror cap fixed. I went as far as finding out that a new one comes in primer for about £32.00; add the cost of painting it, and I offered to fit it myself. The owner of the company said they would speak to a mechanic they use. When he came back and suggested that it could be repaired (it's a scuff) I felt things wouldn't go as smoothly as I what I'd thought I set the tone for.
The first suggestion was to take the van down to a guy the mechanic recommends. It turned out to be a backstreet 'cash' repair shop, and whilst I'm making no judgement on the quality of his work his unit is a nightmare to get to, plus, I would have to remove the cap and drive the van around with all the antennae exposed. I went back and explained that it wasn't convenient and that I wasn't happy to have all the electronics exposed, it's now been two weeks of this firm looking for the cheapest way to pay for my damaged mirror. The next suggestion was to go to Halfords.
I've counter-proposed that the best way - one that does not inconvenience me any more than necessary - would be to buy a new cap (about 32 quid) and get it painted. I'll do the fitting myself (still trying to be helpful). Nope. They still want cheaper.
What started out to be me being reasonable to a firm whose employee failed to stop etc, has now turned into a ball ache.
The adage, no good deed goes unpunished could well be applied here.
My customer managed to record him on his phone as he turned left towards the station and he was the one who ran and caught up with him.
On closer inspection, it's a miracle how my mirror suffered nothing more than a scuff. It's an electric folding/heated mirror which houses DAB/GPS/phone antenna. His mirror was smashed to bits. The driver - an employee of a glazing firm - was reluctant to give any details (for reasons only he can explain) but I took it upon myself to phone their head office (after I finished my job).
I was calm and explained that he clearly had no intention of stopping (drove for a good 40m to make that decision before turning left onto a main road) however, if they would like to have a think about how they want to proceed, all I want is the (painted) mirror cap fixed. I went as far as finding out that a new one comes in primer for about £32.00; add the cost of painting it, and I offered to fit it myself. The owner of the company said they would speak to a mechanic they use. When he came back and suggested that it could be repaired (it's a scuff) I felt things wouldn't go as smoothly as I what I'd thought I set the tone for.
The first suggestion was to take the van down to a guy the mechanic recommends. It turned out to be a backstreet 'cash' repair shop, and whilst I'm making no judgement on the quality of his work his unit is a nightmare to get to, plus, I would have to remove the cap and drive the van around with all the antennae exposed. I went back and explained that it wasn't convenient and that I wasn't happy to have all the electronics exposed, it's now been two weeks of this firm looking for the cheapest way to pay for my damaged mirror. The next suggestion was to go to Halfords.
I've counter-proposed that the best way - one that does not inconvenience me any more than necessary - would be to buy a new cap (about 32 quid) and get it painted. I'll do the fitting myself (still trying to be helpful). Nope. They still want cheaper.
What started out to be me being reasonable to a firm whose employee failed to stop etc, has now turned into a ball ache.
The adage, no good deed goes unpunished could well be applied here.
MattsCar said:
I would quietly let this one go, for one single reason.
On the off chance they notify their insurer, you will end up having to declare a non fault claim for 5 years.
Not fair, I know. But that would be my concern.
Hadn't considered this, but given the play so far, I get the impression they'd rather give me a tenner to get myself a rattle-can from Halfords. On the off chance they notify their insurer, you will end up having to declare a non fault claim for 5 years.
Not fair, I know. But that would be my concern.
Sounds like they are taking the piss to be honest, although it’s the balance between the principle of getting it fixed correctly and having a non fault claim on your insurance.
You’ll need to be a bit of a pest to the point where it’s worthwhile for him just to pay to get you out his hair.
I had a similar situation in 2012 when I was 19, boy crashed into the back of me, both young so tried to sort it outside of insurance. Asked me to get 3 quotes so done it on my day off then he was hard to get hold of, finally did after 3 weeks of driving around in a crashed car and he fired his dad on the phone who tried to get aggressive. Phoned insurer right after and sorted it through that rather than be reasonable with f
kwits
You’ll need to be a bit of a pest to the point where it’s worthwhile for him just to pay to get you out his hair.
I had a similar situation in 2012 when I was 19, boy crashed into the back of me, both young so tried to sort it outside of insurance. Asked me to get 3 quotes so done it on my day off then he was hard to get hold of, finally did after 3 weeks of driving around in a crashed car and he fired his dad on the phone who tried to get aggressive. Phoned insurer right after and sorted it through that rather than be reasonable with f
kwitsGlassman said:
MattsCar said:
I would quietly let this one go, for one single reason.
On the off chance they notify their insurer, you will end up having to declare a non fault claim for 5 years.
Not fair, I know. But that would be my concern.
Hadn't considered this, but given the play so far, I get the impression they'd rather give me a tenner to get myself a rattle-can from Halfords. On the off chance they notify their insurer, you will end up having to declare a non fault claim for 5 years.
Not fair, I know. But that would be my concern.
lancslad58 said:
It's only a flipping mirror, there are more worse things in life, try having to wait five weeks see a neurologist to find out if your brain's fked.
Yes, and what about the children in Gaza or the hospital patients in the Ukraine? Christ, I bet the OP is beside himself laughing at the plight of refugees fleeing starvation in East Africa. Heartless bked.d. NDA said:
You could take them to the Small Claims Court - you'd win and get the £35 fee back.
I've used this route successfully a couple of times, it's a legal Exocet missile and a major pain for the company.
For me, it's never about the money - it's about people behaving properly.
Ha ha yeah do this. Escalate. The more they attempt the wriggle out of it, the worse the situation gets for them. "I tried to be reasonable and now look...."I've used this route successfully a couple of times, it's a legal Exocet missile and a major pain for the company.
For me, it's never about the money - it's about people behaving properly.
Some people are s, I wouldn't waste another moment thinking about it for the sake of £32. Consider it a small cost never to deal with them again.
Yes, they've won, yes they've won because they've worn you down over £32. Ultimately though, can you imagine trying to live inside the mind of someone who will work that hard to save the cost of an Indian Takeaway? It must be hell. fk 'em
s, I wouldn't waste another moment thinking about it for the sake of £32. Consider it a small cost never to deal with them again.Yes, they've won, yes they've won because they've worn you down over £32. Ultimately though, can you imagine trying to live inside the mind of someone who will work that hard to save the cost of an Indian Takeaway? It must be hell. f
k 'em NDA said:
You could take them to the Small Claims Court - you'd win and get the £35 fee back.
I've used this route successfully a couple of times, it's a legal Exocet missile and a major pain for the company.
For me, it's never about the money - it's about people behaving properly.
This. I've used this route successfully a couple of times, it's a legal Exocet missile and a major pain for the company.
For me, it's never about the money - it's about people behaving properly.
Send them a 7 day letter before action and there’s a good chance they’ll pay up rather than deal with the County Court case.
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