Advice - Lorry Broken Fence

superdon

Hi all,

Not sure where else to post this, so thought I would try this one.

A few weeks back, I was following a lorry moving slowly up our road. Its a very narrow one way road and very difficult for lorries, in fact they shouldnt even go through.

Anyway, as I say, I was right behind him, and when he got to my house, with a car parked opposite my drive, he torn down my fence along with the concrete post and gravelboard.

I witnessed it, along with my neighbour. The driver stopped and gave his details, along with the registration number and company address.

The fence, we think, actually belongs to my neighbours property. However, they are renting (we own), and without being nasty are far from the brightest bunch. They said at the time they would speak to their letting agents and try and get it sorted, but have heard nothing since despite us asking several times. So, a week or so back I tried to sort myself.

I sent a letter to the director of the company that owns the lorry, a local company, explained the story politely and asked they contact me to arrange for the repair of the fence. I have had no reply.

My question is, what should be my next step? Can I threaten with small claims court or something?

Its really annoying. It looks a mess, and makes it difficult for us to get on our drive.

QuirkyChemistry

If you are sure that the fence is their property then I would suggest either phoning the lorry company or contacting the letting agency. However from my experience, letting agencies are very slow and unhelpful. I would wait a little while before threatening with small claims court.

jimmo

Nothing like this has ever happened to me but I think the way I would approach is similar to what I would do if the lorry had hit your car.
You would make a claim to your car insurance company leaving them to pay for the repairs and to claim against the lorry driver’s insurance.
If it was your fence then you would claim on your house insurance, again leaving them to seek recovery of their costs from the lorry driver’s insurance.
If the fence belongs to the property next door then the damage to the fence is nothing to do with you and if the owners of the house next door choose not to have it repaired that is their decision. Eyesore it may be but I don’t believe they have any obligation to do anything.
However, if the remnants of your neighbours’ fence is now “resting” on your land you probably have some claim or rights against the owners (not necessarily to replace the fence but to remove their debris from your property).
I really feel you have wasted your time writing to the lorry owners. Let’s face it, they are in a business where accidents happen and they have insurance.
If push comes to shove the only people you can sue are probably the owners of the house next door.
On the face of it the owners of the house next door have a straightforward claim against the owners of the lorry and all should really be sorted quite quickly.
Perhaps the problem is that your neighbours, the people who are renting the house, do not appreciate the position they are in.
If they have not reported the damage to their landlords, and thus enable the landlords to make a claim against the lorry driver they will eventually bear the responsibility for the repairs.
So! Talk to your neighbours and make sure they are doing the right things for your sake and their own.
Then pursue the owners of the house, if necessary to the courts.

superdon

OK, I'll hang on a bit longer and try and chat with the neighbours.

Its no so much the eyesore thing that is the problem. Its the fact that the whole fence, and concrete posts are bent well over to our very small, and tight to park on drive. You cant push it back into place, its a case of leave it, remove it or replace it.