Car Damage - No Win No Fee?

Crazy_Jamie

marleyboy wrote: »

Have to say I am interested in what exactly happened, what reason they gave for denying liability, was it a convertible soft top, did it crush the roof or scrape it, surely they must have an excuse to claim you are liable for it?

The response is in the other thread that the OP linked to. They have stated that there were 16 washes before the OP's incident and 15 after with no incident. There was also an engineer inspection that found no fault. No direct cause has been cited for this incident though. They haven't suggested that the OP was liable in any way, though to be fair I don't immediately see how the OP could have caused this short of physically driving through the wash while it was still in progress.

Given that the vehicle was a Corsa, I highly doubt it was a convertible

marleyboy

EEK, just read the thread (sorry I had not read earlier), I really cannot see how this could be anything but their fault, as obviously something went drastically wrong with the machine. It sounds like a case for small claims, its a shame you did not see what part hit n scraped along the car, as it would show some form of damage on the appliance.

Given that the vehicle was a Corsa, I highly doubt it was a convertible

That depends if Jeremy Clarkson got his hands on it :D

DJS1988

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for your help.

I have asked them to explain how they believe this damage was otherwise caused, and stated whether there was 1, 100 or a 1000 non-incidental washes prior to mine it does not matter - something clearly went drastically wrong when my car was being cleaned.

Their reply was basically that it the machine is only a year old, it was serviced recently and no other damages have occurred. I actually know this is false as I have been in touch with Washtec who maintain the machine and 2 or 3 days prior to mine, someones wiper was torn off by the machine. Not that that damage relates or is in any way similar to mine - but surely this shows the garage are not being truthful to their insurers.

The last letter from AXA was very blunt and stated the above and that their client has told them they will defend themselves if I take legal action.

Right now I am really unsure of my next move - do I sent yet another letter to their insurers asking for a proper explanation as to how the garage think the damage happened? Do I send a recorded letter to the garage informing them of my next move, or do I consult a solicitor (I think I will be able to have a preliminary meeting with one for some advice without a fee - is that correct?) to then go to small claims. I am very wary of having my insurance sorting this as I feel I will get stung - they have told me the situation could take a while to be sorted and if it isn't by next May when I am due to renew, that I will lose my no claims.

I wish I had been able to take photos from inside the carwash right after as I am sure the part that scraped down my car would have been covered in my paintwork - but this was impossible as they continued letting people use it!

Finally - do any of you think contacted my local paper about this is a good move. It's the type of paper that would love this kind of thing, but am in two minds as to whether later down the line if I have to go legal if this would look like a bad thing?

unholyangel

This might be a bit too CSI'y but is the part that damaged your car clearly visable?

Maybe take pictures of that, measure it and that should give you proof that it matches the damage on your car?

Plus, you could still ask to inspect it for paint. Depending on which part scraped your car, it could be possible it has retained some of the paint. Never know until you look!

Just offering some ideas. I dont actually use any automatic car wash so i dont know exactly what bits come down when.

marleyboy

The fact that they claim it was recently serviced is two fold, this could well be the cause, i.e. the servicing left a spanner in the works.

It sounds like they are playing your morals, culminating in them opting to settle out of court, but onlly when they know for sure you are taking legal action, as they know for sure (as well as we all do), they dont have a leg to stand on, how could they defend themselves?

Proceed with your case, advising them that any future contact should be made between them and your solicitor. Also do feel free to contact the paper, this wont affect your claim, and it would be pretty difficult for them to justify themselves publicly.

Dont be fobbed off by their chants of "you wont win", they will try anything to put you off, up until the court date falls on their mat, at which point their own solicitor is likely to say, "How can I defend this? Best you offer to settle this matter before the courts settle it for you."

DJS1988

unholyangel wrote: »

This might be a bit too CSI'y but is the part that damaged your car clearly visable?
QUOTE]

Yes. It's what I believe is the sensor - it hangs down from the horizontal metal column that I think houses the dryer. It looks similar to a carabiner (that you use for abseiling or as clips) and the column came down too low over the car and scraped the whole way along the roof. Along with the dent right down the middle, either side at the edge of the roof are swirly scratches where the column itself obviously pressed down on it too.

I'll try to post some pictures.

unholyangel

If you can get measurements and pictures of the part of the machine that caused the damage, it couldnt do any harm. If anything i think it would help your case if you had to go to court.

Might also make the insurers back down too

The fact no other car has been damaged in the same way before or since doesnt mean it didnt damage your car and nor does it mean it will never damage another car in the same way.

It just means it is a "isolated" incident at present. If a doctor operates on hundreds of patients and (for example) kills a patient by not following procedures as he was trained, does this make him any less responsible because it was only one patient?

DJS1988

http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad259/DaniMAT/CarDamage2.jpg

http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad259/DaniMAT/CarDamage1.jpg

Photos aren't amazingly clear but gives you an idea of damage caused.

Crazy_Jamie

DJS1988 wrote: »

I have asked them to explain how they believe this damage was otherwise caused, and stated whether there was 1, 100 or a 1000 non-incidental washes prior to mine it does not matter - something clearly went drastically wrong when my car was being cleaned.

Their reply was basically that it the machine is only a year old, it was serviced recently and no other damages have occurred. I actually know this is false as I have been in touch with Washtec who maintain the machine and 2 or 3 days prior to mine, someones wiper was torn off by the machine. Not that that damage relates or is in any way similar to mine - but surely this shows the garage are not being truthful to their insurers.

So they haven't really answered your question? Which isn't really surprising because, as has already been stated, it is hard to see how this could have been caused other than by mechanical failure.

The last letter from AXA was very blunt and stated the above and that their client has told them they will defend themselves if I take legal action.

I would expect nothing less- they're hardly going to deny liability and then state that they will probably settle if you take legal action, are they?

Right now I am really unsure of my next move - do I sent yet another letter to their insurers asking for a proper explanation as to how the garage think the damage happened? Do I send a recorded letter to the garage informing them of my next move, or do I consult a solicitor (I think I will be able to have a preliminary meeting with one for some advice without a fee - is that correct?) to then go to small claims. I am very wary of having my insurance sorting this as I feel I will get stung - they have told me the situation could take a while to be sorted and if it isn't by next May when I am due to renew, that I will lose my no claims.

If you can find a solicitor for a free consultation then by all means do so, but be aware that you don't need a solicitor to commence a small claim. Indeed, you will not be able to recover most of their fees from the other side if you do win. Think long and hard before actually instructing a solicitor on this. It really does sound to me like something that you could quite feasibly run yourself without a solicitor. There is enough information on the HMCS website and enough people with relevant knowledge on here to help you if you get stuck.

Finally - do any of you think contacted my local paper about this is a good move. It's the type of paper that would love this kind of thing, but am in two minds as to whether later down the line if I have to go legal if this would look like a bad thing?

I wouldn't bother to be honest. This is a private dispute between you and the garage's insurer. I'd keep it that way.

DJS1988

Thank you Jamie.

No they've not explained at all, and the way the letter was written was very much, we cannot help you further, goodbye. That's where I felt a little stumped as to what my next move should be - whether to bother going back to the insurance company as maybe that is just a waste of time?

I don't want a solicitor to represent me as I didnt think it was required - but I thought I would be best having a consultation to ensure someone with more legal knowledge than myself can confirm they believe I have a strong case?