Car moved by council?

the_insider

I posted this originally in Consumer Rights but I was wondering if anyone on this board would have any ideas.

I park for work on a public road during the day. It is a dead end leading up to the back of a factory (no entry to the factory premises on the road) and there are only the fire exits for two offices on the road. It is wide enough for a car to park each side of the road and for another to fit up the middle comfortably.
I returned to my car after work today and it was parked on the kerb. I thought this was a bit strange as I don't usually park on the kerb as they are quite high but I figured I was just not paying attention this morning and had gone up on the kerb. Didn't think anymore of it and set off home.
Half way home I went over a mini roundabout and there was a horrible grinding noise so I pulled into a side road to have a (rather nervous) look. There were two pipes hanging down very low under the car and I drove very cautiously home. There were a few more grinding noises on the way when I was going round corners, I assume due to the camber of the road.
There is a garage at the end of my street so I walked down and asked my friendly mechanic to pop down and have a look. The first thing he said when he got under the car was that the fuel lines had been bent down and the heat shield had been knocked loose and his first question was 'has this been picked up by a forklift?'. I laughed and asked him what he thought was wrong with it and he said he was being serious, it looked like a forklift truck had been used to pick up the car and the prongs had got in under the fuel lines and moved them.
Since then my friend has taken me back down to the street where I had parked and a new lamppost has been put in. It still has the barriers round it and doesn't appear to have been wired up fully and I'm pretty sure it wasn't there this morning when I parked. Has anyone heard of councils moving cars that are in the way of their vans getting past? There has been no notice to say that work will be carried out on the street and there are no parking restrictions on that road.
I don't think that the street is covered by CCTV but does anyone think that I could get the council to cover the cost of the repair?

peter_the_piper

Unless you have a witness or get the council to admit it then I cannot see how you will get them to pay up. What you have IMHO is circumstantial evidence. Find something tangible and thats a different matter.

the_insider

What do you think would count as tangible? If my mechanic is willing to confirm that the damage is consistent with a forklift's prongs do you think I might get somewhere?

peter_the_piper

Doubt it. Written admission they moved it, witness statement to that effect or something like that. Can't see lamp post erectors using a fork lift, HiAb maybe and a digger.

Coupon-mad

I think I would be knocking on the doors of both offices and asking if any staff there witnessed anything.

Maybe ask at the factory as well - but does the factory use forklifts? Maybe one of their contacts drove up that road at the back of the factory in a forklift not realising there was no access to the factory that end, then attempted a 3 point turn, lifting & shoving your car on the kerb in the process? Seems daft but something bad has happened by the sound of it!

You need witnesses then you might get a Police crime number re the damage. Have you told your insurer about this yet or are you not fully comp?

the_insider

I went back today and had an ask around and I was told by a guy that works on the street that it was 'almost definitely' the factory. Apparently it's not the first time it's happened. So I guess the next move is to make a complaint to them and see if it gets me anywhere. I'm not fully comp unfortunately, but I do get free legal advice with my home insurance so I'm going to give them a call.

peter_the_piper

Still you have the problem of proof unfortunately. A witness would help.