Advice urgently needed!!

archie1

This is a weird unusal one that I need advice on and would be grateful if someone can give some constructive advice please!

Yesterday I was retriving a trolley at Tesco's supermarket from the trolley stack in the carpark. The trolley unfortunately had a mind of its own and went another way down the ramp. Before I got hold of it, it scratched someone's vehicle that was parked in the collection point. The scratch was about as large as a fingernail; the man juumped out of his car and was abusinve towards me. He stated that his car was leased and it was going back to the lease company next wednesday, therefore after all the abuse - he wanted me to claim from my home insurance for this incident. I gave him my name and address and contact details and took his details. I then went into customer service area in Tesco and reported what occured outside in the car park - they reported to me that they ahev not got a CCTV outside and they have not got public liability insurance outside the supermarket. Does anyone know where I stand here and should I claim off my house insurance? I also want to write to the man about how badly he made me feel for the small incident, as I came home and cried, as I felt so bad about it all.
:mad:

jennarothen

a big company such as tesco should have public liability insurance ring up the head office the staff in store prob dont know what it is

Bossyboots

jennarothen wrote:

a big company such as tesco should have public liability insurance ring up the head office the staff in store prob dont know what it is

Why on earth would the store have insurance covering other people's negligence in their car park. If it had been a member of staff who did this with the trolley their public liability insurance would have covered it. However, as it was a customer they have no liability.

archie1

So I gather I may need to claim of my home insurance then?

Bossyboots

archie1 wrote:

So I gather I may need to claim of my home insurance then?

I would say so. I am sorry that idiot driver was so rude to you.

My neighbour's son rode into a car and their household insurance covered the damage so hopefully yours will cover this situation. You will need to dig out your policy documents and give them a ring. You may be able to just report it by telephone and leave them to do the necessary.

What I would do is get all your facts sorted about your insurance and then write to the idiot with the details, adding in your letter that while you appreciate he may have been upset he had no right to be so rude and offensive and if one day a relative of his is subjected to something similar, he will remember what a (insert your own word here) he was himself.

southernscouser

This is what annoys me about this country! :mad:

The OP didn't mean it. Accidents happen. But some @sshole can jump out of his car all abusive and if you !!!!!! him on the nose it's you that gets done! :wall:

BLUESUNSHINE_2

southernscouser wrote:

This is what annoys me about this country! :mad:

The OP didn't mean it. Accidents happen. But some @sshole can jump out of his car all abusive and if you !!!!!! him on the nose it's you that gets done! :wall:

i agree with you completely , while i can understand the guy may have been a little upset , there was no need for him to be so rude and agressive . In my book the guy deserves a slap but it would be you who would get into trouble for administering said slap

dunstonh

Nope. You do not claim off your house insurance.

The other party reports it to the lease company and they claim off their insurance. If you are approached by the other insurer you should comment on the abuse and intimidation you suffered.

You will probably never hear about it again but you do nothing until you are contacted.

jamesd

Bossyboots wrote:

Why on earth would the store have insurance covering other people's negligence in their car park. If it had been a member of staff who did this with the trolley their public liability insurance would have covered it. However, as it was a customer they have no liability.

They, or the designer, do appear to have been negligent.

archie1 wrote:

I was retriving a trolley at Tesco's supermarket from the trolley stack in the carpark. The trolley unfortunately had a mind of its own and went another way down the ramp.

It appears entirely predictable that a design which places trolleys at the top of a ramp will lead trolleys from time to time to trundle off down that ramp and hit cars or people.

No sign of a mention of automatic trolley brakes there, even though those are readily available. No mention either of a bump to arrest the trolley before it reaches the ramp or sufficient flat area for rolling friction to arrest the motion before the ramp is reached.

I wonder how often this incident has happened at that store.

courtjester

It's a slim possibility that Tesco may have responsibility for the design of their trolleys /ramps etc., but it would probably have to be shown that this was seriously lacking leading to numerous incidents before that defence could be used. Alternatively, that the trolley in question was damaged and in a dangerous condition and that Tesco should have been aware of the heightened risk of an accident occurring. This is I suspect all clutching at straws.

The fact of the existence of better designs including auto-brakes on trolleys would not necessarily mean that this can be put up as a defence.

It is a question of the facts of the incident in question - it's easy to see it either way, but on simple terms, the OP lost control of a trolley and this caused damage to a vehicle.

Tesco I would say would have no liability for this as their action did not cause the damage and they can also point to their normal disclaimer on use of the car park at owners risk.

If a claim is pursued, then the OP would have cover under the home insurance who should be informed if a claim is recieved - do not respond to any correspondence directly, simply pass to your insurers for handling.

There is a good chance however that nothing will happen - if this is a lease car, it will be inspected by the lease company on return to them - they tend these days to be pretty disinterested in minor damages as these cars are farmed out pretty quickly for resale or auction. It is more likely that they will disregard the scatch as unimportant to the value of the vehicle and hence no claim will be passed back.

prudryden

You should give the damaged party your insurance company name and policy number. No need to give him anything else. Do not admit liability nor speak to him about the incident.

The other party should claim off their automobile insurance and then give them the name and policy number of your insurance.

You should notify your insurance company so they are not taken by surprise.
Your insurance company may ask you for more details and may send you a form.

The insurance companies will then deal with each other.