Claiming against council for damage to car (NOT potholes)

allen.s26

Hi everyone,
this is my first post as I'm looking for some advice.
I recently came home and notice a big nasty scratch, more like a graze, on the wheel arch of my car. Upon further inspection it's obvious that a council vehicle, a street sweeper, has gone down my road, tried to steer around my car but has come in to close and has left a mark on it.

I contacted the council via email, and then being impatient called up. Speaking to them over the phone they said a claim form would be filled in, sent back to them, we would get a quote and then the council would investigate and give us a conclusion. I was happy with that.

Today, I got a reply to my email in the form of a call from the road sweeper section of the council, saying there had indeed been a road sweeper in my area that day, and I would now need to go through my insurance company to get this rectified.

Has anyone had any experience with anything like this? I don't really want to go through my insurance, but I'm not going to leave it because it's a nasty scratch

Any help would be appreciated,

Thanks

custardy

allen.s26 wrote: »

Hi everyone,
this is my first post as I'm looking for some advice.
I recently came home and notice a big nasty scratch, more like a graze, on the wheel arch of my car. Upon further inspection it's obvious that a council vehicle, a street sweeper, has gone down my road, tried to steer around my car but has come in to close and has left a mark on it.

I contacted the council via email, and then being impatient called up. Speaking to them over the phone they said a claim form would be filled in, sent back to them, we would get a quote and then the council would investigate and give us a conclusion. I was happy with that.

Today, I got a reply to my email in the form of a call from the road sweeper section of the council, saying there had indeed been a road sweeper in my area that day, and I would now need to go through my insurance company to get this rectified.

Has anyone had any experience with anything like this? I don't really want to go through my insurance, but I'm not going to leave it because it's a nasty scratch

Any help would be appreciated,

Thanks

I would expect no payout unless the driver has owned up to it
whilst you see it as obvious,how would you prove it?

SteveJW

allen.s26 wrote: »

. Upon further inspection it's obvious that a council vehicle, a street sweeper, has gone down my road, tried to steer around my car but has come in to close and has left a mark on it.
Thanks

Why is it obvious it was a council vehicle?

I am the Fleet Manager with a large unitary authority, I frequently deal with such allegations and all are thoroughly investigated
Questions I ask are
Any witnesses
Registration number of our vehicle
Time and date of alleged incident

My investigation will involve checking vehicle movements in the area (we have a sophisticated tracking system), if I can determine one of our vehicles was in the area at the alleged time, the driver is interviewed, frequently they will admit they could have caught a vehicle and did not realise. It can happen in a large vehicle

Our insurers will not pay out on a claim just because one of our vehicles was down a certain street

I don't have an axe to grind and will go out of my way to help anyone who thinks they may have a claim against ourselves. Even pointing them in the direction of reputable repair companies who will provide a courtesy car.It is amazing how many people do not know the first thing to do when they have an accident

Good luck with your claim

allen.s26

Thanks for the replies,

The council guys confirmed their vehicles were in the area on that day, and the markings on the road that I photographed are typical of a street sweeper, you can see where the brush has been rotating. I don't know of many, if any, private companies that would sweep the streets...?

forgotmyname

You should inform your insurance of this incident. If he other party put it through their insurance then you really NEED to inform them quickly before they find out on their own and wonder why you have not told them.

phill99

But your evidence is circumstantial. You still have no proof that the council vehicle did the damage. It could have been a delivery van, a neighbours car etc etc.

allen.s26

I see what you mean by there still not being any hard proof. But just comparing the distance the tracks are from my car to other cars on the street it's easy to see it was too close for comfort. I'm talking like an inch type width. Now surely just looking at the distance from my car and looking at the sweeper itself someone would be able to tell if it was close enough to collide with my car. And I will find out, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong.. and I've not lost anything. But if I'm right and I manage to get my car repaired and am reimbursed for the cost then I guess that would be great. You don't get anything for not trying. And I'm pretty much 100% sure that I'm right on this one. And I won't go through my insurance, for one it wouldn't be worth it with my excess and wouldn't be worth risking my preniums going up being a new driver.

So I guess no one here has dealt with anything like this before then?!

McKneff

probably because people have no proof as to what has caused the damage.

mattyprice4004

A friend who has now left the country (lucky him!) had the same story - they didn't pay out as he had no proof. So yes, I have dealt with this kind of thing before (having him whinge about it over Facebook).

It could have been anything, unless you can prove it was them you're stuffed.

allen.s26

Oh well, it's worth a try. I understand that their stance will be that it could have been anything. We'll see how it goes and I'll repost if I get anywhere.... or if I get no where..

Rolandtheroadie

allen.s26 wrote: »

So I guess no one here has dealt with anything like this before then?!

Yes, the wifes car was damaged whilst parked, no witnesses, from the damage it looked certain it was a local bus service that had done it.

The damage was consistent with a bus bumper that was on that run that day (angling of the dent, height of the dent, very slight paint transfer). Reported it to the police just incase we were going to claim, a policeman thought it was a bin lorry (they're the same colour as the bus bumpers)

At the end of the day, we left it. No witnesses, never actually seen who done it, the annoyance receeded. It was also possible the driver didnt know they had hit our car.

On a brighter note, a few weeks later, I saw a van reversing into a car in a supermarket car park.
The guy knew he'd done it, looked at the damage and went to get his shopping. I took a picture, noted the reg and reported it that evening.
He was traced and the owner of the car was happy the damage hadnt just been vandalism. If it hadnt been for our hit and run, I might not have bothered.