Council ruined my car!

simone83

Hi all!

I am in need of some help - I just dont know where to start.

I got back from holiday on Wednesday to find that all the potholes in my street had eventually filled in - great I thought (about time), untill I looked at my car and it has been splattered with concrete!

The council didnt notify us that his work would be carried out and now the whole of my bonnet is splattered with concrete.

As I am only third party I can not claim from my insurance and can not afford to get thw work dont myself - can anyone advise me on how I would go about claiming from the council for the removal of the concrete??

Thanks, Simone

mrcow

simone83 wrote: »

As I am only third party I can not claim from my insurance

The council is a third party?

Have you already called the council to complain and see what they say first?

badmumof1

seems a bit daft that the council (or contractor) would fill potholes using concrete as they usually use tarmac with it being cheaper.

MORPH3US

mrcow wrote: »

The council is a third party?

Have you already called the council to complain and see what they say first?

Third party insurance only covers them if you do something to them...

I.e. If the OP crashed into a binman on the way home, the bin man could claim....

It doesn't cover you if they do something to you... that would be claimed on their third party insurance (if they have such a thing...)

OP, get in touch with the council immediately, ring them up today, don't leave it..... explain what happened and post back what they say...

M

Butlers1982

You need to contact the council and ask them what they are going to do about it- as long as you can proove that they did it.

MrsTinks

Take lots of pictures of the damage on the car as well as pictures of it's position, the work on the road that has been done and so on. You might need them later... And then contcat the council! Also worth phoning your insurers - they might be able to give you advice

simone83

thanks all - contacted highways today and they are sending me out a claim pack. taken photos of whatever the substance is on my car and have asked my neighbour for a witness statement. think this should help!

novagirl

They sent you a claim pack?? I got told to basically ^%*& off. A council worker was strimming grass near my car and it flicked up a stone and smashed my passenger window. The stone even stayed there in my car! I complained and they said that it must have been a person that threw the stone so I couldn't claim anything. (How on earth someone could throw a small stone that stongly in order to smash a window I'll never know.)

headoutthesand

I used to work for a firm who dealt with claims for my local council and i would advise thefollowing:

Take pictures of your car including where it was in realation to the repairs

take names of neighbours who can speak to the repairs being carried out on that particular day and Try to get proof that your car was parked there when the repairs were carried out.

Don't get a solicitor involved - claims are processed quicker if you 'represent' yourself. If you get a solicitor then the council/claim handlers cannot talk to you. but if you deal with the claim yourself, they will soon get fed up with you calling them for an update.

If you call them always ask them for a date when they think it will be delt with. That way if you keep calling they will aim to have a decision on it to avoid speaking to you every week (no offence).

Take your car to a few garages to get quotes on repairs. Try to make it the most expensive ones as if the payout is less than you ask for, it is still more likely to cover the cost of a smaller repair centre carrying out the work.

Good luck