Neighbours Wall Wrote Off My Car

Marktheshark

If you are now using your insurance, you are contractually obliged not to "interfere in the claim" .
Leave all loss recovery to them and they will recover any losses or pursue the neighbours.
If you interfere in the claim they might invoke the contract with regards to litigation rights and refuse your claim.
Your in bed with them now so let them do the work.

tasharthur

My insurance aren't even attempting to reclaim costs from them - being the problem. Ive asked them to but don't know whether because of the cost of the claim it isn't worth them doing it or not - they just keep telling me they wont deal with home insurance because if their insurance says it was an act of god, they couldn't claim and was advised if I wanted to claim the excess back off them, to do it myself.

Hintza

tasharthur wrote: »

The bit I was parked next too on the road is a bit they said they had replace because they were aware the wall was unsafe.

Clarify that sentence it doesn't quite make sense.

But that is what you have to work with and hope they repeat that statement in writing.

tasharthur

Hintza wrote: »

Clarify that sentence it doesn't quite make sense.

But that is what you have to work with and hope they repeat that statement in writing.

They have an end terrace house - the side of their house has a public footpath. That part of the wall is in disrepair and they are aware as they've had it all pinned up. They have a small corner bit by their house which they had rebuilt, that bit also looks in disrepair now. The bit that fell on my car was at the rear of their garden. theres a small footpath then its a road (well cul de sac ending). That bit they also say they had replaced because it was unsafe prior.


I was parked on the road, next to the path and their back wall. I do usually park there as parking around here isn't great.

mattyprice4004

If they turn around and say the wall was in good condition and you have no proof otherwise (apart from it collapsing, but if it was unusually windy they could try and blame this), then you're stuffed.

You need to prove negligence, and what they've said in passing about it needing work and what they're willing to put on paper could well be 2 very different things.

System

If they are saying that they had already replaced the fallen section because it was unsafe then you have a major uphill struggle to prove that the replacement wall was unsafe. As that section had been replaced then the state of the rest of the wall is immaterial in this situation

pvt

tasharthur wrote: »

Im going to ask for their insurance details today, their assessor is coming out today, so im hoping to catch him to see what he actually says about the wall. If they can claim, ill be able to claim off their insurance. If they cant, ill have to claim from them directly.

You cannot claim off their insurance company: you have no relationship with their insurance company.

If you feel you have a claim to make then you make it against your neighbour, and it is for your neighbour to pass it on to their insurer, if they have one.

As many have said, your claim against your neighbour will hinge on whether the wall was in a poor state of repair, thus whether they were negligent. If you have pictures that show the wall has been repaired in some places, but not the part that fell on your car, I would think that would put you in a good position to argue negligence.

Whether their insurer pays up or not is not material to you. If their wall was in a poor state of repair the insurer will wriggle out of your neighbour's claim for repair of the wall anyway.

Stoke

While some may disagree, I think you panicked and went through insurance wrongly. I believe in giving the person a chance.

You say, or imply, they might have bodged the work. If they have a friend or family member who works in the industry (I do), he/she could have potentially done the work for you at a 'mates' rate and therefore, both of you would have been happy with the outcome. I don't see why "I know a guy who can sort it" has become stigmatized with the backstreet bodger. I do know a guy and he's highly respected in the local area and would probably do it for me for parts and paints only. You might have to wait a day or two longer if he's got lots of work on, but it means not involving the insurance company and all that lark.

You could have at least given them a chance, gone checked out the person who was going to do the work etc.

Instead, you've gone through insurance and now you have to prove beyond doubt that negligence was a key factor, something you'll find incredibly difficult to do. Good luck, as I do hope you can get some kind of compensation for this, but as I often say, !!!! happens, unfortunately.

bris

tasharthur wrote: »

My insurance aren't even attempting to reclaim costs from them - being the problem. Ive asked them to but don't know whether because of the cost of the claim it isn't worth them doing it or not - they just keep telling me they wont deal with home insurance because if their insurance says it was an act of god, they couldn't claim and was advised if I wanted to claim the excess back off them, to do it myself.

And they won't as has already been said it's classed as an act of God and all parties involved have to claim through their own insurance.


Wind causes damage all the time, it's not exactly your neighbours fault either, just one of those things, get over it.

NotRichAtAll

so you have £350 excess on a car that you say is worth £1500 you should of let them take care of it when 1st offered. i am guessing the son whom you first spoke with is alot more savvy than yourself and it sounds like he was offering you an olive branch which you refused.

taken from post #4

Morally if you damage someone elses property, you'd offer to pay for it!

which is what the son was offering according to yourself