damage to car left with airport parking !!

alfie_1

Can anyone forward any usefull information re ; if anyone else has had their cars damaged badly whilst parked by the valet service offered from Gatwick airport .
my damage was under the car so not visible, aided and abetted by thick mud over the damaged areas. this going to cost over £600 to fix and company are denying responsibility even tho I can prove it was damaged during their "care"....
does anyone know the legal implications,?
I have a list of things protocol wise they have done incorrect now !... hindsight !!

RS2000.

Well if you think you can prove negligence or malicious damage then a letter before action then off to court.

alfie_1

RS2000. wrote: »

Well if you think you can prove negligence or malicious damage then a letter before action then off to court.

thanks ive contacted them and they offered £10 to wash the car !:mad:


my case is that they must have known the damage occurred. garage says they think they ditched it then reversed/pulled it out thus causing the damage.
also the mud was not jet washed off as terms suggested.. me thinks to hide the evidence.
the parking area was a farm/wood/field [I google earthed it from sat nav info recorded] which so far as I can see is still waiting for PP.
I am looking for someone who has experienced similar and how they got on .

RS2000.

Is your sat nav built into the car?

If not how can you prove it was in your car at the time?

alfie_1

RS2000. wrote: »

Is your sat nav built into the car?

If not how can you prove it was in your car at the time?

cos I was in another continent at the time and it shows going to Gatwick then the parking place..

RS2000.

alfie_1 wrote: »

cos I was in another continent at the time and it shows going to Gatwick then the parking place..

That shows the location of the device, is it built in?

alfie_1

no..... but how else could it get to that car park that they use while im not there? it was still connected but actually hidden under the seat in a way I know it was not moved. it was still plugged in the car for that route to record.

RS2000.

alfie_1 wrote: »

no..... but how else could it get to that car park that they use while im not there? it was still connected but actually hidden under the seat in a way I know it was not moved. it was still plugged in the car for that route to record.

You know that, I know that but it only shows the location of the device. It could have been in another vehicle. Prove it wasn't and even if you can prove that's when the damage occurred.

If you think that on the balance of probability you can then take them to court.

alfie_1

thanks for your help...

straighttalker

There's no need to be sarcastic, he's only trying to pre empt what they will argue in Court.

It's down to you to prove that they did the damage. Do you have a pre parking vehicle checklist which was signed by both parties confirming there was no damage to the underside of the vehicle before you left it with them?

In your mind, you know they did the damage but you need to prove that they did it and it wasn't pre existing.

Mercdriver

I had damage to my wife's BMW X5 while away and car parked with valet parking at Terminal 3 of Heathrow. I noticed the damage immediately on picking up the keys. The attendant who was the one who parked it, said no damage was caused. I told him that the damage to the alloys and front right of bumper was not there when I dropped it off, and that there was corresponding marks from the bumper and tyres on the pillar that he hit. He continued to deny it, so I asked for the manager and went about taking photographs of the damage and the marks on the pillar in relation to each other with an SLR and macro lens, which showed the fact that the fibres of the fibre glass were freshly damaged. He's maintained that the damage was historical.

I downloaded the photos to my laptop and showed them to the manager and said that if he didn't accept liability then I would be calling the police as there was an accident that hadn't been reported. This did the trick and they admitted liability and we were loaned a car while the BMW was in for repair at the main dealer.

Get as much evidence as you can, photograph it, and send it to them. It does get awkward once you've driven away, as they get you to sign to say you have inspected the car. This has always been something I always refuse to sign until I have inspected the car.

Generally now, as I travel through LHR very frequently, I look at deals for using the short stay car park for a few days which is cheaper than using valet parking, and I get to keep the keys.