Car damaged by leaking car park - small claims?

chrishill16

Hi. I'm incredibly frustrated and stressed out - hoping some of you kind folks can give me some advice please.

Up until recently I parked my car in my allocated parking space in an underground car park, below the flat that I lived in. For one reason or another the space above mine in the multi-storey became full of water. This water dripped down through the ceiling and was dripping on my car in the exact same spot for a couple of weeks - I'd just had surgery and was unable to drive, so the car didn't move.

When I was able to drive again I returned to my car to notice the dripping water, which had corroded some of the paint on my car. Took it to Audi and they quoted me £1,500 to have it repaired.

I complained to the building management company but they're insisting it's not their problem. My argument as you might expect, is that it is entirely their problem as their building was leaking and has damaged my paint.

I'm dealing with their insurance company at the moment and they are having trouble getting a response from their client. I advised them that I'm at the end of my tether and ready to go to court over this. It has been dragging on for a few months now, and the damage is potentially getting worse.

I have photographs of the damage as well as the leaking ceiling and the space above mine being full of water. When I complained initially to the building manager he was dismissive and to be frank, a bit of an !!!!. At no point did they offer me another parking space while the leak was investigated.

Just wondering if taking them to court is the solution to this? I don't want to claim on my own insurance for something that wasn't my fault, and the attitude of their staff has made me determined to get them to pay up. Or at least try to.

I feel pretty strongly about this but I'm determined not to let my feelings get the better of me, so I'm after some rational advise about whether to go down the small claims route please. I don't know what my chances are to be honest but I'm happy to take a punt and risk losing the court fees. I have concerns about paying their legal fees and expenses should they decide to defend themselves and win though.

Any rational and logical advice would be much appreciated please.

Thank you very much!

(reposted on this board as it was incorrectly posted elsewhere).

EdGasket

Issue a claim in the small claims court against the building management company. I had a similar situation where the insured wouldn't report to the insurance company. Court papers soon got him shifting.

Quentin

The fees for a court hearing for £1500 to £3000 (which you will have to pay up front and can add to your claim if you win) will be in the region of £275.


Get advice on your chances before proceeding, as unless you win you would also have to pay the other sides reasonable expenses in attending a hearing (which would be at your local court) as well as all the court fees..


You will have to prove their negligence over this matter.


If the other side are liable, then if you claim off your own insurance they will pursue the other side to reimburse them, thereby they end up getting reimbursed and you have a "non fault" claim, meaning your NCD is not affected and you can get your excess reimbursed.


But note that although this is "not your fault" that doesn't follow someone else is to blame - they need to have been negligent over this.

chrishill16

Thanks for the quick replies.

Difficult to prove negligence, but I guess they could have offered me an alternative space while they contacted their bosses etc.

How do I go about getting advice - talk to a solicitor? If so, any idea about how much that might cost?

Thanks again for the replies, really appreciate it.

Quentin

Local solicitors often will give you a free initial interview and give a quick opinion.

McKneff

As above, most solicitors would give you half an hour's free consultation

arcon5

EdGasket wrote: »

Issue a claim in the small claims court against the building management company. I had a similar situation where the insured wouldn't report to the insurance company. Court papers soon got him shifting.

Don't sue the management company, they are mere agents!

arcon5

To counter your argument, wouldn't one expect a vehicle that most people keep outside anyway to be able to withstand water coming down on it.

chrishill16

It's the limestone that the water is mixed with which has caused the damage. Must have picked it up while it was filtering down through the concrete. Left a nasty white residue all over the car and when I wiped it away the paint was stripped back.

rs65

chrishill16 wrote: »

It has been dragging on for a few months now, and the damage is potentially getting worse

When I complained initially to the building manager he was dismissive and to be frank, a bit of an !!!!. At no point did they offer me another parking space while the leak was investigated.

Bear in mind that you have a common law duty to mitigate a loss. You can't just leave it there in the knowledge that it was getting damaged.

chrishill16

rs65 wrote: »

Bear in mind that you have a common law duty to mitigate a loss. You can't just leave it there in the knowledge that it was getting damaged.

The damage was already done when I returned to driving. I accept that they weren't to know that this was happening however.