Car damaged by Builders

peachyprice

MatthewAinsworth wrote: »

If there is CCTV the police will still want to know the time it happened, otherwise they won't bother looking at it

There was no crime, why on earth would the police be involved?

OP, as much as it's going to hurt, your best bet is to claim on your insurance and give them all the info to make a recovery. You'll end up wasting time and money chasing these people from pillar to post, as you've already seen, once solicitors get involved any admission of liability will disappear.

neilmcl

If it's "just" cement dust that's covered the paintwork I'd doubt you'd need a full respray to rectify it. A professional detailer may be able to remove it and get your bodywork looking as good as new for a fraction of the cost.

Try posting on the forums at http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/ along with plenty of pictures.

Hayley_222

Thanks all. There is no CCTV. The cement has fallen from their building site from a height down onto my car, parked on separate land.


The car is worth a lot more than £4k. And it's not 'just' dust. Its proper cement, lots of it.


Damage definitely caused by the builders, they have already admitted that it was their cement but they claim because the scaffolding wasn't sheeted properly that the scaffolders should be blamed. I don't think I should claim on insurance when this clearly isn't my fault.

cono1717

It's a long path to go down though for the sake of not getting your insurance involved - but ultimately that's your prerogative.

If the builder knew that the scaffolding wasn't sheeting correctly then he has a duty of care in the job he was doing and shouldn't of proceeded on with the job. In my eyes the brick layer is solely to blame, but for him ignoring his own observation of an incorrect sheeting, by his own admission, the cement would not of gotten on your car.

Hayley_222

Cono1717 - Thanks, I hadn't considered that but you are right, he shouldn't have proceeded.


The reason I don't want to get insurance involved is because I'm scared it will send the premium sky high. Is that not the case? I've never had to claim on any type of insurance before, this is a whole new world to me.

neilmcl

If there's a claim then it should be against the overall builder in charge of the build. The have overall control, they hire or sub-contract the various services, they are responsible for H&S etc, they are legally responsible for the site.

I think you should be looking to contact a solicitor for some proper legal advice.

BTW, do you have any photos you can post?

tomtontom

Strictly speaking this should be declared to your insurer even if you're not claiming - it is an insurable incident.

As you are not at fault, and assuming this would be your only claim, it shouldn't affect your premium greatly.

Fosterdog

If an insurance hike is something you are worried about run a few quotes with a claim on them and see how they come out. The alternative is likely to be using a solicitor and with costs of £100+ an hour and charges like £20 for every letter sent and received the chances are an insurance increase will work out cheaper.

Hayley_222

Thing is, I don't want it to cost me any money - This isn't my fault one iota and I don't see why I should have any costs to bear whether it's an increase in insurance or solicitor fees.


I do have photos but I'd have to post a lot for you to understand the damage. Basically its amounts of cement ranging from specks to splodges the size of a 1 pence piece, but everywhere, the roof, bonnet, boot and every panel in between.

Le_Kirk

Go and have a look at the site, there is usually a board at the main entrance that carries all the H&S stuff and maybe a considerate contractor scheme and a contact phone number.