Hired Van-had an accident who pays excess?

punkgirlyuk

My friend hired a van for the weekend. When it was parked someone got into an unlocked Fire Engine (Parked nearby as this was a speedway track and it is kept there for accidents etc), they took the handbreak off and the Fire truck rolled into my friends van which squashed into another rental next to it which squashed into another van (all transits) next to that! The vans all have minor denting and scratches. My friend and others saw the engine in the side of the Van before it got pulled away by a tractor. The people on the site did this very quickly and by the time someone thought to take pictures it had been done, pictures of the vans squashed, the engine with broken light etc were took though. The people on site kept telling us that we needed to speak to the speedway manager who would be there the next day, we called the police but they said as no-one was injured and no road obstruction that they wouldn't attend. The speedway manager never turned up so we just got details of his name and the address and reg of the truck.

My friend took the van back today and was aware that he would lose £100 deposit but the van hire company are demanding £500 excess (even though it looks like less than £500 of damage!) They say they will chase him for £6000 if he doesn't pay. The speedway site are being awkward and not giving their details. I just want to know if because hopefully the van hire co will claim from the fire truck do they still have to pay an excess, are they just wanting money that they wont even have to pay? Also we have pictures of the aftermath and independant witnesses so even if the speedway people deny it is there a good chance of claiming from them?

Sorry it so long, but as you can see its a weird situation!
Any help appreciated as my friend is really worried about it all.

punkgirlyuk

Anyone help?

mattymoo

Years since I dealt with this kind of thing but from memory the hire company will claim for the repair costs plus loss of rental income while repairs undertaken from the guilty party (speedway site owners presumably).

Your friend has been obliged to pay the excess under the terms of his contract and two things are initially quite separate. The hire company is unlikely to waive this requirement due to the accident circumstances because they will lose out if the speedway site owners dispute liability etc.

Your friend should ask the hire company what steps he needs to take to get them to reimburse the excess once the speedway site owners have paid up. Could involves a 2-3 month wait and some form filling but worth it when £500 at stake. Not sure about the deposit though.