Damage to car in council car park

macton

I recently went into a council car park. I drove in to the car park but realised there was a time limit of 4 hours and i intended to be longer than this period so i turned around and drove out. In the process of driving in and turning around i drove over one of those thin metal bollards which lock down or stand up to stop access. The bollard was in the down position but could not be seen as the whole car park floor was covered in leaves. Anyway to cut a long story short a small section of the bollard with a hook on the end, which presumably was broken, did not go down and tore into the fuel radiator on my car. At the time i heard a small pop but didn't know what this was - i thought i had popped a tyre on something. It turned out it pierced the radiator as i drove in and then when turned around it pulled all the pipework out and bent it at a 90% angel. I want to know whether its worth writing to the council to see if they will cover the cost of the parts and work (total cost £365) to put this right. Does the council have a legal right to ensure these bollards are visible ie clear of leaves. I have returned since to check whether the car park is maintained and sure enough the leaves had been cleared and the bollard was visible. Any advice appreciated.

Fat_Walt

macton wrote: »

I recently went into a council car park. I drove in to the car park but realised there was a time limit of 4 hours and i intended to be longer than this period so i turned around and drove out. In the process of driving in and turning around i drove over one of those thin metal bollards which lock down or stand up to stop access. The bollard was in the down position but could not be seen as the whole car park floor was covered in leaves. Anyway to cut a long story short a small section of the bollard with a hook on the end, which presumably was broken, did not go down and tore into the fuel radiator on my car. At the time i heard a small pop but didn't know what this was - i thought i had popped a tyre on something. It turned out it pierced the radiator as i drove in and then when turned around it pulled all the pipework out and bent it at a 90% angel. I want to know whether its worth writing to the council to see if they will cover the cost of the parts and work (total cost £365) to put this right. Does the council have a legal right to ensure these bollards are visible ie clear of leaves. I have returned since to check whether the car park is maintained and sure enough the leaves had been cleared and the bollard was visible. Any advice appreciated.

Sounds like the council are doing their job and maintaining the car park.

EdGasket

What's a 'fuel radiator'? Do you mean the fuel tank? They might be liable but have you got pictures of everything as evidence? If not then no chance.

z1a

Is a 90% angel, not quite good enough to make it to heaven?

AdrianC

macton wrote: »

I recently went into a council car park. I drove in to the car park but realised there was a time limit of 4 hours and i intended to be longer than this period so i turned around and drove out. In the process of driving in and turning around i drove over one of those thin metal bollards which lock down or stand up to stop access. The bollard was in the down position but could not be seen as the whole car park floor was covered in leaves. Anyway to cut a long story short a small section of the bollard with a hook on the end, which presumably was broken, did not go down and tore into the fuel radiator on my car. At the time i heard a small pop but didn't know what this was - i thought i had popped a tyre on something. It turned out it pierced the radiator as i drove in and then when turned around it pulled all the pipework out and bent it at a 90% angel. I want to know whether its worth writing to the council to see if they will cover the cost of the parts and work (total cost £365) to put this right. Does the council have a legal right to ensure these bollards are visible ie clear of leaves. I have returned since to check whether the car park is maintained and sure enough the leaves had been cleared and the bollard was visible. Any advice appreciated.

There was a pile of leaves deeper than the ground clearance of your car - ooh, about 6"+? - and you decided that there couldn't possibly be anything hidden in it, so just drove through it.

Strider590

EdGasket wrote: »

What's a 'fuel radiator'? Do you mean the fuel tank? They might be liable but have you got pictures of everything as evidence? If not then no chance.

Ignore this, everyone knows the fuel radiator is next to the blinker fluid reservoir, just behind and to the left of the flux capacitor.



True story.

mrmot

Strider590 wrote: »

Ignore this, everyone knows the fuel radiator is next to the blinker fluid reservoir, just behind and to the left of the flux capacitor.
True story.

Some modern cars, particularly VWs fitted with the PD type diesel engine have a fuel cooler fitted to the underside, its job is to cool the hot fuel that is returned to the plastic fuel tank and it looks exactly like a small radiator.

dannyrst

Please do write to the council asking them to cut down all those blummin trees so the leaves don't fall off and cover the floor. Trees are no good for anything!

facade

dannyrst wrote: »

Please do write to the council asking them to cut down all those blummin trees so the leaves don't fall off and cover the floor. Trees are no good for anything!

I'd settle for them collecting the leaves off their trees, they will refuse to take my landfill bin if they spot any leaves in it, but they won't take my garden waste bin again until March. :mad:

Wasn't there a case of someone being prosecuted for sweeping their leaves off his drive and back onto their road? :eek:

OP, unfortunately, you have to prove that they knew the leaves were covering it, and didn't act within a reasonable time to remove them, they can't know until someone tells them, or until they make one of their regular checks.

bigadaj

dannyrst wrote: »

Please do write to the council asking them to cut down all those blummin trees so the leaves don't fall off and cover the floor. Trees are no good for anything!

Do you live in Sheffield?

AdrianC

mrmot wrote: »

Some modern cars, particularly VWs fitted with the PD type diesel engine have a fuel cooler fitted to the underside, its job is to cool the hot fuel that is returned to the plastic fuel tank and it looks exactly like a small radiator.

Yep, you can often see it hanging down underneath the car - particularly on some BMW diesels.