My car is a write-off, but will they take this into account?

FurryLippedSquid

In the recent high winds, my car was written off by an errant council wheelie bin (the large metal ones) and they have now handed my claim to their insurers (Zurich, for what it's worth).

It wasn't an expensive car, only worth about £1500 market value, but I had nearly £800 worth of work done to it last month (with receipts). Will they take that into account or is that now money down the drain?

Thanks for any replies.

blackshirtuk

Unfortunately the work you had done only makes it worth market value. However, your claim may not go the way you think.

A similiar situation near us, the council refused to pay and won in small claims court as the claimant couldn't prove negligence.

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/8747805.No_joke_for_comedian_as_council_bin_blows_into_his_car/

Which means you would have to claim from your own insurers.

kmb500

Unless the work was additional modifications then no it wouldn't be considered.


Also don't be surprised if you have to make the claim yourself. Given that it doesn't sound like it was the councils fault. Just because they own the bin doesn't mean they are responsible for its keeping and certainly they do not control the weather! Anything can be blown into your car in the wind.

FurryLippedSquid

Oh it's definitely their fault. They had removed the railings from the bin's compound for building works without securing them elsewhere. I also have a witness from the council itself who was told after the incident to make sure the bin men had applied brakes to the other bins in the area and none of them had.

They could still argue it, sure, but it's their fault alright.

Shame about the money, why is it always me?

Johno100

We had wheelie bins introduced a couple of years ago. The council made it clear in their literature and on their website that that the bins remained their property. I tried and failed to get a straight answer from the council and local councillor as to whether the council or the householder were liable for 3rd party damage caused by their bins.

But as this is seemingly one of those large communal bins I think it is most likely only the council and their workers/contractors would have moved the bin and left it unsecure.

Strider590

One of the many reasons I have CCTV looking out over where I park my car, is because of the bin collectors dragging bins down between parked cars instead of walking an extra few feet to get clear of them. I've nothing against them, I wouldn't want to do that job either, but if my car gets damaged someone has to be held accountable.

In case of OP, proving that someone's negligence caused the damage (leaving the bin in a bad place or not locking the wheels), would be near impossible.

kmb500

FurryLippedSquid wrote: »

Oh it's definitely their fault. They had removed the railings from the bin's compound for building works without securing them elsewhere. I also have a witness from the council itself who was told after the incident to make sure the bin men had applied brakes to the other bins in the area and none of them had.

They could still argue it, sure, but it's their fault alright.

Shame about the money, why is it always me?

Oh if it's a large trade waste bin or a communal bin, it might be different as those are on wheels unlike wheelie bins. If it's the bin mens fault for not putting brakes on, you might get somewhere. Even so, don't consider it guaranteed as it would be difficult to prove. It would be just as easy to say someone took the brakes off after it was emptied.

Johno100 wrote: »

We had wheelie bins introduced a couple of years ago. The council made it clear in their literature and on their website that that the bins remained their property. I tried and failed to get a straight answer from the council and local councillor as to whether the council or the householder were liable for 3rd party damage caused by their bins.

But as this is seemingly one of those large communal bins I think it is most likely only the council and their workers/contractors would have moved the bin and left it unsecure.

I work for a council and can tell you if it's your household wheelie bins then yes the bins are the council's property, but you would be liable for any damage the bin has supposedly done (e.g. if it falls over). It is the residents responsibility to keep their bin secure, safe and ready for collection. If the damage was done while it was being collected then that would be a different matter though.

almillar

If your work was servicing, that's just keeping your car up to standard. Would you offer the insurance company to pay you less, because it was due an oil change?!
Anyway, you do know that you should research the value of your car (find other similar ones for sale - advertised price is not always sold price), and be prepared to negotiate with them.
The aim of this exercise is to put you back as you were - hand you a cheque, you buy exactly the same car again - a serviced one! If they don't offer you enough to do that, go back to them with ammo.

AdrianC

FurryLippedSquid wrote: »

Shame about the money, why is it always me?

Look at it the other way - if you hadn't spent that money, would your car have been worth more than scrap value?

It's a £1500 car that's been written off because "proper" repair is more than the value. But that doesn't mean it's deader-than-dead. How bad's the damage? Can you retain the salvage and either live with the scrapes and dings or repair it with used panels?

BeenThroughItAll

kmb500 wrote: »

Unless the work was additional modifications then no it wouldn't be considered.


Also don't be surprised if you have to make the claim yourself. Given that it doesn't sound like it was the councils fault. Just because they own the bin doesn't mean they are responsible for its keeping and certainly they do not control the weather! Anything can be blown into your car in the wind.

Even if it were, it's unlikely it would make any difference at all to the 'market value' of the vehicle.

Altarf

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

Even if it were, it's unlikely it would make any difference at all to the 'market value' of the vehicle.

I disagree. Most modifications I see do make a significant difference to the 'market value'.

Unfortunately it is to reduce it.