Accident in Supermarket Car Park, whose fault?

cybervic

Hi,
I am wondering if I could pick some brain here about what to do next please.

I was in the Morrisons' supermarket car park and trying to park in a designated parking space. There was kerb at front end of parking space, and on the edge of the kerb there are rubber covers installed along the edge of the kerb. The rubber cover in the parking space I was going in was loose and tiled above the group, it then went under my car as I drove forward, and caught my front bumper from underneath, then the whole front bumper was ripped off when I was reversing backward.


The first time I contacted Morrisons' insurance team, they rejected my claim and said it was my fault that I drove too far into the parking space. I wrote back, asking them that 1. how far is "too far", 2. Most car parked the same way I did (with photograph proofs), why is there no warning sign if I park too far, and 3. point out that the rubber protection cover is supposed to be fixed by nails and stay right on the ground.

They reply me without any reference to any of my questions and just said the liability is in dispute but they will contribute 50% towards the damage as a good will gesture.

I feel whole heartily it is their negligence because it is almost impossible for any driver to spot that loose rubber cover whilst parking and there was no warning sign or any sorts too. However, I would like to get some objective views please before keep pressing them to cover 100% damage.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Here are some photographs to help understand my description of the event.
https://ibb.co/bQyt8v
https://ibb.co/mfpY8v
https://ibb.co/f1dh1F

cybervic

Here are the photo:

Aylesbury_Duck

I think their offer is fair.

Do you know the cover was loose and raised before you parked, or did it become loose and raised as a result of you driving over it with too little clearance?

If you spotted it was raised as you pulled forwards into the space, it could be argued that you should not have driven the front of your car over it. If you didn't notice it was raised as you pulled in, it may have been your own car which prised it loose on the way in, allowing it to get caught under your bumper on the way out. Was there not a horrible noise as you drove over it on the way in?

debtdebt

Take the 50% offer. I'd say you drove too far into the parking bay thereby catching your bumper on the kerb and ripping off not only your bumper but the rubber kerb protector too. This is what Morrisons will say if you took them to Court. It will probably be accepted too.

MataNui

I wouldnt push this.
Firstly: Not all kerbs are covered so would you be claiming if you scraped or pulled off your bumper on a concrete one? Nope, because you wouldnt have a leg to stand on.
Secondly: If you hadnt bottomed out your car on the kerb in the first place it wouldnt make any difference if it was loose or not.
Thirdly: All cars have different ground clearance. I wouldnt be able to park mine over that kerb and i know i probably wont be able to in any car parks so i make sure i leave enough space. Its your responsibility to know your own car.
Finally: What proof do you have that the kerb was damaged before you drove onto it? From here it looks like actually it could be you grounding out on it then reversing back that broke the kerb cover and your own car in the process.

50% is a good offer. They could be claiming from you.

debtdebt

It would have been quite an amusing Fawlty Towers-esque moment to have witnessed the moment the bumper came off.

Sorry to be cruel.

angrycrow

I am very surprised they have offered 50% take the money and drop it. Trying to pursue the matter further could see a counter claim for damage to the car park kerb edging.

If the edge was loose prior to entering the space it should have been visible to a driver exercising due care.

I would also expect it to take a lot of force to pull a front bumper off unless there was pre existing damage to the mountings, has the car had a previous impact to the front.

cybervic

Thanks everyone for the fast reply.

I wonder if the some clarifications would make any difference on the general views here.

1. I use this car park regularly and never had this problem when parking near the kerb so I would say that I know my car ground clearance well enough to say that it should not cause any problem.

2. I did not spot the raised rubber cover before I parked but I always move very slow when parking to avoid any damage. I am sure their CCTV can verify that I drove in very slowly.

3. I stopped the car going forward the moment I heard a tiny strange noise (not loud because I moved in very slow.)

4. The loose rubber cover was cover with dirt/muck on both side, and the way it discoloured around the nail hole and would suggest that I didn't just pull it out. I have some photographs.

5. If the cover wasn't raised, there would have been 1"-2" ground clearance, I also have the photographs to verify this.

6. The car did not have any prior impact, it had a new radiator 3 month prior this and the bumper was completely fine.


And Yes, it felt like I was in one of those bizarre comedy.

Car_54

Highway Code 244 - you should not park on a pavement. "Parking on the pavement can obstruct and seriously inconvenience pedestrians, people in wheelchairs or with visual impairments and people with prams or pushchairs."

AndyMc.....

Car_54 wrote: »

Highway Code 244 - you should not park on a pavement. "Parking on the pavement can obstruct and seriously inconvenience pedestrians, people in wheelchairs or with visual impairments and people with prams or pushchairs."

And your point is?

glentoran99

would take a fair amount of force to rip off your bumper like that, If the rubber wasn't attached properly it would come away easily,