Are B&Q liable for damage to my car?

shaun_from_Africa

CardinalWolsey wrote: »

It's potentially a lot different to a shop. We don't know from the OP, but if this is a B&Q on a retail park, the car park will be shared, owned and managed by the retail park and not B&Q.

According to the OP, B&Q lease the land the carpark is on and if this is the case, it doesn't matter who actually owns it.

Ganga

I would certainly not have replaced the tyre,drive round for a few days and the paint would have worn off.

Aylesbury_Duck

KatrinaWaves wrote: »

Did you not see the paint before you drove over it?

Possibly not. Maybe it was tarmac-coloured paint or just dark paint at night?

I think OP needs to do two things:

1. Find out whether the paint would actually damage the tyre. "It might", according to two people and on that basis the old tyre was replaced, but that's not conclusive. You will need to know what the paint was and how it would react with tyre rubber.

2. Find out if B&Q were aware of the spillage and had sufficient and reasonable time to do something about it but didn't.

If B&Q weren't aware, or were aware but hadn't had time to address it before OP drove through it, they might be persuaded to pay something, but only on the basis that the tyre was damaged, which relies on (1). Getting a brand new tyre would be betterment if there was nothing wrong with the used tyre behind cosmetic paint staining. How old was the tyre? How worn was it?

I suspect the paint wouldn't have caused any problem at all. Think of all the fuel, oil, solvent, salt and all manner of other substances that you drive through every day without thinking about it. A bit of typical household paint is unlikely to dissolve a tyre or chemically break it down. A few miles later much of the visible paint on the tread will have worn off or darkened. To get a brand new tyre paid for in replacement for a (probably) used one on the basis of a probably unlikely destructive chemical reaction would seem hopeful. You may get a voucher for your trouble.

boliston

Ganga wrote: »

I would certainly not have replaced the tyre,drive round for a few days and the paint would have worn off.

I was thinking the same - a dealer will see ££ signs if a customer asks if it's a good idea to replace the tyre that has paint on it

ThumbRemote

You only have a case if there was negligence on B&Qs part.

If they (1) knew there was paint, and (2) they knew it would (or was likely to) damage tyres, and (3) it was in a car park they had some responsibility for, and (4) they did nothing to deal with the issue - then they may have been negligent.

There's no evidence that any of that is the case, therefore you have no case against them.

George_Michael

IMO, what you do should depend on the tyre itself.

If it was an almost new low profile or reasonably high quality one costing £150+ then keep on at B&Q and they might eventually offer you something.
If on the other hand it was a newish budget brand or even a high one one but fairly old with not too much tread life left on it, chalk it up to experience and then forget about it.

The problem with just driving and letting the paint wear off is that some of it may be pressed deep into the tread and could stay in contact with the tyre for quite a while.
Emulsion paint might be fine but if it was a solvent based paint then it may be a different matter and I for one wouldn't fancy taking a chance that the solvent wouldn't cause any cracking or softening of the rubber.

General_Applause

Meerkat54 wrote: »

A few weeks ago I drove into my local B&Q and without realising it drove through a lot of paint that had been spilt by another customer. B&Q had not made any effort to remove the spillage and are now saying they are not liable for the cost of replacing the tyre as they 'lease the land' that the car park is located on. The tyre had to be replaced as there was no way of knowing what type of paint had been spilt and both the RAC and local dealership stated that not replacing the tyre might, over time, cause the tyre to disintegrate. I believe B&Q are liable as there is no signage anywhere in the car park to state they accept no responsibility for damage to vehicles. What case (if any) do I have against B&Q?

Sounds like The RAC and the local dealership have solved the tyre recycling problem.

PDC

Meerkat54 wrote: »

The tyre had to be replaced as there was no way of knowing what type of paint had been spilt and both the RAC and local dealership stated that not replacing the tyre might, over time, cause the tyre to disintegrate.

Worried it was that acid paint some people use presumably? :cool:

Can't imagine this actually happend - if you drove the car for another 50 miles there would be no paint left of the surface of the tyre to do any harm.

societys_child

Tyre dissolving paint, whatever next . .

dj1471

ThumbRemote wrote: »

If they (1) knew there was paint, and (2) they knew it would (or was likely to) damage tyres, and (3) it was in a car park they had some responsibility for, and (4) they did nothing to deal with the issue - then they may have been negligent.

This part is key and something the OP hasn't really addressed. Many B&Q stores are in retail parks where they simply rent a unit and the car park is shared between a number of stores. I can't see B&Q being liable in that scenario.