Car sprayed with paint by house decorator

Futuristic

My car was recently sprayed with paint by a decorator that was painting outside wall of a property where my car was parked. We confronted him and he was drinking cans of beer and worked for himself - he said to contact the owner. Very much doubt he has any liability insurance himself or could afford any repair. The property is rented, we located the owner of the property who says the painter should pay and is waiting for the painter to get back to him.

This is a new (expensive) <14 mo old car w metallic paint. What are my next steps?

A car wash did not clear the paint, we don't want to damage the car so haven't tried anything further. We are getting 2-3 quotes from car detailers/bodyshops and also will also see what the car dealership says as it might require approved repair to retain warranty in which case will be very expensive no doubt.


Thanks

EdGasketTheSecond

Sounds like one of those scenarios where nothing is going to happen until you take someone to court. Not sure if it is the painter or the householder though (via public liability insurance and painter acting on his behalf).


What sort of paint is it? Masonary, gloss?

onwards&upwards

Get the details of the painter from the neighbour who hired him and pass them on to your insurer.

AdrianC

The owner of the property is not liable.

If you can't get anywhere with the decorator, either directly or through his insurance, then you have a choice - pay yourself and attempt to claim it back via the courts, or hand it to your insurer, and let them go after him.

It should clean off fairly simply, though there's a risk of greater damage if the wrong solvent's used, especially on unpainted plastic parts.

sevenhills

Futuristic wrote: »

My car was recently sprayed with paint by a decorator that was painting outside wall of a property where my car was parked.

Could be a water based paint, might be easier to remove than you think. Jet wash maybe?

debtdebt

Painter was negligent. Go after him. If he was drinking beer on the job, I doubt he has the most professional outlook to life and may not have public liability insurance.

Alternatively, just claim off your own insurance and see if they will pursue him.

PasturesNew

I think (unsubstantiated/guess) that you need to "sue" the property owner for the costs as he hired the painter. He then sues his painter.

The property owner is the one who can't just bin his phone and leg it.... he has to deal with it....

neilmcl

sevenhills wrote: »

Could be a water based paint, might be easier to remove than you think. Jet wash maybe?

^This. The likelihood this is water based paint and is pretty straight forward to remove and will not cause any permanent damage to your paintwork.

debtdebt

PasturesNew wrote: »

I think (unsubstantiated/guess) that you need to "sue" the property owner for the costs as he hired the painter. He then sues his painter.

The property owner is the one who can't just bin his phone and leg it.... he has to deal with it....

The property owner wasn't negligent though? How would you show he was liable in your Claim Form?

Car_54

debtdebt wrote: »

The property owner wasn't negligent though? How would you show he was liable in your Claim Form?

Isn’t employing an incompetent drunk evidence of negligence?

debtdebt

Did the homeowner hold a reasonable belief that the painter was an incompetent drunk at the time of instructing him? Probably not.