Property damage - no responsibility?

Cobra80

Dear All,
Quick question, I rent a storage unit at a local business park. Recently my property was seriously damaged (due to reckless actions) by the business park management. They say that because there is a sign by the gate saying "property is left at the owner's risk and the estate office isn't liable for any damage however caused" they are not liable for the damage. Is this true? Is it legally acceptable for the estate office to put up a sign like this and think they can do whatever they please with no responsibility for their actions? 

oldbikebloke

ask a lawyer
disclaimer clauses can be a very contentious area of law 

lincroft1710

Was any action by you a contributory factor in your property being damaged?

macman

Their contract with you to store your belongings implies a duty of care: whether this has been breached would be for a court to decide and might depend on the circumstances under which damage occurred. For example, if your unit was struck by lightning and burnt down, then it might be reasonable to say that this could not be foreseen or guarded against. But if they allowed a fire to be lit next to it and it burnt down, then that could reasonably be considered to be negligent.
But, in summary, they cannot void your rights just by sticking up a sign renouncing any responsibility. 

tacpot12

You would have to be able to prove they were negligent; it can be difficult to get evidence of this. 

Cobra80

lincroft1710 said:

Was any action by you a contributory factor in your property being damaged?

They used a forklift to move our medium size van and damaged it in the process so it's now classed as a write off. We left it night before in the director's parking bay and he din't like it when he arrived in the morning, we were told. We left it there just to be able to manoeuvre vehicles in the busy yard area and forgot to re-park it before leaving the site as we were tired after working 15 hrs.

Cobra80

tacpot12 said:

You would have to be able to prove they were negligent; it can be difficult to get evidence of this. 

Can using a standard forklift to move a medium sized van be considered as negligence? The fact that a forklift can lift the weight doesn't mean it's a suitable (and safe) machinery for the task. Short forks will not allow for a good weight distribution of a large item, hence the complete damage of our van.

macman

So why don't you pass this to your motor insurer to deal with? That's what you pay your premium for.

Cobra80

macman said:

So why don't you pass this to your motor insurer to deal with? That's what you pay your premium for.

They said that without CCTV there isn't much they can do, besides as the damage is allegedly caused by a forklift the claim would be from my own policy, less £700 excess. The damage is so severe they would class it as a write off. The estimated value of the van is less than £3k, but it's worth much more to us as we looked after it and mechanically was perfect.

oldbikebloke

Cobra80 said:

macman said:

So why don't you pass this to your motor insurer to deal with? That's what you pay your premium for.

They said that without CCTV there isn't much they can do, besides as the damage is allegedly caused by a forklift the claim would be from my own policy, less £700 excess. The damage is so severe they would class it as a write off. The estimated value of the van is less than £3k, but it's worth much more to us as we looked after it and mechanically was perfect.

moving a vehicle using a forklift is, as you say, a stupid action that would only be done in a scrap yard on a lump of scrap metal. 

However, your insurer has said your word against the storage company and has washed its hands of it. So your remaining course of action is:
a) walk away
or
b) test the evidence of their actions in court by suing them. No CCTV to prove the issue, so  your technical (expert) witness will attest the damage could only have been caused by a forklift, and you attest the only forklift on site is theirs. Up to the court to then decide who was driving said forklift and is thus responsible.

I agree neither option is what you wanted to hear, but what else did you expect? 

lincroft1710

How long is your lease on the premises? Because if not very long, I would suggest issuing a Letter Before Action demanding the freeholder pays for the damage to your van on the grounds of his employee's negligence.