Damage to neighbours car from bins on our property

ctb0503

Hi all,

just hoping for a bit of advice as we’ve never had to deal with this situation before and am very unsure how to move forward.

Our bins were left out next to our garage (on our property) this morning, during the storm, and - though I didn’t see it happen - they appear to have blown over sideways, collided with next door’s car which was parked on their drive, and left a noticeable dent in the rear passenger door.

I’m not disputing that this was probably what happened but I’m just not sure how best
to go forward with rectifying it as my worry is that it’ll end up costing a significant amount were I to have to cover the full cost of sorting it, given it was our bins that blew over and caused the damage.

Are they best going through their own car insurance to fix it? Or am I best doing something from my side? 

Any advice would be
much appreciated!

daveyjp

The damage is a result of a severe weather event,  there is no negligence on your part so it is for your neighbour to sort out.

ctb0503

Thank you! I wasn’t sure whether us leaving our bins (in their usual place) but untethered would be classed as negligence on our part, given we were clearly aware of the storm, and - hence - us needing to take any proactive action. 

It was unfortunate but, short of bringing them inside, they could have been sat anywhere and blown about in this weather…

Kim_13

The neighbour shouldn’t have to face increased insurance premiums because a bin that didn’t belong to them blew onto their car. They parked on their driveway so weren’t leaving their car in an unwise position.

If the neighbour claims on their car insurance for this, they will be treated the same as if they had crashed their car and been at fault for that collision. It’s the worst incident you can have on your record and they would have to declare it and be punished for it for 5 years. As it wasn’t their bin, they didn’t have the choice to garage it or take steps before the storm (lie it down, add weight maybe) to ensure that it stayed where it was. Your house insurance probably wouldn’t pay so I’d forget that and offer them a contribution given that it was your bin (over a period of time if you can’t really afford it.) Only if the collection day was today and the bin men left the bin in the position that it was would I consider leaving it to the neighbour (suggesting that they approach the council and/or waste management company.)

Legally, you may not be responsible - I don’t know, but morally is another question.

RogerPensionGuy

Hopefully the damage will be cheap to fix and maybe both neighbours pay half. 

Or go through insurance, possibly OP house insurance and/or car insurance, it will be messy and very probably cost both parties heaps more than a smart fix to the car. 

Apart from all the short-term stuff, if it leads to a neighbour dispute, selling or the way insurance is going, it may need to be declared on selling or insurance forms.

Sounds like a lesson learned and guessing nobody hurt. 

user1977

or alternatively the neighbour should have taken the precaution of moving their car to somewhere well away from potential flying bins...

ctb0503

Thanks all for your responses so far - I will add that I’m not against paying a contributory sum towards the repair, so I take your point, Kim. I’m just wondering what the best way to resolve is as I’ve not had this happen before.

On the point of the bins being weighed down -  They obviously had refuse in them, so were weighed down but - given the storm has uprooted trees - it’s also managed to topple my waste bin. The bins were there when my neighbour parked up (as they always are) so I’m not sure what else I could reasonably have done short of dragging them out and standing them in the middle of a field. 

From reading all of the above I am thinking that my best course of action is to get some quotes to repair, look at splitting the cost and - if it’s excessive - asking them to go through their insurance and provide them with my home insurance details (with third party liability) if their insurers believe me to be at fault.

Does that sound like a reasonable way forward?

ThorOdinson

daveyjp said:

The damage is a result of a severe weather event,  there is no negligence on your part so it is for your neighbour to sort out.

Depends. There was a warning for the severe weather, it was hard to avoid hearing about it. It was entirely foreseeable that not securing the bins could have lead to this.

Kim_13

user1977 said:

or alternatively the neighbour should have taken the precaution of moving their car to somewhere well away from potential flying bins...

Far more reasonable to expect the bin to be left such that it couldn’t possibly hit a car though, if it was not collection day (in which case it is not reasonable to expect someone to miss their collection, and they need only move it as soon as they possibly can after the collection has been made.)  

OP admitted they knew about the storm, and the Met Office etc tell us to take precautions with items that could move in advance. Bins going flying is very likely in such weather. If OPs shed had gone flying instead, that would be unfortunate, as the average person wouldn’t expect that that could be the result - with less that could be done to stop it.

If the car owner had parked on the road outside the neighbour’s house, then there would be more of a case for them to take the hit. They parked on their own property and could not have done any more; the majority of properties in the country will have a car without a garage to fit them in for one reason or another. OP has mentioned tethering (or lack of) and bringing the bins inside, things that aren’t onerous and would have prevented the damage. 

EDIT: I’ve just read your most recent post OP, and agree that contributing to the repair is the best way forward. I would not involve your house insurance though, as I think they’d just decline to pay given the weather - they won’t care what’s morally right, and could load your premium too. I would not ask them to claim on their insurance either, given the ramifications of that - if the cost is too much, they should have the choice of accepting what you can afford and are prepared to offer towards a repair or going through their insurance if that is their choice. Your contribution would then help to offset their increased premiums.

Depending on the age and value of the car, they might choose to just live with it. 

chrisw

Your house insurance won't want to know. They will just say the neighbours should claim on their car insurance. This is the back stop position. Harsh as it sounds, anything you want to do or contribute above this is up to you..

ctb0503

Again, thank you all - this is all really helpful as it’s not something we’ve ever had to deal with before and I do want to remain on good terms with the neighbours, but ultimately it’s been a really unfortunate accident that’s just caused a headache for everyone.

I’ll do as suggested by Kim - I’ve asked the neighbours to source some quotes to fix the damage and we’ll go from there. If it’s excessive then I guess there’s no choice but to go through their insurance (doubt they’ll be willing to front the whole cost themselves, which is fair enough) and see what they make of it, and offer to pay my neighbour’s excess to cover those costs for them at least. I am trying to be reasonable!