Car damaged in collision whilst at Waves Car Wash

eventhestarsdie

Thanks to everyone who's posted a useful reply so far.

I tried to phone my insurance on the day of the accident (as much for advice as to report it), but couldn't get through to anyone and was disconnected after 15 minutes on hold. I then reported the basics of the accident to them, but haven't had a response yet. Chasing today apparently it is still processing, whatever that means.

I've tried to contact a load of different bodyshops, near and far, for a repair estimate. So far only a couple have responded, one of whom thinks it will require a complete replacement bumper and the other estimated it would be a two day repair.

To add further pain, I had a letter of intended prosecution today from the police asking me to name the driver for driving without due care and attention and failing to give name and address.
I've sent this on to the franchise manager to supply me with details of whoever was in the car at the time of the accident.

Waves head office have made their position clear to me - they accept no liability as they run their business through a franchise system.

I have requested CCTV from Waves and Tesco, but as they have 30 days to provide this amount not expecting to receive it any time soon - and apparently anyone other than me and my vehicle will be pixelated due to privacy legislation.

I do have dashcam footage through the front windscreen which was recording at the time of the accident - but unfortunately it doesn't show the drivers face, and the damage was at the back of the car as the driver reversed out of a parking bay, presumably into someone else's car. Still, it's better than nothing I suppose.

It's been an absolute nightmare so far, I'm extremely stressed and upset by it all.

I would advise anyone reading this to think carefully about using a Waves Car wash - or any other scenario where they hand their car over to anyone else, in case anything similar happens to them. 

MeteredOut

In your first post you said "Apparently another driver scraped the bumper whilst the operator was manoeuvring my car,"

Is it now the case that it was the car wash driver who reversed into another car? How have the police become involved?

eventhestarsdie

It does appear that the car wash driver reversed my car into another car - perhaps the story I was spun when I returned wasn't the whole truth...
I assume that the other driver wasn't able to get the car wash driver to give them their details at the scene, and the other driver has presumably reported the accident - so as the keeper of the car I have to provide the details of the driver at the time of the collision.

MeteredOut

eventhestarsdie said:

It does appear that the car wash driver reversed my car into another car - perhaps the story I was spun when I returned wasn't the whole truth...
I assume that the other driver wasn't able to get the car wash driver to give them their details at the scene, and the other driver has presumably reported the accident - so as the keeper of the car I have to provide the details of the driver at the time of the collision.

I hope you've let the car wash people know the police are involved, and that you'll let the police know if they refuse to disclose the drivers details.

I wonder if their CCTV footage will get overwritten...

m0bov

Need to call or visit the site and tell them the police are now involved. You really need to speak to your car insurance or at least their legal cover. Can you not fill out the form with the details of the car wash? 

paul_c123

eventhestarsdie said:

It does appear that the car wash driver reversed my car into another car - perhaps the story I was spun when I returned wasn't the whole truth...
I assume that the other driver wasn't able to get the car wash driver to give them their details at the scene, and the other driver has presumably reported the accident - so as the keeper of the car I have to provide the details of the driver at the time of the collision.

Actually, you don't strictly need to provide the driver's details, as in you don't need to conduct your own investigation and be obligated to successfully conclude this. You DO need to give as much information as you can, to allow a further NIP to be issued to the company/business responsible. For example, if you dropped your car at a garage for repair or MoT and received one, you could give the garage business address and an explanatory note. In this particular case, does the Waves Car Wash have an office which would accept post, at the site where your car was left? If not, then it would be reasonable to name the head office branch of Waves (together with an explanatory note), and let them sort out who to name as the driver, or be unable to (and possibly face a penalty).

eventhestarsdie

So I've made initial contact with the police to let them know that it wasn't me driving at the time, and give them the contact details for the car wash manager. I've told them I will continue to try to get the driver's details to share with them.

I also sent the car wash manager an email asking for the drivers details and letting him know that I've been trying to find some repair options.

His response was perhaps not surprising...
He ignored my request for the driver's details (which makes me suspicious that they are maybe not insured, don't have a driving license or some other shady reason) and suggested that I drop my car with him to arrange the repair.

Needless to say, I won't be handing my car over to him or his staff again, for them to take it for a repair of unknown quality and drive it with unknown insurance status, for an unknown period of time!!


I responded laying that out, shared the repair pricing I'd had and asked him to make the payment so that I can arrange the repair myself (assuming he's not willing to share his insurance details and do it that way). I've also reiterated that I need the driver's details and that it he can't give them to me that I can only share his details with the police and ask that they liaise directly with him. He has quite a distinctive name and I think I've found his details by looking on Companies House - it matches a business registered in a nearby village, though perhaps that isn't the company that holds the Waves franchise.

I've also started to research the small claims court process because I don't foresee him agreeing to resolve it any other way - but haven't mentioned that yet so as to give him a fair opportunity to resolve it in a reasonable way.

It's such a frustrating situation that these seemingly big names can use obscure structures to avoid any kind of 'reasonable responsibility'.

MyRealNameToo

So if their driver is at fault you and the third party is going to be pursuing the matter you have the larger problem that your insurer will be the RTA insurer of the vehicle and you will be considered liable for allowing someone not covered by your insurance to drive your vehicle. 

Dont get too hasty with the court process, you may well need to add more to your losses later which you can't do if you have already litigated. 

user1977

MyRealNameToo said:

you will be considered liable for allowing someone not covered by your insurance to drive your vehicle. 

Is that an issue here? If I e.g. drop my car off at a garage for a service/MoT I wouldn't expect to first check the credentials of whoever is getting behind the wheel?

MyRealNameToo

user1977 said:

MyRealNameToo said:

you will be considered liable for allowing someone not covered by your insurance to drive your vehicle. 

Is that an issue here? If I e.g. drop my car off at a garage for a service/MoT I wouldn't expect to first check the credentials of whoever is getting behind the wheel?

It potentially is and could be a reason why selecting main dealers who are highly likely to have appropriate motor trade policies in place can be a better option than a backstreet cowboys who may be cutting corners. 

RTA 151(2)(b) requires insurers that have issued a certificate for a vehicle to settle any judgement against a driver who is not named on the policy would the driver have been covered were it an Any Driver policy. 151(8)(b) allows the insurer to then recover that amount from the driver and/or the policyholder if the policyholder permitted the use. Often this is also backed up by terms in the policy too. 

Never had an issue with an uninsured garage,  did have more than one case where the policyholder claimed their uninsured kid took the vehicle without consent. In each case we needed evidence the policyholder had reported their teenager to the police for theft before we would consider this to be true else we would assume there was consent and as such wouldnt cover the damage to their own vehicle and would be looking to them to reimburse us for the damage their kid had caused to others... in one case it was very nearly a 6 figure sum.