Thurrock Council broke my windscreen strimming and refuse to pay!!

[Mobile-sawman.]

Policy cover provided to our ccustomer is for loss or damage caused as a result of negligence on the part of our customer.

Information provided indicates all reasonable precautions have been taken in this instance, we therefore do not consider our customer has been negligent.

Whist we sympathise with you in relation to this matter, our liability decision remains unaltered. We have no offer of compensation to make to your self'

 

 

 

That is the standard reply sent out by the councils insurance company.. you need to point out to the council that you will be taking THEM to court, not their insurance company.

 

If you already have it in writing that they admit to breaking the window, any judge in the land will grant your claim! They do not need to admit to negligence, its the fact that the actions they took resulted in your broken window. (a bit like manslaughter, I.E I didnt mean for him/her to die but my actions caused it)

Just make sure you keep ALL communication in writing , and make copies of all the letters as you will need to include them as evidence in a claim.

[Mobile-sawman.]

A few posters have not read the original post........... its not £65, thats the cost of small claims court. The damage was over £500!!!

[WorcsWuss]

Simply write to your local MP and tell them the whole story from start to finish including copies of all evidence, what you want to achieve and, with a bit of luck and if he's anything like Bill Wiggin, he'll contact whichever pillock you have the misfortune of leading your council and tell him to sort his incompetent workforce out pronto.

 

Herefordshire Council had the bailiffs round to our house because THEY lost the parking ticket in their office which we sent in with the cheque for a parking fine. No matter who we spoke to they simply would not admit it was them who had the power to stop the bailiffs nor discuss the matter. As ever they just stuck their fingers in their ears and denied all responsibility. Afterall, not their problem personally is it?

I don't know what Bill Wiggin said to them but 3 days after writing to him I had a VERY grovelling letter of apology from the chief exec of the council and the ticket overturned.

 

Got to be worth a shot and won't cost you a penny.

[Simonsnr]

Thanks to you all for your replays/ideas, really got me thinking now.

 

K, yeah, I thought about my local MP, never quite got around to it. Part of me really couldn't care less about the damage, but the other part feels that if I don't do something about this then they'll continue to get away with it. I don't want the hassle really, I was lucky enough to have the windscreen insurance, but how many people out there DON'T?

It's that part of me that sits on my shoulders and whispers in my ear that on principle, and for others sake, I should fight this...DAMN those principles! (he normally appears when I've had a shitty day at work for some reason he he, like today funnily enough)

After what some of you mentioned, and kindly quoted from, I looked for an online manual, and sure enough, you guys are right (sorry, that sounds like I thought you just plucked those quotes out of thin air....didn't mean it like that).......... So I will print those off and send them to the council and the insurance company with a nice polite letter ....(well I'll TRY to be polite, but depends what my day at work is like) I'll post my results.

 

Thanks again all.

[john k]

As far as I can see it makes no difference what control measures the council had in place. In this instance they were demonstrably insufficient to avoid damage to your property.

 

As for spouting nonsense about their insurance, that's a complete red herring. Whether or not the insurance company will pay out is between the council and their insurers. It is of no relevance to you.

 

The council workers damaged your property, and the council has accepted that. In your position I would write a firm but non-ranty letter to the Chief Executive requesting that they reimburse you for the damage.

 

If you don't get a good response from that, follow it up with a short letter giving them 14 days to pay after which time you will commence proceedings against them in the County Court.

 

It's all on line at moneyclaim.gov.uk and it's simple to do. You do not need a solicitor.

[Pedroski]

A few posters have not read the original post........... its not £65, thats the cost of small claims court. The damage was over £500!!!

 

The £65 is the policy excess that Simonsnr had to stump up when his £500 windscreen was replaced. The vehicle insurance co have covered the windscreen cost, less the excess, leaving Simonsnr with a bill of £65. It is this £65 that Simonsnr should not have to pay.

[Dean Lofthouse]

On the other side of the coin....imagine how pee'd off the guys doing the grass work get having to strim round cars parked on the grass or with their back ends way over the curbs on the grass. Have dog muck splattered all over them constantly whilst strimming.

 

If only Joe public was as considerate to them as they are expected to be to joe public

[WorcsWuss]

On the other side of the coin....imagine how pee'd off the guys doing the grass work get having to strim round cars parked on the grass or with their back ends way over the curbs on the grass. Have dog muck splattered all over them constantly whilst strimming.

 

If only Joe public was as considerate to them as they are expected to be to joe public

 

Pretty sure he said his car was parked on his own land.....

[Mobile-sawman.]

The £65 is the policy excess that Simonsnr had to stump up when his £500 windscreen was replaced. The vehicle insurance co have covered the windscreen cost, less the excess, leaving Simonsnr with a bill of £65. It is this £65 that Simonsnr should not have to pay.

 

Re-read the posts..... the £65 is the costs for the small claims (county) court.

A costing for the excess has not been mentioned, nor has he indicated if he has actually claimed on his windscreen policy!

 

My advice would be DO NOT claim on a windscreen policy, as it pushes your insurance up the year after! I know its not supposed to affect your insurance, but believe me it does! You are seen as a "higher risk" to the insurance company and they spank you for it. I proved this just two wks ago when I came to insure my new truck- when I mentioned that I had a windscreen claim, my policy jumped up by over £100!

 

All that besides..... Its the principle involved... weather its £500, £65 or 65p, they should be held to account!

[Dean Lofthouse]

Pretty sure he said his car was parked on his own land.....

 

Sorry I meant in general