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Car park damage to roof , can I claim ?


neilc

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Ok , Land rovers are tall , however if i drive my  series into a car park that has a sign with hazard markings  on stating a maximum height and I don't hit the sign and drive up 4 levels and don't hit the ceiling but then when I come down I scrape the carp out of the roof and get it jammed can I claim! . Let's just says it was bloody embarrassing , I was wedged , there were 10 cars behind me and they weren't too happy . I had to let the tyres down to get it out ! .Ok but seriously (all of that did happen ) surely the height of the barrier that swings on a chain should equal the lowest point of the car park ? , I now have serious damage to my roof which will need filling , sanding and respraying . 

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Just had a call from council insurance , obviously wanting to tick this one off the list, they are stating that the headroom sign at the entrance to the car park states the lowest point and isn't an actual indication of "if you can pass this youre ok". also they are stating that I cant just measure the height of my vehicle for the report and send in a photo , apparently I need to provide the exact details from the handbook , They didn't know what a series was , they said "ill assume its a defender"?

Ill have to have a look and measure the height , to be honest im not holding my breath

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1 hour ago, Bowie69 said:

So just what is the point of the sign then? 

I'd love to see them defend this to your insurance company's lawyer...

^ This may be your best hope - politely tell them that you don't really want to get lawyers/insurance involved and you might just go away for a small amount to cover your time & materials for banging the dents out & dusting some paint over the top.

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1 hour ago, neilc said:

apparently I need to provide the exact details from the handbook , They didn't know what a series was , they said "ill assume its a defender"?

I am very confused by this, are they saying if your car is modified they aren't liable for getting the sign at the right height?

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I was trying to avoid contacting my insurance , I have a  protected no claims but they will increase premium (seems pointless protecting no claims if they are taking the money by increasing premium anyway) Bowie69 , what they are trying to say is "we have painted a height on the entrance , the entrance isn't actually that height at this point , however there is possibly a lower point  later on in the maze"  the fact that there was an attendant at the entrance who waved me in doesn't seem to be relevant to them.

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Surely modded or not is nothing to do with anything... the argument is whether the height barrier is up to scratch, and from the sound of it a lawyer could probably argue quite reasonably that if there's an unexpectedly low obstruction at the exit, being able to breeze gaily under the entrance height barrier is somewhat less than the minimum number of f**cks given. At best it's a very poor design - it shouldn't be possible to drive into somewhere you can't get out of.

An attendant waving you in might also be considered as a mark against the council, if they know there's a point that's lower than the barrier you might expect him to flag you down or run over with a tape measure.

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I can see a problem here...…...…..

You CAN have a height indication which may well be the maximum vertical height BUT if you have a high vehicle and then go up a ramp, the vehicle will become higher in the middle, like a breakover angle but in reverse if you see what I mean, which may then involve it hitting the ceiling.

This is often a problem for vans under low bridges an multi storeys. 

At risk of abuse, but stating the obvious, as the driver of a higher vehicle, your attention was drawn to the fact that there was little headroom to spare, and you should have exercised some caution. Sorry, but that's how I see it. Would you do the same at width barriers and then try to blame someone else if you scraped the side ? If you trip on the pavement, is it someone elses liability, or should you have been looking where you are going ? etc etc

Also, if you claim, you might find your vehicle written off, unless it has a high agreed value.

Would possibly be better to buy a good roof and swap it and put it down to experience.

 

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So what is the point of the height barrier ? Some phrases come to mind such as margin of safety , duty of care ( a function of having signs with actual heights on ..) , operator responsibility for a provided service - they are in control of it and charge for use ...

 I would hand it to your insurance company to deal with . If it gets written off buy it back and fix .

Steve b

 

Edited by steve b
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