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Non-motoring legal advice / Car park damaged my car and retrospectively amended T&Cs
« on: March 29, 2024, 05:29:24 am »
Hi
This occurred in England:
The employee of an airport car parking business damaged my and another customer's car, moving mine out of a very tight spot they had parked it in. They are not affiliated with the airport and appear not to be part of any regulatory schemes.
They admitted liability for causing the damages via email and there are witnesses that have observed the incident.
I explained to the manager that I will provide them with a quote from a garage that will carry out the required repairs to the manufacturer’s standard and specification. They agreed to this in a phone call that was recorded by one of the witnesses.
I have since provided them with a quote by a dealership estimating the cost to repair my car at approximately £5k, possibly more.
In an email, they declined the quote, offering for me to drop of the car at their location two hours away to have it fixed at a garage of their choice, referring to their Ts and Cs.
Based on two separate dated copies & screenshots of their terms and conditions, it is evident that between the incident and sending that email they have:
- rewritten and amended the terms and conditions published on their website after the incident occured;
- altered clauses with the intent to retrospectively reduce their liability for the damage caused;
- are deliberately trying to mislead me by falsely suggesting our contract is subject to those revised terms (which I was not presented with during the purchasing process via a third party website)
I have responded to the email highlighting this and set a deadline that expires soon to agree to fix the damage via my garage and let me know if they are a member of an alternative dispute resolution scheme.
What are my options / how would you proceed?
For those suggesting to go through my insurance: I have spoken separately to my car insurance to confirm this is not a claim that I should be pursuing with them as a) I was not operating the car nor b) do I want premiums to go up.
This occurred in England:
The employee of an airport car parking business damaged my and another customer's car, moving mine out of a very tight spot they had parked it in. They are not affiliated with the airport and appear not to be part of any regulatory schemes.
They admitted liability for causing the damages via email and there are witnesses that have observed the incident.
I explained to the manager that I will provide them with a quote from a garage that will carry out the required repairs to the manufacturer’s standard and specification. They agreed to this in a phone call that was recorded by one of the witnesses.
I have since provided them with a quote by a dealership estimating the cost to repair my car at approximately £5k, possibly more.
In an email, they declined the quote, offering for me to drop of the car at their location two hours away to have it fixed at a garage of their choice, referring to their Ts and Cs.
Based on two separate dated copies & screenshots of their terms and conditions, it is evident that between the incident and sending that email they have:
- rewritten and amended the terms and conditions published on their website after the incident occured;
- altered clauses with the intent to retrospectively reduce their liability for the damage caused;
- are deliberately trying to mislead me by falsely suggesting our contract is subject to those revised terms (which I was not presented with during the purchasing process via a third party website)
I have responded to the email highlighting this and set a deadline that expires soon to agree to fix the damage via my garage and let me know if they are a member of an alternative dispute resolution scheme.
What are my options / how would you proceed?
For those suggesting to go through my insurance: I have spoken separately to my car insurance to confirm this is not a claim that I should be pursuing with them as a) I was not operating the car nor b) do I want premiums to go up.