Damaged by scaffold pole

Arrgghhh!!! :x Help please .... I took my car out on saturday and when filling up with petrol noticed 6" dents on both the passenger side rear pillar and the roof... coincidentally my next door neighbour just had scaffolding put up and it's now very clear to me that my car has been hit by a scaffold pole.... So I ... 1. Reported the damage to the police - who kindly provided me with a crime reference # ... 2. Talked with a neighbour who says that my car alarm went off the day the scaffold went up .... 3. Spoke with the builder who says he will speak to the scaffolding company .... so am not really expecting any joy there either Is there anything else I can do or am I stuck with being hit for a £300 excess and my insurance costs rocketing next year???

None of your neighbours have CCTV? or any in the street? Go around the houses to see if anyone saw anything? I'm not a lawyer but would guess that without proof or witness, and they don't admit to it (which they won't) then you have no case. I had a similar incident with my own window cleaner, a deep scratch appeared on my Cayenne years ago and my best guess was that the window cleaner must have clipped it with a ladder passing up my drive. I didn't take it up with him as he looked a bit rough, just politely cancelled his services. Scaffolders are typically a tough bunch of people, if you can't prove it and they say they didn't do it, I would leave it alone.

Well i'm a quantity surveyor and work in the building industry. This is actually quiet common that contractors damage cars whether it be paint or concrete spray etc. etc. Every building contractor i have ever worked for has settled! If it were me i'd put it all in writing to the builder stating facts, times alarm going off. If witnesses come up i'd call his bluff and see where it goes. i'd be amazed if they didn't settle! Good Luck, remember it's your pride and joy!!!

If your neighbour (who is the builders client afterall) heard the alarm go off, I would approach the builder along the lines of "you did it" rather than "did you do it?" and see where it gets you. He should have Liability insurance as well to cover just this type of instance.

I had the identical situation you are describing and I'm afraid the outcome of my scenario isn't going to cheer you up any.... Not on my Porsche thankfully but on a BMW 7 series I owned. No witnesses etc but there was even blue paint on the car matching the blue tip of the scaffolding pole. unsurprisingly everyone denied knowledge and responsibility for it and I saw no alternative but to leave it alone and swallow the cost myself. Very annoying, but a side effect of parking on the street in London. My neighbour who had the scaffolding gave me some cash which was good of him, but no joy chasing the scaffolders. This must happen all the time and I doubt they give a sh!t. Sorry.

Thanks.... am still absolutely gutted as not only is the car damaged (and we all know it will never be quite the same again!) but it's also the £500 XS + higher insurance costs next year.... I approached the builder who says he will talk to scaffold company but will definitely put it all in writing as well.... Cheers Tim

As long as the shell and paint isn't damaged, you might be able to get it repaired through something like dent masters. They are very good and use things like dry ice to work the dent back out of the paint work.

A smalls claims court cost around £80 and unlikely that you will have to bear their costs should you not win (as long as the case brought against does not appear to be vexatious) - See the points below £80 would mean likely that they will need to either engage their insurers or legal assistance which would cost them immediately plus representation costs. You will need the following: - neighbour witness statement, - car condition report - copy of receipt for scaffolding going up for your neighbour - basic images of the scratches and its correlation to scaffolding equipment. - Repair quote - Car hire replacement quote (£280-400~ per day) They will need to provide evidence of company process and procedures in addition to statements ect ect to defend this in court. I suggest you provide them an opportunity to settle this "without admitting liability" for x% of the total costs within 28 days after which you will revoke the offer. Advise them that should you proceed with court proceeding you will seek to recover the full amount. By no means is the above conclusive and I am not a legal expert by any means, but if your willing to do a bit a legwork, it will assist you greatly. PM if you require more details..