Flood Damage

Stretch · 1 Jul 2009 at 13:29

We used one of the airport parking facilities located around Luton airport over the weekend. When we came to pick up our car we notice the foot wells in both the front and rear of the car were both water logged. After speaking with the manager they admitted a part of the car park had been flooded (up to knee high) and they were liable, though we got nothing in writing.

I spoken to the customer services department yesterday and they’ve said there’s nothing they can do for 10-15 days whilst they investigate.

I rang them again today to ask why it would take so long and they said there’s a possibility they may not accept liability because it was due to an “act of god”.

Anyone know where I stand on this?

Matt82 · 1 Jul 2009 at 13:33

if its a big problem, claim on your own insurance and get them to claim it back from the parking company

Clarkey · 1 Jul 2009 at 13:35

Maybe not the most constructive answer here, but I'd sell the car. Chances are over time the water damage will cause the car to become an electrical nightmare, many cars have the ECU's in the footwells.

merlin · 1 Jul 2009 at 13:36

I agree, it's highly unlikely it is their problem unless you can prove they were negligent in some way....

Oh Ed not again. · 1 Jul 2009 at 13:40

Please tell me the car parking company aren't creationists? Act of God?

I'm sure it's not the first time their car park has flooded, hence they would have prior knowledge of a potential situation making them liable. It's neglect imo, have you CAB'd it?

Matt82 · 1 Jul 2009 at 13:41

merlin said:
I agree, it's highly unlikely it is their problem unless you can prove they were negligent in some way....

there must be some duty of care set in the contract

Stretch · 1 Jul 2009 at 13:41

merlin said:
I agree, it's highly unlikely it is their problem unless you can prove they were negligent in some way....

Are they not responsible for providing a safe parking area for the vehicle, including making sure the area is adequately drained?

Matt82 said:
if its a big problem, claim on your own insurance and get them to claim it back from the parking company

£250 excess I can't afford.

randal24 said:
Please tell me the car parking company aren't creationists? Act of God?

I'm sure it's not the first time their car park has flooded, hence they would have prior knowledge of a potential situation making them liable. It's neglect imo, have you CAB'd it?

Nope, not yet. Tbh I'm still quite shocked that they're even entertaining the idea they're not liable. They parked the car in the spot that was flooded, and as you have suggested I very much doubt this is the first time it's happened. I'll try the CAB later.

merlin · 1 Jul 2009 at 13:49

As the claimant you have to prove (that is you must provide evidence to them) they were negligent.

Best of luck with that one!

Stretch · 1 Jul 2009 at 14:21

merlin said:
As the claimant you have to prove (that is you must provide evidence to them) they were negligent.

Best of luck with that one!

The evidence is that my car was flooded whilst in their care, in a spot they chose to park it. It wouldn't have happened without their involvement.

Fr0dders · 1 Jul 2009 at 15:53

Stretch said:
The evidence is that my car was flooded whilst in their care, in a spot they chose to park it. It wouldn't have happened without their involvement.

no you've missed the point

For them to liable in insurance contracts, you have to proove they were in some way negligent, i.e. it has flooded before, they were warned about the car park being unsuitable and told to rectify it

If they then choose to ignore that advice, having being given it prior, that would be negligent

They are not automatically liable for the damage merely because the car was in their care. They can not be held responsible for circumstances outside of their control. such as "acts of god".

Ie if your car was stuck by lighenning are they responsible ? no of course not. The flooding is the same thing, unless you can proove they knew about it, and could have avoided it but didnt.

merlin · 1 Jul 2009 at 15:56

Exactly what I couldn't be arsed to type out. Damn, are you available for hire?

Fr0dders · 1 Jul 2009 at 16:04

comming soon to ocuk : "rent-a-insurance-expert". My rates are very reasonable

On a more serious note, currently very bored at work. Im sick and tired of telling customers that jamming 3 servers in a cupboard and closing the door on a night with no air con or ventilation is not adequate, and neither is the excuse "but its never been a problem before".

Me :"yes love, but how days was it nearly 100 degrees last summer ? ..."

Dogbreath · 1 Jul 2009 at 17:45

MrLOL said:
Im sick and tired of telling customers that jamming 3 servers in a cupboard and closing the door on a night with no air con or ventilation is not adequate. neither does the excuse "but its never been a problem before". Me :"yes love,but how days was it nearly 100 degrees last summer ? ..."

It's quite amazing how uncommon 'common sense' actually is...

pinkaardvark · 1 Jul 2009 at 19:52

I'd guess this car park is manned 24/7 and if they had the keys to the vehicle(you said they parked it) they were negligent for not moving it when the water started to rise.

Fr0dders · 1 Jul 2009 at 20:48

pinkaardvark said:
I'd guess this car park is manned 24/7 and if they had the keys to the vehicle(you said they parked it) they were negligent for not moving it when the water started to rise.

to where exactly ?

thats not liable.

thepharcyde · 1 Jul 2009 at 21:10

MrLOL said:
to where exactly ?

thats not liable.

There are thousands of parking spots at Luton airport.

What car park was it mate?

alexakasloth · 1 Jul 2009 at 21:34

Tell them that there is no 'god' and to pay damages when they said they will take responsibility.

Fr0dders · 1 Jul 2009 at 21:42

$loth said:
Tell them that there is no 'god' and to pay damages when they said they will take responsibility.

"act of god" is an arbitary term

it requires no belief in god, and is merely a phrase used to describe freak weather events outside of a persons control.

thepharcyde said:
There are thousands of parking spots at Luton airport.

What car park was it mate?

he used a private valet car parking company outside of luton airport itself. Presumbly this company has one big flat parking lot. Once flodded, where are they supposed to move them all. onto the road ?

as said, just because you handed over the keys to them, does not make them liable for the weather.

Stretch · 1 Jul 2009 at 23:54

The car park is manned 24/7, and apparently they have CCTV. The parking lot is not flat by any stretch of the imagination, so I assume my car was parked in a low laying area. I’ve spoken with the site manger and I get the impression this has happened in the past and he’s just trying to cover his own backside.

I'm going to request CCTV footage of the area affected. I'm also going to seek legal advice after speaking to a friend of mine who owns a storage company. He thinks they're on thin ground because the flooding (large puddle) was too localized to be considered an "act of god" i.e. out of their control. They also have a duty of care to provide adequate protection for my property whilst in their possession. I also find extremely hard to believe they've not experienced rain before, so I'm going to speak with my insurance company and ask them to investigate if they've has claims for water damage on the premises in the past.

Tbh I'm most annoyed about the fact they didn't tell us about the problem, and when we did confront them they accepted liability on the spot and are now backtracking.

If anyone's interested the company is called Airparks and has sites in other parts of the country.

Dogbreath · 2 Jul 2009 at 08:26

They have a lot of weasel words in their T&C's to wriggle out of this type of problem, but I suspect they wouldn't stand up to a challenge. e.g. they can not absolve responsibility for negligence simply because the resulting damage could be claimed for on your insurance as they suggest.