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I go out of my way when parking my car to ensure no one can leave me with a parking ding.

Park on main road this morning, Wife goes to shops, so I get out to have a cigee (kids are in car).

A car pulls up next to mine and two passengers jump out of the nearside doors (one front, one rear) and I hear a bump. The passengers go to a nearby cafe and I make a note of the reg no, I also clock a licence plate. Yep. It's a mini cab.

I check my door. A fair bit of red paint on it... (my car is blue)! Doesn't look too bad. I get the wax out and polish off the red paint. I go into the cafe and ask the two people who came out of the cab to be a little more careful in future. They say sorry but it was an accident.

I go back and have another look. No paint damage but there is a ding. Wife is now back and the road is busy with other people looking for spaces so I move the car.... as far as the local cab office! Outside is the car that hit me. He has a fare and drives off but certainly clocks me and I suspect he knows why I have come to the cab office.

I ask cab office for his details but they refuse as legally they can't supply them (which is fair enough), they advise me to wait as he won't be long.

I nip back to the cafe and ask the person who did the damage for her name and address, which she gives me.

Back to the cab office and a while later the cab driver returns. As soon as he clocks me I notice he has a look of guilt on his face. I explain to him what happened and I'ld like his name, address and insurance details. He tells me he'll have to check where he stands as it wasn't a member of his family that caused the damage but a fare paying customer (isn't that what mini cab insurance is for??). He gives me his mobile number and asks me to call him on Monday. I make a note of his minicab licence number... he asks to see the damage and then dismisses it as nothing. Also mentions that he saw he looking at it an hour ago (it was actually 25 mins).

Now at this point he doesn't know that I have the name and address of the person who did the damage.

So. Who is liable? I say the minicab driver is. Why? It was his cab and whilst he is carrying fare paying customers he is responsible.

Am I right in this assumption?

Damage not bad but its the principle of the matter. No paintwork damage but dentsaway (or whatever they're called) will sort the problem. (Anyone know what they charge?)

Comment pls

HHxx

Slight grey area there.

My vote goes to the cab driver. If he crashed into your car, you wouldn't expect the passengers to cough up would you??

But thats my opinion.

H
- not a legal type BTW

Great~taste~Bloke

sounds like the minicab driver/company will give you the run around and fob off. Might be easier to give dent devils a call and be done with it.
Matthew (also not legal type just live in the real world)

BuRR

I say get in touch with the local council licensing office. Give them the badge number and they will advise you. By experiences I've had with the Leeds local licensing, they'll go out of their way to ensure the taxpayers remain happy, and the minicabs in check.

DominicA

Get a written quote for the repair and give it to the cab office before getting the work done that way they can send someone to check the damage before it's repaired if they want. In theory they (or the driver) should just cough up. If not at least you've given them the opportunity to inspect the damage. As far as i'm aware the driver is responsible, don't know whether the firm will pay out itself, but worth a try...

BuRR

If its a minicab (private hire) firm, then most probably the firm will tell you where to go, as its not their responsibility.

Your best course of action is the council licensing offices, like I mention above. They may even have set protocols to follow in this kind of incident.

DemonDave

iTrader: (13)

Again, suggest you get the quote and ask the driver or firm to pay, depening on whether the driver is insured himself or the firm for all the drivers. The quote will probaly be a lot less than the excess they would have to cough off so may pay and be done with (did the same thing with a transport firm when one of their vans dented my front wing on an Ford Onion)

Agree with you though, it is a point of principal they don't care about their cars and expect others to be the same.

Dave

JGRIFF

The firm will almost certainly use the driver on a self employed basis. Private hire insurance covers for damage by passengers, what you actually need is a written statement from the passenger/witness stating she did it whilst a passenger. If however the fare has been paid prior to the door opening then the passenger/witness will be responsible in law, and this then will not be a Road Traffic Accident. If the damage is minor, it will be cheaper and quicker to sort it out yourself.

Neil Smalley

Don't bother contacting the insurance company. Phone up Dentmaster or http://www.dent-1st.co.uk/ and get a quote. Should only be about 50-60 quid. Then call the cab driver, and say call it 60 quid and be done with it(or something like that). Insurance companies needed know, it costs very little to fix and is very little hassle.

SJobson

Legally, both could be liable. Passenger was directly negligent in opening the door into your car, minicab driver was negligent in not taking proper care over his passengers. Minicab driver will have insurance though, so obviously pursue him.

Unless you just use dent devils, dentmaster or whatever. Wait until you've got a couple of dings and get them done together.

I've got quite a ding in the driver's door of my Scoob. I saw it happen - took my stepson out in my wife's new Elise on his birthday, parked next to the Scoob when we got back, and he opened the Elise door straight into the Scoob. Who's liable? Or can I just take it out of his pocket money?

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Its a pain when someone does that to your car and some belgian did that to my scoob, they opened their door onto my car whilst i was sitting in it!!!
I gave them the dirtiest look and they walked off as if nothing had happened! [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] but the good side to it is that ive got the protective strips down the side of my MY00 turbo (4 door) so no damage done
Worth investing in for 55 quid, saves the cost of dentmaster

Tony