Repairing Garage

[DONNA1458]

A bodyshop i know keeps all the vehicles outside in its carpark with gates open with all the keys for the cars in the vehicle would they be insured to keep the keys in the car unattended?

[NORMANTHEDOG]

i would not think so.

[gouldc]

Most certainly not - this is failure to safeguard on a major scale. However, we see an increasing number of claims like this where our policyholder's have taken cars for repair, but the repairer has left the keys in the car, and the car is nicked.

Their insurer won;t cover it, we have to pay out on a claim that isn;t our policyholder's fault, and inevitably have nightmares claiming our money back

[DONNA1458]

It is on a large scale they have about 60 cars on the carpark at any one time. i think i will make sure if my car is damaged it goes to an insurance owned bodyshop!

[JB]

The bodyshop becomes a common law bailee, which means that they take both physical possession (of the item) and have a duty to return the item. When you take your car to a garage for repairs, they are voluntarily accepting that they are becoming a bailee - if your car is stolen from them because they failed to exercise reasonable care (by leaving the keys in the car) then they are responsible for reimbursing you, regardless of whether or not their insurance covers them.
For example, if you left your (very expensive!) Rolex watch with a jeweller for service/repair, and the jeweller lost your watch would you expect the jeweller or your insurer to pay?

[penractor]

get onto trading standards ASAP - which is via consumer direct phone line -phone [phone].They sounds dodgy or at best, realy unbelievably crap, best of luck!

[dzug]

For example, if you left your (very expensive!) Rolex watch with a jeweller for service/repair, and the jeweller lost your watch would you expect the jeweller or your insurer to pay?


I'd expect the jeweller to pay.

In reality the jeweller (and his insurer) would expect you to claim on your contents insurance, as I found out the only time this happened to me. (Not a Rolex though ...)

[JB]

Dzug, if you claimed on your own insurance you provided a convenient 'out' for the jeweller! Hopefully, your insurers will have pursued them for reimbursement - otherwise, your claims history could result in you paying higher premiums. What would have happened if your insurance didn't cover it?

[dzug]

I claimed on my own insurance because the jeweller's insurers (on who they claimed) wrote to me requiring me to declare any existing insurance and saying I should claim on it if I had.

Not sure what my insurers did after paying me. It was before NCB was widespread on contents insurance so I didn't lose.

Agree it sounded unsatisfactory

If I hadn't had insurance the jeweller's insurers would have paid.

[Yorks lad]

it is a legal requirement for them have public liability insurance.

However should a car be stolen and they get you to claim on yourinsurance you can the take tem to small claims court for any other losses you incured.

Any half decent repair garage would not want you to do this as the publicity would be real bad news