Carpark Max Height Woes

[Legsy.]

Hi all,

The short version:
My vehicle has suffered damage after hitting an overhead concrete beam in an underground private car park despite being below the car park's "maximum height".

The long version:
My work car-park (a university car-park, enforced by a private parking company) is an underground affair, with numerous overhead concrete cross-beams. at the entrance is a sign which states, "MAXIMUM-HEIGHT 2.1 MTR."

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v624/Keltonn/Cambridge%20Street/maxheight.png

My car is a 1996 Land Rover Discovery, which has a height of 1.928m when new. My vehicle will likely be even lower after two tonnes has sat on the same springs for nineteen years. The vehicle is unmodifed, and has no roof-rack, etc. Anyway, I reversed into a bay which had a slight upward slope, causing my vehicle to impact one of the concrete roof-beams:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v624/Keltonn/Cambridge%20Street/bay_park2.png

There is now damage to my paintwork above my car's back door, where the concrete roof-beam has removed a line of paint. This is now going to rust unless I do something about it. Being a graduate student, I definitely cannot afford to have this resprayed properly, and I feel a little bitter that I so naively trusted a bloody sign.

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v624/Keltonn/Cambridge%20Street/vehicle_damage.png
(apologies, it's hard to make out the damage, but the white line is where the concrete beam has removed a line of paint)


Any thoughts would be much appreciated, I've absolutely no experience of civil claims.


Ta!

[chris-red]

The Maximum height sign is telling you the height of that sign and the maximum height allowed in the carpark, it isn't a guarantee that the car park is at least 2.1m high in all parts. By all means have a go but I doubt you'll get anywhere.
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[P.addy]

Sandpaper and hammerite.

Graduate student driving juicy vehicle. Best fix I can think of.

[Legsy.]

[Chuffin Nora]

[BakesBeans]

Private parking company you say...

I'd get the https://www.pepipoo.com/ on the case and let them sue their arse.
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[Andy_Pagin]

I personally would interpret that beam as a warning that the maximum height of vehicle that can safely use the car park is 2.1 metres. I would argue that that is a conclusion that any reasonably minded [Landrover driving Magistrate/District Judge] person would reach and the car park managers are therefore liable for the damage to my vehicle as they have provided me with misleading information regarding the layout of the car park.
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[Northern Monkey]

You crashed into a car park, and now you want to sue?
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[swampy]

Is there any other sign anywhere in the car park saying 'parked at own risk, company not liable for damage etc' ?
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[Andy_Pagin]

[MattEMulsion]

[Ste]

Poor obs.

[arry]

They've failed to highlight a potential danger - completely foreseeable that a 4x4 would attempt to park there and the restriction in height should be marked clearly as a hazard.

It's a simple straight forward third party property damage claim and you've every chance of success

[doggone]

Ideally the beam would be highlighted with bright paint and clearance stated.
They'll have a disclaimer saying use at own risk so I don't think you'll get far, the presumption will the driver should look out for anything they might hit when parking.

There are probably things sticking out in almost every similar multistorey - lights, signs etc - there's no way to guarantee you can drive around the entire place with no possibility of hitting something

[Legsy.]

The signs displayed are as follows:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v624/Keltonn/Cambridge%20Street/20150616_1249082.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v624/Keltonn/Cambridge%20Street/20150616_1248112.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v624/Keltonn/Cambridge%20Street/3513513513.png


I'm going to write the parking department a polite letter this evening, to request repairs to my vehicle, then we'll see where it goes from there.

[arry]

Ignore the parking company entirely - their terms of contract have nothing to do with the issue at hand here; in fact they specifically exclude vehicle damage and or personal injury.

This is a liability claim against the property owner

Don't send anything without having it checked over. You need to be specific about the failures which have given rise to your damages and why you are holding them legally responsible. There's nothing polite about it

[finniee]

Sell land rover, buy smaller car?, might not hit max height barriers.
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[covent.gardens]

If I came across a height restriction, stating X height, I'd check the plate in my van, and if I was under it, I would expect to be able to navigate the vehicle through all reasonable areas unless, of course, I came across another sign with a lower height on it, or a lower section was made dazzlingly obvious. Parking in a parking space would definitely count as a reasonable area. I'm glad arry (insurance bod) agrees. If they didn't have the sign at all, then I think you'd be on shakier ground, but the point of that is to advise of a SAFE HEIGHT. It says 2.1 meters is safe. It wasn't.

[J4mes]

I wonder if the barrier has been left in the open position as they knew it was wrong and hoped people wouldnt see it.

[Polarbear]

[ferrisio]

I see it completely opposite, all that sign is telling you is the (arbitrary) maximum height of vehicle allowed in that private car park, with a handy height gauge to help you out.

I notice there are no length or width measurements, would you sue if your vehicle was too long or too wide and you gashed it? No maximum weight either, what if you were carrying a shipment of lead and fell through the concrete into the centre of the Earth..

Looking for someone else to blame for poor parking obs imho. I used to drive an XLWB Sprinter for work, and if I reversed it into something too low it would have been on me.
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[arry]

[J4mes]

Ferrisio your analogy is bollox anyway.

If a bridge gave a MGW of 3T and it collapsed at 2T would you blame them? If the max width was given as 3 meters and you got wedged at 2.5 meters would you blame them? So if they tell you max safe height is 2.1M and you twat the ceiling at 1.9M would you blame them?

Because I bloody would.

[Ste]

Aren't those barriers put in to deter caravan utilising nomadic travelling societies from taking up residence in the car park?

[ferrisio]