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    • I forgot to say, there is one last possibility and that is that they will receive your letter of rejection and simply fold, accept the rejection and refund you. Don't wait too long for this. Seven days maximum – but in that seven days you could send your letter of claim anyway and when that you don't hear from them or when they start mucking around at least you are seven days closer to beginning the legal action – and they will know it (which is the important thing).
    • Okay that is excellent that you have an email between the garage and the warranty company confirming that there is a serious problem with the gearbox. That is very powerful evidence. I think the situation is this: you have sent them a letter of rejection but the reputation of big motoring world is that they won't take a lot of notice and they will try to prevaricate and maybe even blame you. Clearly you don't want the car any more and anyway it sounds as if the cost of repairs is going to be enormous. You don't know if the warranty company is going to step up to the mark but the whole thing is going to take a long time and I understand that you have lost confidence in big motoring world because of this event and also their reputation which you are now discovering on Facebook and on this forum and no doubt elsewhere. On the basis that you don't want the car any more and you want your money back, you need to hurry things along. I think the first thing is that you need to decide if you are prepared to bring a claim in the County Court. Even without the warranty money, the claim is worth more than £10,000. For actions less than £10,000, you bring a "small claim" and this means that even if you lose the case you won't be liable for the other side's costs. If you win the case then not only will you get your money plus interest but also you will recover all of the costs of the action. For actions more than £10,000, you go to something called the "fast track" and in the event that you lose the case, then you could be liable to reimburse the winner some of the costs. This means that in addition to not recovering your own money, you would lose your own court fees and also you would have to to bear the costs of the other side probably something less than £5000 – but as a rough guess. If you bring your court claim then your chances of success are almost 100%. Frankly if you brought a court claim then I can imagine that big motoring world will put their hands up and pay you out rather than face go to court and losing and getting a judgement against them. However, it you need to consider that this is a risk factor – although my view it is a negligible risk factor. If you did bring a court case, it wouldn't be instant. If they put their hands up then it would probably happen very quickly. If they didn't put their hands up then you could take anything up to a year for the matter to be resolved and during that time you would be without your car and without your money and in the middle of litigation. I'm explaining this to you say that you understand how it works. Bring a court case would be really the last resort when everything else has failed. However, I'm quite certain that you would win and it would be stupid of big motoring world to try to resist. In order to bring a court case you would have to send a letter of claim giving them 14 days to accept rejection and organise the refund otherwise you would begin the claim. Don't imagine that you could bluff this. If you did send a letter of claim then you would have to go through with it otherwise you lose all credibility and you might as well pack up and go home. So with this in mind, here are possible courses of action you could take. You can simply wait and see what their reaction to your letter of rejection will be. However they may not reply or else they may find some other reason to delay and of course during that time you will be without your car and without your money blah blah blah, not knowing if big motoring world were going eventually to start acting sensibly and respectfully towards you. The second thing you can do – and I think this has been suggested on Facebook – is that you can go along there and simply make yourself present and talk to other customers and generally speaking make a nuisance of yourself and embarrass them to the point where you would be explaining to other potential customers to be careful, to look on Facebook, and to do some careful research before they put their business to big motoring world. This has a reasonable chance of success although you would have to be careful. You should go accompanied by a friend and there should be no anger, no arguments, nothing that could be considered as being overly aggressive so that big motoring world would have no justification in kicking you out or even worse, calling the police. If you did this, then I would suggest that you record everything on the telephone carried in a pocket. A fully charged battery will probably keep a voice recorder and a telephone going for more than 20 hours or 30 hours. The other person can video any incidents so that everything is clear and you can inform big motoring world then it will be going up on the Internet. If you did this, my favourite option would be to issue the letter of claim giving them 14 days, and then going along to big motoring world with a copy of your letter of rejection and a copy of the exchange between the mechanic and the warranty company and a copy of your letter of claim – all settled together – and probably about 20 or 30 copies in all and I would start handing them out to any customers who came in. Big motoring world will soon get the picture and they will either move your the premises in which case you stand outside and carry on doing it or they will finally give in. Of course there is a chance that they won't give in and they will simply call your bluff – but in that case I think you have no choice other than to follow through with your 14 day threat in the letter of claim and to begin the legal action. At the same time you should be putting up reviews on Google and also trust pilot explaining exactly what has happened and also explaining that the mechanic has confirmed to the warranty company that there is the serious problem, that you have asserted the right to reject and that this is been ignored by big motoring world and that you have now sent a letter of claim and that you will be starting a legal action in 14 days. Once again, don't bluff about the legal action. If you threaten it – then you must mean it – and on day 15 you click of the claim. You don't need a solicitor for any of this. It's all fairly straightforward and of course we will help you all the way that it the decision is yours to make and I think you need to make it fairly quickly. I think the cost of starting an action for about £13,000 is 5% and then also if it goes to trial which I would say is almost impossible – there would be an additional fee. You would claim interest at 8%. A judge might award a lower figure but frankly if you can show that big motoring world is attempting to ride roughshod over your very clear statutory consumer rights, I can imagine that the judge will want to show displeasure by awarding the full 8% which is a pretty good rate – even though it's not compensation for the hassle and the distress you are going through. If you decide to get solicitor, then if you win the case, because it is over £10,000 you will recover some of your costs but you won't recover all of them. If the solicitor begins by having exchanges of letters then I doubt whether you will be up to recover the cost of those and you could easily find that you're chalking up 500 quid or even a thousand simply on initial exchanges of correspondence. Also you need to bear in mind that if after having exchanges with a solicitor, big motoring world cave in – then you definitely won't get those costs back because you won't have gone to court and therefore a judge will not have made the order for payment of those costs. I suggest very strongly that you avoid paying any money for a solicitor and that you do it yourself. It's not a big deal – although you will have to you react quickly to the help we offer on this forum. Also, an additional benefit is that you will learn a lot and you will gain confidence and eventually you will feel good about suing anybody else who gets in your way. Nothing not to like! If you do decide to instruct a solicitor then you must take control of the solicitor. Most of them prefer to sit in an office writing letters on the clock. If you do decide to instruct a solicitor then you must instruct the solicitor very firmly that they should send one letter of complaint giving seven days. A second letter – a letter of claim giving 14 days and that they must then begin the action. If you don't do this. If you don't take control then it will simply cost you money, you will be without your car even longer and of course without your money. The whole thing is a nightmare. I think I've laid out the options but please do ask questions. I hope you can see that this is the kind of advice that you won't be getting on Facebook. Nothing against Facebook. It's good as a meeting place and to make people realise that they aren't on their own – but after that the advice given is weak and confusing.  
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Can we sue the Council if we slip on ungritted roads


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I was just wondering if anyone knows whether you can sue the council if you slip on ungritted roads.I only ask as in Southport today we have what can only be described as an icerink on all our roads and pavements due to rain in the middle of the night and then it icing on top of it to create trecherous conditions.I myself as yet have not fallen but come very close to it and i do know of numerous accidents today on the roads and on the pavements,one woman having fallen on the road where she was walking for safety.

My brother and i have just got into a discussion about what you would do if you do slip and i wondered if anyone knew what happens if you do slip on it as tomorrows weather is set to be as bad and as the ice did not thaw in places its likely to be as bad again :-xand if anyones got any ski,s let me know :rolleyes:or even ice skates would be good xkia

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I've got a couple of pairs of skis you can borrow kisskiss;)

 

 

 

and as for your question, I don't know the answer, although I have heard it argued that you shouldn't clear your path of snow, because if you just leave it as fallen snow then if someone falls on it then it's an accident, but if you clear it and they still fall, then you're responsible ........but don't quote me on it:confused:

 

as for the Council's responsibilities, I don't know

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In England it depends because there is no statutory duty to salt the roads. You would have to prove negligence such as not salting a major road when it was known there was to be a heavy frost. Such a failure could be considered negligence & therefore actionable.

 

In Scotland the law is different in that there IS a duty to salt the roads & failure alone constitutes a neglect of that duty

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Surely common sense dictates that very cold weather will cause ice and therefore dangerous driving and walking conditions?

 

Even when roads are gritted there will obviously be patches that are still untreated because no-one can be expected to grit every square inch of road.

 

My council for one doesn't order people to drive or walk in these conditions.

 

Would a council be blamed for ruining some lady's new hairdo just because it rained and they didn't provide her with a brolly?

 

And I'm not aware that councils even grit pavements, mine doesn't.

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A few years ago, my mum slipped on an icy manhole cover breaking her arm and hip. my sister reported it to the council to make them aware just in case someone else fell and they sent my mum an insurance claim form:confused:

She didn't sue them as she has the intelligence to realise it's not the councils fault if things ice up. It's down to us to walk or drive to the conditions.

I've driven in appalling conditions but by changing the way I drove, i got where i needed to go safely.

 

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the moral indignation of some (not to mention their lack of understanding of the common law) would be funny if it didn't involve injury to someone

 

No one (not even the courts) expect councils to resolve every risk but they do expect that if it's known in advance there will be severe weather for them to take reasonable steps to minimize the risks to both pedestrians & other road users.

 

For example having been told of the slippery manhole cover & doing nothing about it thereby causing others to injure themselves would the attitude of some be the same particularly if that injured person was them...... I doubt it

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I think the manhole cover is slightly different scenario to what was posted by the original reader, who in effect asks can they sue if they slip on ice on a pavement/road that hasn't been treated with grit.

 

I'd say no to the original question as my council doesn't grit pavements, in fact, they only grit the one main road near me and ignore the other 30 or so streets.

 

Litigation would be a nightmare for a start-what if a lady falls but was wearing unsuitable shoes anyway? What if she was walking too fast? Or after several drinks?

 

The same could be for cars too-I know for a fact that some idiots would still attempt to drive at 30mph on ice then whinge because they skided into a wall.

 

Again, people need to use their common sense, if it is icy then it will be slipery.

 

And gritters can only do their best but a mixture of the elements, such as a severe downpour will wash a lot of it away and then that rain will freeze overnight.

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Gilbert all of your comments are based on 'what if' We could go on with 'what if' scenarios until the cows come home each to the benefit of the differing circumstances. The point is that any fault, if any, would have to be determined by a court

 

Also if your council doesn't grit only the one road you mention as a matter of policy then in the event of serious crash they could find themselves being sued for substantial compensation. Not gritting to save money can be a very false economy indeed not to say putting lives at risk

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Thanks for all your answers and in answer to the reply that you dont go out if its bad weather well as far as im concerned i have an elderly father who i have to visit most days and as i am only on carers allowance i do not have alot of income to be able to afford to pay for taxis so i have no option than to attempt to walk on the ice and hope i dont fall.And as for suing the council i was never gonna do that just wondered if it was possible.

And guess what the council gritted alot of the pavements round here over night how ironic wonder if there worried or has someone fallen on it gotta wonder havent u :rolleyes:xxkia

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You will probably find that any grit on the pavement is over-spread from gritting the roads.

 

JonCris, regarding only gritting one road, you are making a rather sweeping statement (no pun intended).

You don't know the circumstances or location of G O'S.

You will find that most councils will grit any through route, priority given to main roads and bus routes. Any road that is part of a "closed" estate is way down on the list. Cul de Sacs don't even make the list.

The road that I live in has never been gritted in 25 years. But then I wouldn't expect it to be. If a gritter lorry came down our road, there would be nowhere for it to turn. It would have to reverse all the way back, between the parked cars and, as most gritting is done at night, in the dark.

It's quite possible that where G O'S lives all the side roads are cul de sacs, in which case they wouldn't be gritted.

All in all, I think the councils do a pretty good job in keeping the traffic moving in icy weather. To grit every square inch of every road would take a hell of a lot more drivers and gritting lorries than they've already got.

What would they do with them all for the other ten months of the year?

One thing's for certain, we'd all be paying a lot more council-tax to cover it!

 

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A work colleague (who is 60) slipped and fell cracking 2 ribs thanks to the ice. Now this was on a main road/bus route, which should always get priority. The councils excuse.....we weren't expecting it? I'm sorry, but it's Winter, the weather is freezing and we had snow the previous day.

 

Although, I think it has more to do with the council investing money in the Iceland bank that went bust.....

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Well I've always found that you can use the gritters in this area as a more relible weather forcaster than any of the weathermen. They seem to get it right 99% of the time.

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Well I've always found that you can use the gritters in this area as a more relible weather forcaster than any of the weathermen. They seem to get it right 99% of the time.

 

Must be the North/South divide thing :p

 

Seriously though, this council (not mine) lost so much money in the Iceland bank that they seem to have made severe cutbacks. My colleague was off work (no sick pay) for nearly 2 weeks! If only it was near to Christmas, this would be another BAH HUMBUG!

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I would say no.

 

There was an incident not so long ago when a guy skidded on ice and crashed his car into a bridge and tried to claim that the council was to blame for not gritting the road - they basically told him to take a hike.

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A gritter came up our back lane/cul de sac last week - it was the first one I have seen there in ten years. It was there because the bin wagon was due an hour later.

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urm.

 

let hope we dont have a heat wave.

cause then we'd be demanding the council to put ice down beause we might burn our feet...........

 

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You will probably find that any grit on the pavement is over-spread from gritting the roads.

 

JonCris, regarding only gritting one road, you are making a rather sweeping statement (no pun intended).

You don't know the circumstances or location of G O'S.

You will find that most councils will grit any through route, priority given to main roads and bus routes. Any road that is part of a "closed" estate is way down on the list. Cul de Sacs don't even make the list.

The road that I live in has never been gritted in 25 years. But then I wouldn't expect it to be. If a gritter lorry came down our road, there would be nowhere for it to turn. It would have to reverse all the way back, between the parked cars and, as most gritting is done at night, in the dark.

It's quite possible that where G O'S lives all the side roads are cul de sacs, in which case they wouldn't be gritted.

All in all, I think the councils do a pretty good job in keeping the traffic moving in icy weather. To grit every square inch of every road would take a hell of a lot more drivers and gritting lorries than they've already got.

What would they do with them all for the other ten months of the year?

One thing's for certain, we'd all be paying a lot more council-tax to cover it!

 

Regards, Rooster.

 

 

I know precisely what goes on re gritting & the authorities duties The question was asked "can I sue the council" the answer is yes you can if you can prove negligence. eg if after being advised that a particular area away from the normal inspection area is dangerous & fail to take steps to rectify it they may be considered negligent

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Thanks for all your answers and in answer to the reply that you dont go out if its bad weather well as far as im concerned i have an elderly father who i have to visit most days and as i am only on carers allowance i do not have alot of income to be able to afford to pay for taxis so i have no option than to attempt to walk on the ice and hope i dont fall Quite some of us live in the real world where we have to take our chances with the weather & where even walking 'carefully' can still lead to an accident.And as for suing the council i was never gonna do that just wondered if it was possible. The answer was yes

And guess what the council gritted alot of the pavements round here over night how ironic wonder if there worried or has someone fallen on it gotta wonder havent u :rolleyes:xxkia

Almost certainly the latter

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I would be interested to see the precedent for this - I personally would have said no because to prove negligence you have to prove duty of care and although the council have a duty of care to keep pavements and roads in repair I would say that does not extend to ice and snow.

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least the ice has now gone thank goodness till the next time thanks for all your answers though i never slipped this time but do know of one guy who did banged his head quite bad and had alot of bruises unfortunately he slipped in his own drive :rolleyes:opssss never mind eh xxkia

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I would be interested to see the precedent for this - I personally would have said no because to prove negligence you have to prove duty of care and although the council have a duty of care to keep pavements and roads in repair I would say that does not extend to ice and snow.

 

Yes, what about somebody falling over a kerb that has been covered in snow because the grit was ineffective to a heavy storm?

 

Gritting is not a guarantee that ice or snow won't still form on top of it.

 

I've never heard of anybody suing their council because they slip on ice.

 

There would be millions of claims and all councils would go bust.

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