Car damaged at car wash

[sjs1900]

Hi everyone, I hope you can be of some guidance to me….

 

My car was damaged at an automatic car wash last month.

 

I have front and back dashcams on my car which recorded the whole thing. It shows me removing my aerial, driving in between the guide rails, stopping when the red light came on, handbrake going on and engine turning off. I have used this car wash before and I’m familiar with it.
 

During the wash cycle, the horizontal roller became stuck under my factory fitted spoiler (Mini) and pulled it up and off. The spoiler isn’t an added extra or anything, it’s unfortunate it’s called a spoiler by Mini. It’s more of a lip above the 3rd brake light.

 

Petrol station employee said “not our problem as you should have removed your spoiler”. Signs do not mention removing spoilers and also, it’s a factory fitted part of my car which isn’t meant to be removed. I left my contact details but heard nothing since.

 

Car currently in bodyshop being repaired at a cost to me of £641.

 

My car insurance were no use and gave up as soon as the petrol station mentioned they have a disclaimer. My motor legal cover could only reclaim any uninsured losses (my excess). But I wasn’t happy pursuing a claim which would cause a strike against my no claims.

 

I have sent a Letter Before Action, photos and estimate for repair via special delivery. As of today, day 14, they have not replied.
 

Citizens Advice are not contactable due to Covid. They haven’t replied to my email which was sent last month. 
 

I’m keen to get this resolved as the initial insurance claim process wasted a couple of weeks. And the Letter Before Action has wasted another two weeks.

 

Now my next step is to start the small claims court process? Is it Head Office I need to address this to or the actual petrol station it happened at?

 

Thank you for reading

 

Also, don’t worry. Will never be using an automated car wash again. Lesson learnt the hard way… 

 

[BankFodder]

Are you sure that the car washes run by the same people as the petrol station? This is something you probably need to check very carefully. You don't want to incur a claim fee and then find that the car washes some kind of independent franchise

[sjs1900]

This is something I’m unsure of. The car wash has all the branding of Co-Op and Co-Op signage. Worth a call to the petrol station I presume.

[BankFodder]

Certainly worth taking a bit of care over. Maybe if you have a look at the coin machine it will tell you something

[sjs1900]

The car wash payment came out of my bank as “Wilcomatic” so I think this is maybe where I should be focusing my efforts. 
 

I’ll give the petrol station a call anyway to confirm.

 

thank you. 

[stu007]

Hi

 

I think you need to go back and take a good photograph of the Signage for using the car wash as their should be Signage.

 

The Garage where this Car wash is you reported this incident to if it is on their forecourt and you have to pay inside the garage (coop) to either get a token or receipt with numbers to input them the Garage should have recorded this as an incident report and informed the Car Wash Owners of the Incident (Wilcomatic).

 

Something to bear in mind with the Garage (Coop) is it actually owned by them or is it a Franchisee Owned (a lot of Garages i.e. BP, Shell, Esso etc. may have that name displayed but are actually Franchisee Owned) So ask the Garage for the actual Owners Name and Company Details to be sure.

 

Irrespective if the Car Wash Does have T&C Signage saying Wilcomatic Responsible, if the Land it is on belongs to the Garage (coop) then there will be some sort of Agreement in place between the Garage (coop) and Wilcomatic.

 

Wilcomatic have a wee look at there website link below as they do Coop

 

Car Wash, Bus Wash, Train Wash and Truck Wash Systems - Wilcomatic

WWW.WILCOMATIC.CO.UK

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Wilcomatic are the UK’s leading providers of vehicle wash systems and equipment across road and rail. Cars, trains, trucks & buses are cleaner...

 

Wilcomatic Limited

 

Registered Office Address: 
Unit 5 Commerce Park
19 Commerce Way
Croydon
Surrey
CRO 4YL

 

Company Number: 00910387

Company Status: Active

Incorporated: 11th July 1967

Company Type: Private Limited Company

 

Directors: Andrew Wyatt Bristow, Kevin Clifford Pay, Timothy Michael Roe, 

 

Companies House Link:

WILCOMATIC LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

FIND-AND-UPDATE.COMPANY-INFORMATION.SERVICE.GOV.UK

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WILCOMATIC LIMITED - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return...

 

 

 

 

[sjs1900]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. 
 

I have photos of all the signage, I took them on the day it happened. Nowhere does it state who is responsible. Wilcomatic’s name is nowhere to be seen on the signage. Only noticed it against the payment on my online banking. 
 

Will get in touch with the petrol station today to clarify. 
 

thanks again. 

[stu007]

Hi

 

Make sure when you go back to the Garage to ask the following:

 

1. Full Owners Name and Company Details.

2. You want this incident logged with the Garage and notification that this has been done.

3. Why you were not informed of who own the Car Wash and the Company Details of the Car Wash Company.

 

Could you tell us the exact name of the Garage and the Address Location so we can do a wee bit of research on them?