Caravan ruined whilst in storage help!!!!!!!!

[holiday22]

Hope someone can help me, really need some advice. We are new to caravanning, we bought our first van last summer, found a site and paid for a seasonal pitch, we also paid the site to store our caravan inside during the winter. We have now been told that out caravan has been standing in 4 feet of water since Christmas Eve due to the floods, they didn't bother to let us know until about the 4th January! Unfortunately we didn't insure the caravan ourselves as we were only thinking along the lines of theft but as the site has CCTV, locked gates etc we thought we would think about insurance next season, what a mistake!!! We think their insurance should pay out but have been told no way.
Can anyone help, we've tried Citizens Advice but they couldn't help us.

 

[Surfer]

Hope someone can help me, really need some advice. We are new to caravanning, we bought our first van last summer, found a site and paid for a seasonal pitch, we also paid the site to store our caravan inside during the winter. We have now been told that out caravan has been standing in 4 feet of water since Christmas Eve due to the floods, they didn't bother to let us know until about the 4th January! Unfortunately we didn't insure the caravan ourselves as we were only thinking along the lines of theft but as the site has CCTV, locked gates etc we thought we would think about insurance next season, what a mistake!!! We think their insurance should pay out but have been told no way.
Can anyone help, we've tried Citizens Advice but they couldn't help us.

You will need to enlist the help of a solicitor on this one to check if there are any unfair terms in the contract as you paid the owner to take care of your property. You may get better help on the Consumer Action Group forum.

 

[Raywood]

Sorry but I think you are onto a loser unless you can show the flood was caused or contributed to by the site owner or some other party or they stored it in an area known to flood without telling you. The sort of thing that would give you a claim would be chnges to the land or drainage that made an area that would not otherwise have flooded to flood. This is extremely difficult but if you know of any changes you would need a report from a suitable expert probably a surveyor with appropriate expertise. If it is worth it depends a lot on just how large your loss is.
If the area has flooded before and you were not warned then you may have a claim and if you think that is the case then you would probably need a solicitor to advise you.
I doubt the delay in notifying you has made any real difference although it is apalling. Once the caravan floods the damage is done and it will be lost so a delay in letting you know probably has not caused any loss.
I am afraid that if you have valuable proprerty and a caravan is that insurance is essential. The theft loss may look low but the various caravan forums will tell you others have lost caravans from what they thought were secure sites. In addition to this you need cover against other forms of storm and fire and public liability cover in case someone is injured or property is damaged as a result of its use.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Sorry I posted this in the wrong section,

but here it is now
Hello Holiday,

I'm sorry to read of your problem. A thread which covers some of the issues you have has been running here:-

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/forum/general/caravan-insurance-it-reall...
I have sympathy with your situation. I am of the opinion that if you lodge your property with a facility that offers storage, the storage company does have some responsibility to make every reasonable effort to prevent damage to your property.

As things seem to stand at the moment it is incumbent on you to prove the storage facility was negligent in some way resulting in your loss.

We have had exceptional weather circumstances recently, and it is likely the resultant flooding may be classed as an act of God, which has implications on third party claims against a facility of this nature.

Sadly I think your experience is salutary example of why taking out caravan insurance is a sensible thing to do, as the alternative can prove to be very expensive.

 

[Surfer]

John, under "tort" in common law they may be able to claim if they can prove the area has flooded previously or the landowner has done something that would have contributed towards the flood. However it appears that the storage owner was negligent in not informing the caravan owner earlier of the flood as maybe the caravan could have been saved if prompt action had been taken.
Either way the OP will require a solicitor experienced in common law. If the caravan's value is under £10,000 small claims court could be an option to save costs.

 

[Raywood]

John, under "tort" in common law they may be able to claim if they can prove the area has flooded previously or the landowner has done something that would have contributed towards the flood. However it appears that the storage owner was negligent in not informing the caravan owner earlier of the flood as maybe the caravan could have been saved if prompt action had been taken.
Either way the OP will require a solicitor experienced in common law. If the caravan's value is under £10,000 small claims court could be an option to save costs. Surfer
I doubt the delay is relevant as once a caravan is flooded it is generally lost and if it is underwater there is generally very little chance of moving it. A claim based on delay could only be for additional damage caused which would be at best very difficult to prove and you would also have to show the owner had a duty to tell you this so even then a long shot.

 

[Dustydog]

Holiday 22

Can you post the terms and conditions of storage. You say you asked for "inside". What was that?

 

[Surfer]

John, under "tort" in common law they may be able to claim if they can prove the area has flooded previously or the landowner has done something that would have contributed towards the flood. However it appears that the storage owner was negligent in not informing the caravan owner earlier of the flood as maybe the caravan could have been saved if prompt action had been taken.
Either way the OP will require a solicitor experienced in common law. If the caravan's value is under £10,000 small claims court could be an option to save costs. Surfer
I doubt the delay is relevant as once a caravan is flooded it is generally lost and if it is underwater there is generally very little chance of moving it. A claim based on delay could only be for additional damage caused which would be at best very difficult to prove and you would also have to show the owner had a duty to tell you this so even then a long shot.

I am not sure on this, but a caravan that is submerged for a couple of hours or a day probably will not have any damaged however any longer than that and it is a write off. Surely the storage owner should have seen the water lever rising and taken adequate precautions in time? After all that is why you placed the caravan in their care.

 

[drsorento]

It never ceases to amaze me why people dont insure there vans and then start moaning when things go pear shaped on them. Sorry to seem harsh but there it is, and remember, CCTV, gates and all the security in the world will not stop a determind thief. not that this is the issue here.
I am no expert and dont know if there is any redress against the storage site owner, but if it had been insured a payout would have been made and it would have been the insurance companies fight with the site owner

 

[otherclive]

It would be interesting to know where the van is stored (county) as here in Wilts and Somerset there are areas still flooded from pre-Christmas. Unless the site owner can be shown negligent, or not having disclosed previous floods the chance of success is zero. Why for such a small cost dont people insure their property. I pay less than £150 for a C&CC policy which covers total loss at market value. I might be seeming to be a bit harsh but if people cut back on essentials such as insurance then I wonder what other things arent being addressed; such as tyres, gas system, service, car etc.

 

[Raywood]

John, under "tort" in common law they may be able to claim if they can prove the area has flooded previously or the landowner has done something that would have contributed towards the flood. However it appears that the storage owner was negligent in not informing the caravan owner earlier of the flood as maybe the caravan could have been saved if prompt action had been taken.
Either way the OP will require a solicitor experienced in common law. If the caravan's value is under £10,000 small claims court could be an option to save costs.
Surfer
I doubt the delay is relevant as once a caravan is flooded it is generally lost and if it is underwater there is generally very little chance of moving it. A claim based on delay could only be for additional damage caused which would be at best very difficult to prove and you would also have to show the owner had a duty to tell you this so even then a long shot.

I am not sure on this, but a caravan that is submerged for a couple of hours or a day probably will not have any damaged however any longer than that and it is a write off. Surely the storage owner should have seen the water lever rising and taken adequate precautions in time? After all that is why you placed the caravan in their care.

Surfer, Having worked in insurance although with very little involvement in caravan insurance I do know that once a flood has reached above floor level the insurer will regard the damage to this as irreparable. The water ruins everything it reaches and two hours will be far too much.
Doubt the site owners could move many as they would mostly be protected by wheel locks and hitchlocks and even a telephone call to warn you might be too late.
The case needs a lot more detail than we have to be sure on if there is a claim but in most cases probably not.