damage sustained while getting to pitch

[colinw1]

we've just returned from a break in wales.

After getting to the site, we were given a map showing where to go for our pitch - and told to follow the one way system.

while negotiating a particular turn (at 10 pm in pouring rain) around what could be said to be a tight turn with the tow car avoiding the rocks to on the outside - the caravan (25ft) went over the inside corner and ended up beached on a very large rock.

with no way of unhitching (spare wheel causing obstruction) myself and a chap with his son helping managed after nearly an hour, all of us grovelling in the mud, to jack up the caravan high enough for us to pull the rock out with a tow rope rapped around it.

We were told by the chap he'd nearly done the self same thing - but in broad daylight, and that it turns out that the regulars and those on "seasonal pitches" move the rocks before hand.

We now have a gash in the floor of 7ins x 9ins x 3/4 ins deep.

(We have pics of the rocks where we left them after getting free - taken by the other half while I started to set up camp. we have pics in daylight (still where we#d left them) and a few days later after they had finally been put back into place.

Our question is can we claim against the site (as there are no warnings about the rocks - they are not painted and in no way highlighted.)

When we left the site earlier today - several regulars helped move a number of rocks as they could see that the length of our outfit was going to cause issues.

with thanks in advance

 

[ValA.]

We damaged our caravan on entering a site, where the raised barrier was hidden by trees, and it scraped all down the top awning rail.

However, we accepted that it was our responsibility - and claimed against our own insurance - who paid out happily, with no problems.

 

[C_374479958]

I suppose the legal augment would be could it have been avoided by either you or the owner and did the owner carry out his duty of care to customers, etc. etc.

A legal minefield, but nevertheless the owner must investigate the problem and change the access so it doesn't happen again.

 

[joeby]

I would get in touch with your insurance , who will try and claim of there insurance , any small business should have public liability insurance for claims up to

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Colin

Sorry to hear of this accident which must be a very frustrating start to a holiday.

As with the others on here I too suggest the easiest way forward is to make a claim on your own caravan insurance policy and leave it to them to persue a recovery against whomsoever may be negligent.

Using your own Insurers you can be certain the caravan will be repaired to a high standard , usually by a dealer of your own choice.

The circumstances of the accident may be interpreted by others, NOT me, that you should not have entered a site with narrow access roads in the dark and pouring rain. Certainly a CC site would have put you in the late arrivals area.

If you are not insured, you will have to prove the site owners were negligent in leaving the stones at the side of the road. I suspect they were there for good reason but obviously in the dark you couldn't se them in your mirrors. Did anyone get out of your car and help guide you? Proving negligence in these cases is extremely difficult and can be very costly .

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[KeithJ]

It is true that far more problems occur when towing a caravan on a caravan site than on a public road. I very annoyingly dented my van last year when the back swung out on a 90 degree corner and hit a hand railing, but I accepted that it was my own fault. In fact I always try to walk the route first before towing the van to or from a pitch, to look for hazards.

When leaving a site in Italy where there was a one-way system, I had been "eyeing up" the route for a day or two because it looked too tight. On the day I decided that it was too risky and asked at exception if I could leave by the enty route - against the one-way system. "No problem" they said, and opened the Entry barrier for me.

I think - frustrating as it may be at times - we are responsible for making sure we don't damage our own outfits and I would not like to see a culture of claiming compensation spreading to camp sites.

Keith

 

[colinw1]

Thanks all for the comments.

We've set the ball in motion with our insurance.

Maybe on hindsight we should have known what was to come by the fact that we had to pick our way through the "static" section to get to the touring field - and that edges of some of the static vans are no less than 3 foot from the road.. (no joke the statics are no more than an average car width apart and one night we had to wait for someone to come out and pull their car further in to the parking space so we could pass.

Other than the tight layout of the site - everything else was ok. each pitch was a loose chipped box with it's own water point. loo block was clean (the whole floor seemed to be permanently wet in the gents) the "elsan" point was a bit bizarre. the points were about 3ft off the ground as one day I helped an elderly gent list his wastemaster up onto the shelf so he could empty it. and the signs were almost the same indicating which was for which waste.

 

[drsorento]

If you had hit a parked car would you consider claiming off his insurance? I think not, as you would get a very short answer to your cliam.

It was down to your negelgence that you struck the rocks so on this occasion you will have to swallow your pride and claim off your own insurance.

sorry to sound harsh but thats life.

 

[Philspadders]

if you could show that the rocks would clearly cause and obstruction during normal manouvering then in normal hours you would have a case,especially at night.

Get it repaired on your insurance and let your insurers then deal with it.

 

[keith5]

Did the rock jump out in front of you?

They do in Wales you know!!

 

[colinw1]

If I could upload pics into the comments - Id show you the rocks

 

[Sproket]

Colin

Follow these instructions How To Post Photos ( ten easy steps ) & then we will all be able to see them ...

 

[Paul_5064559]

Had a small collison myself last year when manoeuvering in very tight space. Did some damage to both vans but what I wanted to mention is that the damage to the 3rd parties van was met by my car insurers and the damage to my own van by my van insurer. Interesting thing was that my car insurer did not apply the excess but paid up 100% as this was a 3rd party claim.

Fact is any damage you do with your van or any other towed vehicle is responsibility of the car insurer whilst you are hitched so its a good thing to make sure that your car insurer knows that you are going to tow....