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[spin]

as my car was off the road and the insurance was due and tax and mot, i decided not to renew any until it was up and running, i rented a lockup garage just around the corner from my local housing authority and put the car in itabout 3 months ago, to my horror this morning i went round to check it and the garage four doors down from mine was completely burnt out, with the shell of a what looked like a peugot inside, Thinking i had got away scot free i opened my garage door only to find my car which was once silver was now a tarry black mess i had left the drivers window down and the interior is wrecked, my question is would i have any recompense off the owner of the car which caused the fire as i stated mine was not insured.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Yes you will as you are the third party

[Entwood]

You would have to claim of either

1) The owner of the other car/lockup or their insurers

2) The "person" responsible for the fire or their insurers

The problem as I see it, is proving who was culpable..

for example .. if the fire was started by vandals, then you probably have no chance. If the fire was started by the lockup owner doing some welding then you might have grounds against him. If the fire was caused by the Peugot spontaneously bursting into flames, you might have grounds against the Peugots insurers.

Bit of a minefield but might be worth investigating. First thing is to find out who/what caused the fire and if they were insured. If they had no insurance your only hope is a personal claim against them. If they can't afford to pay then its pointless trying.

Just my thoughts, nowt else as I'm not legally qualified in any way.

[pedroMV6]

Claim from the Council.

You rented a garage in good faith to protect your car.
OK, it wasn't their fault your car was damaged, but it was in their property whilst it was wrecked.

Years ago, I rented a Council lock up. Came home from work at 3am, opened garage, drove car in, went to close garage door and it fell of it's rail, onto my car - seriously scratching the hatchback, etc.

Phoned the Council the next day, they said to get a quote and then they paid, no problem.

Have a word with your previous insurers too - they could well give you some invaluable advice.

[spin]

Thanks everybody.

[shane1000]

why not stick a claim into both?? what have you got to lose.... you rented the lock up in good faith because you had something that had to be legally stored and kept in good condition

[Kevin Wood]

My take is that if you rent a lockup you are responsible for insuring whatever's in it. Same as if you rent a house and it burns down. You wouldn't be able to claim off the landlord for a new TV unless, perhaps, the accident was caused by the landlord's negligence (e.g. substandard wiring). It would be up to you to insure the contents.

You might have a claim against the owner of the car that went up but that's about it IMHO. If his car, like yours, isn't insured, you will struggle, I think.

Not to say it isn't worth exploring all avenues mentioned, but don't bank on it. :-/

Kevin

[Kevin Wood]

Might be worth talking to some other tenants of adjacent garages. If they have suffered similar problems, you might get further if you join forces, or at least co-ordinate your actions. If the insurer responsible sees a number of claimants potentially willing to take legal action they might well decide to settle where they would let a single claimant go whistle.

Kevin