I've had enough and I'm taking them to the Sheriff Court

[NuisanceValue]

To cut a long story short, last July as I was driving along the M8 to Bathgate (from Edinburgh) I was about to take the Bathgate junction which is a long tight slip road. Just before this slip road is an overhead bridge (that the slip road doubles back to join up to, locals will know where I mean) which had some workmen doing some maintenance on.

I'd noticed them from a fair distance, as some of you may remember, there was a famous case of some miners dying after a concrete block was thrown through their windscreen during the miners strikes. Henceforth, I've always kept an eye on overhead bridges..

So, driving to work one morning, I pass under this bridge and the car gets covered in sludge, grit and something larger that hits the boot lid. (I'm driving an SL500 with the soft top down) Now, I get to work and inspect the damage. One puncture hole in the O/S indicator. Spoiler, bonnet, wings, windscreen, A pillars are all 'peppered'. The paintwork is not through to metal, but certainly to base coat. The windscreen has half a dozen chips about 1mm in size and the boot lid has two larger scrapes through to the metal. Of course this really pisses me off as not only had I spent the previous evening washing and polishing the whole car, I've spent 20 years working hard for a nice motor.

I go to see the workmen and demand an explanation. "nothing to do with us" they say. So I get their bosses name and make a complaint to which they send me a claim form. That was a year ago. After much tooing and froing and writing of letters and taking photographs etc, they are still denying responsibility, so today I took the last resort step of making a claim against them through the Sheriff Court.

It's not exactly a cheap claim, I got quotes for the windscreen, indicator and bodyshop work, but as the sharper among you will have noticed it's below the £3k limit of the Scottish small claims system.

Anyway, I'm a wee bit nervous as I've never had any dealings with the courts, but their attitude made me so angry it will be worth the £65 court fee just to show them I will not be fobbed off. Let a judge decide I say and be done.

I just wanted a little rant

If anyone is interested, I'll let you know how I get on. The company in question is a national one, who are contracted to maintain Scotlands trunk road system, you can guess who they are.

 

[renault12ts]

Rant away, that's what we're here for.

 

[LTD]

Go for it.

You are not wrong and you deserve recompense.

End of.

 

[evdok]

Make sure you keep ALL records of dealings with these people, they will be needed in court.

 

[NuisanceValue]

I have thanks. Copies of everything in a file ready for court, including dates and names of telephone calls etc. I wouldn't take a step like this if I didn't think I would be successful and half the battle is having your paperwork in order.

I don't expect them to roll over, in fact they will probably settle out of court as long as no responsibility on their part is admitted. It's all to do with H&S and retaining contracts, court actions don't look good when you're negotiating a further contract.

We'll see what happens

 

[The G.F.P]

yellow jacket wearing swines

 

[renault12ts]

yellow jacket wearing swines

and may they catch the 'flu...

 

[stella1]

good on you,what took you so long.i would have done that months ago.hate being fobbed off.Good luck and keep us posted

 

[219]

Good luck with it !

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I'm assuming that the Sheriff court is the same as County Court in England and Wales. If so, don't be nervous, the district judges that they use are very used to dealing with non-professionals. Don't forget that they also sit on cases such as divorce and other family matters.

The key is to present your case as calmly as possible, don't dwell on the emotions of the case such as the feeling that you have been messed about. Best stick to the facts but, of course, you're not supposed to understand the process so could slip in a few references to the way that you have been treated.

What evidence do you have that the firm were negligent?

The company that you are claiming against will most likely send a solicitor but the DJ will make allowances for you not understanding all the protocal of the court, as long as you stick to the facts you'll be OK.

Are Scottish cases held in Judges chambers? If so, it's not like crown court but more like a large office.

 

[Spinal]

While I do think you're in the right, I would have taken a slightly different course of action...

Personally, I would have claimed off my insurance, and then asked my insurance to deal with the third parties insurance company to reclaim the losses...

But that's just the lazy side of me

M.

 

[clegsr]

Personally, I would have claimed off my insurance, and then asked my insurance to deal with the third parties insurance company to reclaim the losses...

But that's just the lazy side of me

M.

not just lazy but so much more stress free as well!

That's why I buy Fully Comprehensive Insurance...

 

[219]

Hmmm - don't know anything about the English system , but here in Scotland we have , to my limited knowledge of the system -

Magistrates' Court - deals with 'minor' offences such as motoring offences ( speeding etc) , breach of the peace , non payment of TV licences etc etc . Court is presided over by a lay magistrate who sits on the bench under a rota system - they are advised on legal matters by a professional court officer and have to undergo some training for this role .

Sherrif Court - sits on Solemn ( Jury ) trials and Summary trials - normally for more serious matters which can be civil or criminal cases . Presided over by a Sherrif who is full-time and will have been an experienced lawyer before being called to the bench

High Court - only for the most serious cases : Rape , Murder etc etc Presided over by a High Court Judge ( normally referreed to as Lord or Lady XXXX ) they will formally have been an Advocate and will have had lengthy experience before being called to the bench .

 

[SilverSaloon]

good luck

 

[ecossebev]

Not Magistrate Court Derek, District Court (in Scotland).

 

[Colin_b]

not just lazy but so much more stress free as well!

That's why I buy Fully Comprehensive Insurance...

If you claim, the cost goes up. Irritating if you don't need to claim.

 

[Dryce]

Personally, I would have claimed off my insurance, and then asked my insurance to deal with the third parties insurance company to reclaim the losses...

Sadly your insurer may not be interested. We've had two no-fault claims that ended up going down the legal route and on each case our insurer tried to put us off. Both were settled in our favour just before the court dates.

 

[crockers]

So the answer is to have legal cover with your insurance....

Good luck with your case -- keep us informed.. but I would be surprised if it gets to court and is not settled beforehand.

 

[et0609]

I wouldnt be surprised if they make you an offer to avoid going to court. Thats quite common. But if you do go all the way, best of luck. I guess you stand a good chance, problem may be, if they find in your favour they still have to cough up.

I remember when I worked for Tesco, they filled up one of the diesel tanks with unleaded and broke a whole load of peoples cars. Although they ended up in court and lost, it took them months to pay up. Terrible company.

Good luck.

 

[Jamesie]

Not Magistrate Court Derek, District Court (in Scotland).

Now known as "Justice of the Peace" court in most areas since about last year...