Council Lorries Use Cars As Doorstoppers
Chiswick classic car enthusiast received compensation from Hounslow Council contractors after they admitted liability for damage to two of his cars.
He told ChiswickW4.com, "After a year of restoration my classic car was resprayed and is usually stored in a garage. However in February I parked it outside my house for a few days while I waited to take it to the upholsterer.
"I returned one evening to find the mysterious v-shaped dent. I put it down to a car having stopped to drop off a child who must have swung open the back door or something.
"I had the dent repaired to a certain standard while I was doing the other things with the car. I thought no more of it except for being really annoyed, until a few months later I had another vehicle parked in the same space only to come back to find an identical dent, same size, same position, on the door. Being dustbin day it didn’t take me long to add it all up – too much of a coincidence."
He continued "I observed the recycling lorries over the next few weeks and took photos. I was horrified to see that the lorry driver stopped where he liked and threw open the cab door letting it bounce off parked cars. It was a matter of luck if the swinging door hit or missed the car as he made a vain attempt to catch it’s quick momentum – if he missed – hard luck."
After writing to Hounslow Council with photographic evidence of damage to the two cars, he was contacted Heath Lambert who were acting as solicitors for the recycling contractors. They agreed to pay for repairing the damage to both cars if they received letters from the owner's garage mechanic and dent repairer that the two dents were identical.
Although he eventually recieved two cheques amounting to £1,190, his concerns of a binman with a vengeance were never addressed by the Council.
July 16, 2008
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