Advice - when is secure parking not secure parking

[SteveH - Reading]

Hi,

The building where I park my bike for work is advertised as secure parking. Within that car park is a secure bike room. Breeze blocks, with a solid metal door, and a combination lock to enter the room.

My £600 specialized hybrid got nicked from there.
There is CCTV, but unfortunately by the time the cctv was looked at, 5 days had passed and they said that the footage was no longer available.

The company that manages the building advertise the apartments as having "secure parking". There are no signs of any sort suggesting "vehicles or bikes left at owners risk". The only signage says "this car park is monitored for security purposes" .... yes thanks for that !!!

So when I spoke to the management company they said it was nothing to do with them.
I suspect otherwise.

Any comments?
I was considering a snotty letter asking them to go halves on the cost of the bike.

Thats because i stupidly didnt spot the small print on my home insurance that says that bikes over £500 are not covered. I have only ever bought bikes up to the £499, until last year ..... so a bike costing £501 is not covered ... as opposed to "we only cover the first £500" .... so my fault, but i still think the management company have some liability.

Thanks in advance :-)

 

[Cameronmu917772]

Try googling the security company's website and look at there terms and conditions? It will probably have a claws that allows them to shrug of things like this. If not get intouch with the office of fair trading. And also if you havnt already report it to the police. I'm not to sure about the laws and regulations around these car parks but I am sure there must be a terms of use policy or contract that they must display to all customers.

Can you name and shame the company and car park? It may help us all if we can do some digging for you. Many hands. Make light work at the end of the day.

 

[SteveH - Reading]

Yes i reported it to the police and have a crime number.
I will check out their T&C's on their website too.

 

[simon the viking]

I am assuming the camera footage was on a computer hard drive and if you reported it to them before the footage was automatically overwritten...... then surely they are liable by their inaction?

I worked in a large store with computer controlled CCTV and if we spotted anything suspect we burnt it to DVD straight away ... it used to take about 2 weeks to overwrite itself (running 9 cameras 24/7) so their time scale for keeping footage seems woefully short....

 

[SteveH - Reading]

No specific mention of liability on bikes parked in secure car parks, just some generic stuff.
I think i need to pursue this but nt sure my approach ..... letter demanding full payment?? letter suggesting further dialogue (probably not worth it) ???
I did orginally suggest that if it was my liability then there should be signage that says so .. but I also said that I could understand why they might not want to publish the fact that "stuff might get nicked" when their website advertises this property as having "secure parking".

 

[SteveH - Reading]

regarding the cctv footage i took 5 days to request, and then they took another 5days to say "sorry its too late now". So a bit of a grey area there.

 

[SteveH - Reading]

anyone have any suggestions on how i should approach the management company?
I tried asking and they just said "sorry but the residents insurance didnt cover it". I am suggesting its the management company who are liable, as they are the ones managing the renting of the apartments. (by the way, we have an office on one floor of the building but the rest is residential).

 

[Spinney]

My £600 specialized hybrid got nicked from there.
...
Thats because i stupidly didnt spot the small print on my home insurance that says that bikes over £500 are not covered. I have only ever bought bikes up to the £499, until last year ..... so a bike costing £501 is not covered ... as opposed to "we only cover the first £500" .... so my fault, but i still think the management company have some liability.

Thanks in advance :-)

If your bike was £600 new, it is now worth less than that because it is now a used bike ??
And just riding a bike out of the showroom must knock a lot off the price.

Or is the £600 the replacement cost?

 

[NorvernRob]

Just tell them the bike cost £500!

 

[simon the viking]

regarding the cctv footage i took 5 days to request, and then they took another 5days to say "sorry its too late now". So a bit of a grey area there.

If they are advertising CCTV as a selling point for the building then I think that it needs challenging by a solicitor, 5 days ffs.... you could work away/be on holiday and not know its been stolen.

Not accusing anyone but whiffs a bit of an inside job by employees?

 

[BSRU]

If it is like where I work, the CCTV is purely for insurance purposes and only to cover the buildings.
To use CCTV for a non-building related criminal act they will only release it to the Police.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

As Spinney says, your bike will no longer be worth anything near £600 and, assuming you're claiming for market value and that's under £500, I don't see a problem.

As for the secure parking, ask them what it is secure against!

Here's some useful reading for you. It doesn't address specifically your scenario but the same principles should apply: http://www.thompsons.law.co.uk/fact...amage-employees-belongings-work-factsheet.pdf

In short, get some proper legal advice; try the Citizens' Advice Bureau in your area. I believe disclaimer notices about not accepting responsibilty for theft/damage etc aren't worth the signs they're printed on.

Good luck.


GC

 

[vickster]

Just tell them the bike cost £500!

When my bike was stolen I had to produce the receipt for the purchase so fraud may not work there. You'll have to pay an excess but usually new for old replacement

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

My old work defined secure parking as being a parking spot secured for the use of staff and one which was not accessible by the general public.

Did you take reasonable precautions and lock the bike as I expect this would come up if you proceed with a claim.

 

[NorvernRob]

When my bike was stolen I had to produce the receipt for the purchase so fraud may not work there. You'll have to pay an excess but usually new for old replacement

It's hardly fraud, last years model bike isn't going to cost £600 now. All the OP needs to do is find the same model for sale at £500 or less.

Receipts are helpful but aren't strictly necessary, proof of ownership such as photos or manuals etc is more than enough. (It's all we needed when burgled)