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Damage claims against Hire boat/Day boat operators


PhilR

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I would be interested to hear if anyone has claimed for damage to their own boat caused by hire/day hire boats ......... and whether they were successful......... AND I mean claim off the hire company, not your own insurance.

 

I'll give more info tomorrow ... time for bed.

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A floating hen party hit and crushed my canoe, many years ago.

 

When I rang the hire company (will known for their bawdy hen and stag hires) they told me they weren't interested and I should take it up with the hirers.

 

This I did and they told me that if I spoke to them then the hire company had told them to ring the police.

 

I realised I was wasting my time so let it drop.

 

On the other hand I was threatened by a hirer once, no damage done, and the hire company were most apologetic and offered me a tank full of fuel, by way of compensation, so it really depends on which hire company you 'interact' with.

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If you claim off your own insurance, providing them with the appropriate evidence (assuming you have it), then it's up to them to pursue the claim against the hirers (not the hire yard, who aren't liable for the actions of their customers). As your insurer needs to be informed of any incident anyway (in case there's a claim, valid or not, against you), you might as well let them have the hassle (and to be honest, they're a lot more likely to be taken seriously than you are, as people know that they won't just get fed up and go away, and can afford lawyers).

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This I did and they told me that if I spoke to them then the hire company had told them to ring the police.

 

I realised I was wasting my time so let it drop.

 

 

Hmm. Kinda disappointed to hear that seeing as how often you are very militant against injustices. Seems you don't practice what you preach. More a bullet maker than firer then!

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A friend's boat was badly dented when hit by a hire boat.

 

It was a short distance from the hire base (respected, old established company).

 

They acted in a helpful, honourable manner and settled the claim, boat repaired satisfactorily.

 

I suspect it was 4 figure settlement.

 

I doubt many hire companies would act so quickly or helpfully.

 

Leo.

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Hmm. Kinda disappointed to hear that seeing as how often you are very militant against injustices. Seems you don't practice what you preach. More a bullet maker than firer then!

So what do you suggest I should have done.

 

A gang of girls tell me to fuck off, or they'll call the police, the hire company laugh in my face, I don't do fully comp insurance (the excesses would have probably exceeded the value of the canoe anyway) and I am quite capable of repairing a wooden framed canoe.

 

The fact that the hire company are owned by a bunch of tossers is hardly an injustice, or even hot news, around Rugby.

 

I don't preach, merely comment, btw, and I am certainly not militant.

  • Greenie 4
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We got pushed into the wall of a tunnel and I mean pushed by a hire boat from Stourport. We were on our way down there so went into the offices of the company to ask about it. Was told to leave or they would call the police as I was threatening their receptionist. I wasn't, I merely said that if the boss didn't come out of his office and talk to me I would go in there and talk to him.

I was glad when they folded somehow made me feel better.

Edited by idleness
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I had a successfull claim against a hire base a few years back when my boat was hit and damaged, all costs were recovered and then a few years later I pursued a claim, which again was successful, against another hire boat operator (this one was an MOD/RAF 'share boat') but in the end due to my tardiness, i didn't bother claiming for damages in the end, although it's still current and I had 5 years to submit the bill.

 

Paul

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I would be interested to hear if anyone has claimed for damage to their own boat caused by hire/day hire boats ......... and whether they were successful......... AND I mean claim off the hire company, not your own insurance.

 

I'll give more info tomorrow ... time for bed.

 

 

 

Hi

 

I had a Black Prince boat out of Victoria Park clout me and damaged the bow.

I called at at their base in Stoke and they were more than helpful.

They pulled the boat out for the repair and I asked them if I could black the bottom, as it was already out the water

It was no problem and they even sold me the bitumen cheap.

Although I did notice that they wouldn't put me back in the water until the hire boat returned - probably to justify the loss of their damage deposit.

 

Alex

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So what do you suggest I should have done.

 

A gang of girls tell me to fuck off, or they'll call the police, the hire company laugh in my face, I don't do fully comp insurance (the excesses would have probably exceeded the value of the canoe anyway) and I am quite capable of repairing a wooden framed canoe.

 

The fact that the hire company are owned by a bunch of tossers is hardly an injustice, or even hot news, around Rugby.

 

I don't preach, merely comment, btw, and I am certainly not militant.

 

 

You should have let them call the police.

 

Firesprite

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So what do you suggest I should have done.

 

A gang of girls tell me to fuck off, or they'll call the police, the hire company laugh in my face, I don't do fully comp insurance (the excesses would have probably exceeded the value of the canoe anyway) and I am quite capable of repairing a wooden framed canoe.

 

The fact that the hire company are owned by a bunch of tossers is hardly an injustice, or even hot news, around Rugby.

 

I don't preach, merely comment, btw, and I am certainly not militant.

 

Maybe not, but I would describe you as tenacious.

 

You always strike me as somebody not in the habit of allowing people to walk all over you.

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You always strike me as somebody not in the habit of allowing people to walk all over you.

I never start a fight I don't think I can win and, when it is my word against a whole group of people (I was told in no uncertain terms that the hirers would be told to deny all knowledge of the incident) I could see there was little likelihood of a victory.

 

I have, however steered a lot of business away from that particular yard and spent a pleasant afternoon watching one of their boats sink, whilst sat next to more than enough pumps to save it (then ringing them, to let them know) so I feel adequately, if quietly, compensated.

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I never start a fight I don't think I can win and, when it is my word against a whole group of people (I was told in no uncertain terms that the hirers would be told to deny all knowledge of the incident) I could see there was little likelihood of a victory.

 

I have, however steered a lot of business away from that particular yard and spent a pleasant afternoon watching one of their boats sink, whilst sat next to more than enough pumps to save it (then ringing them, to let them know) so I feel adequately, if quietly, compensated.

 

My faith is restored!

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We were hit by a hire boat a few weeks ago on the S Oxford - after some discussion have now agreed that the hire boat co will rectify the damge FOC so not a bad result despite the fact that they messed us about as to when they were going to do the work.

What helped was that we had 3 nb trainers on our boat versus one hire boat.

At the end of the day discussion helped more than anything else.

good luck with your 'challenge'!!

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I'm posting this just in case you know who owned the victim boat!

 

About ten days ago I witnessed a hire boat reverse at full throttle into a moored boat on the Grand Union near Gullivers Land Theme Park.

 

The hire boat was no more than a day out of its base, so you can guess where it was from :glare: .

 

The moored boat was hit so hard that there was a noticable dent in the front.

 

I did e-mail the hire company and told them of the incident, but I'm sure no-one will be surprised to hear that I never heard from them.

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I'm posting this just in case you know who owned the victim boat!

 

About ten days ago I witnessed a hire boat reverse at full throttle into a moored boat on the Grand Union near Gullivers Land Theme Park.

 

The hire boat was no more than a day out of its base, so you can guess where it was from :glare: .

 

The moored boat was hit so hard that there was a noticable dent in the front.

 

I did e-mail the hire company and told them of the incident, but I'm sure no-one will be surprised to hear that I never heard from them.

 

OK I believe I am familiar with the hire firm in question and to my knowledge they are "considerate and responsible" operators

 

However, put yourself in their shoes: As with motoring, insurers insist that the insured should never admit liability, and to forward all communications to the insurer. In this case, your e-mail would indicate that you were a witness for the third party and therefore, not to be communicated with directly.

 

Also, if I were them or their insurers I would do nothing until the owners of the damaged boat made a claim or/and if when the hire boat returned it was also damaged your e-mail would be used against the hirers to withold their deposit. Your e-mail will certainly be filed away somewhere.

 

Now, were the owners or crew of the other boat witness to this event? If not did you inform them? Are they going to make a claim? If not you probably will never hear anything further!

 

Edited to add: - On the other hand, you could be called as a witness for the hire firm against the hirers!!!!!:rolleyes:

Edited by Radiomariner
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What really annoys me is that passengers on day boats think it is hilarious when their (frequently) drunken steerers collide with moored boats. It seems to be more commonplace since *The Boat that Guy Built* was on TV. I always thought that program did nothing for the inland waterways. Hit and run now seems to be an accepted sport when hiring a day boat for a party outing.

  • Greenie 1
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Why would the process be any different if it is a hire boat or private boat?

 

It is simple. If one boat causes clear damage to another then there should be an exchange of details for processing an insurance claim.

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Why would the process be any different if it is a hire boat or private boat?

 

It is simple. If one boat causes clear damage to another then there should be an exchange of details for processing an insurance claim.

 

True, there should be an exchange of details, the difference (not appreciated by many hirers until too late) is that if a hire boat has caused damage whilst on hire it is the hirer who is liable, not the owner of the boat.

 

On the Broads, we a required to keep a record of the name and address of all hirers, and to communicate such information to the Broads Authority when they ask for it. Data Protection issues stop us giving that information out directly to people who may have a claim against one of our hirers, but by going through the Broads Authority it is possible to track them down. Having said that, the boats are required to have third party insurance, and the yard are going to be the people who know the details of that, then dealing with them is the obvious course of action. If they decide not to give details of their insurers then just sue the yard anyway, as if they want to claim on their insurance they'll need to inform their insurers ASAP and leave them to deal with the claim.

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Data Protection issues stop us giving that information out directly to people who may have a claim against one of our hirers,

 

No they don't.

 

Brass plating of the Data Protection Act by people who want any excuse not to do what they should is the only thing that stands in your way.

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No they don't.

 

Brass plating of the Data Protection Act by people who want any excuse not to do what they should is the only thing that stands in your way.

 

Actually they do - we cannot pass the hirer's personal information on to anyone who asks for it, only to those parties who're mentioned in the hire agreement (which would be the Broads Authority or our insurers). Unless we're reporting a crime ourselves, we can't even give them to the police without a court order (though in practice the police know all they have to do is ask the BA).

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True, there should be an exchange of details, the difference (not appreciated by many hirers until too late) is that if a hire boat has caused damage whilst on hire it is the hirer who is liable, not the owner of the boat.

 

 

So what does the insurance that hirers have to pay for actually cover them against ? Accidental damage to the hired boat ? accidental damage to waterways infrastructure ? accidental damage to other boats ? Negligence ? In this litigious age, where does accidental damage stop and negligence start ? It seems to me that virtually everything that happens to anybody nowadays has to have 'blame' apportioned somewhere, and where's blame there's lawyers [.. usually making a packet ..]

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