Petrol Station Accident

[jenny012]

Hi everyone
I'm hoping someone could advise me on an issue I'm currently having.
I recently went to a petrol station and when I'd pulled up next to the pump I realised that they weren't the type that stretched so I needed to move to another pump. As I reversed back somehow the hose of the diesel pump looped over my fog light and bumper which caused the pump nozzle to be pulled out of the holder. It hit the floor and fell apart. It was a weird accident as I never hit the curb that goes round the pump to protect it. The petrol station have said that I need to either pay for the cost of the repair or they want to claim through through my car insurance.
I just wanted to check that this is right because several friends have said that the petrol station should have this covered on their own insurance? I imagine I'll have to pay the bill but I just wanted to check before I did.
Thanks for any help that you can give.

[ssparks2003]

Re: Petrol Station Accident

They will contact their insurance company who will issue a claim against you to your insurance company since it was you who caused the damage. I don't see the issue

[teaboy2]

Re: Petrol Station Accident

Sorry to say, but its no different to when you bump into another car, the driver at fault insurance company has to cover the damage to the other parties car. In this case, it sounds like you took the nozzle off and tried to stretch it to reach your petrol cap and it didn't reach far enough and when you put it back on the holder, you failed to check that the hose was clear from your vehicle and not caught, hung up on your car anywhere. So it sounds like in this case you were the negligent party am afraid.

But how much are they saying it costs? Demand to see a receipt of the repair bill. And if you can afford it, then pay up to avoid your insurance premiums increasing or/and losing your no claims bonus if you have one!

[bluebottle]

Re: Petrol Station Accident

It's all down to whether similar incidents have occurred and the filling station knew there was a problem and have done nothing to rectify it. If there has and they haven't, they can go whistle. Check first before offering any insurance details.

[enquirer]

Re: Petrol Station Accident

See if the petrol station has CCTV.

[bluebottle]

Re: Petrol Station Accident

Petrol pump nozzles are made from metals that are not affected by petrol or diesel and then enshrouded with heavy duty rubber to guard against damage to the mechanism. They should withstand falling onto the concrete floor of a filling station forecourt.

However, some filling stations fit a brittle plastic sleeve over the nozzle mechanism into which advertising material can be inserted. If it is this that fell apart, they should have spares available in case they get damaged, which is fairly frequently if it is a busy filling station. These sleeves are relatively low cost and they would only be entitled to the cost of one at the price they paid for it. if, on the other hand, the hoze and nozzle assembly fell apart, I would be asking serious questions as to whether the filling station was keeping its pumps correctly and properly maintained.