I hired a skip from this guy last September and his driver brought down the telephone cable when delivering. I had to have it repaired by BT who sent me a bill which I sent to Mr Wragg. After 2 further letters and several phone calls he assured me that he would sort it out.

I have now received a final warning from BT with a threat of legal action, termination and further costs.

Be warned.

why are you getting the bill? shouldent that be going to the drivers address/Wragg's Skips?

i mean that you had no envolvment with the distruction of the phone line, so why is BT sending you letters?

I think Max may be being billed because the work he contracted someone to do destroyed BT's line/equipment. Therefore, Max is responsible from a simplistic viewpoint (and in all my dealings with BT, they are hugely capable of taking "simple" to whole new heights that had previously only been dreamt of - but that's another story).

In the real world, Wragg's should have insurance to cover this kind of thing. I take it the line was damaged by the lorry's hydraulic dooberry unloading the skip? If so, I guess their standard vehicle insurance MAY cover it. If not, they surely are required to have some kind of indemnity insurance? What if the driver loses an arm in the mechanism etc? If they haven't, you may end up having to pay BT and then pursue Wragg's yourself - I doubt BT will go after Wragg's themselves.

I'd suggest forwarding all correspondence to Wragg's (copying in BT) politely pointing out that they should settle the matter between themselves and that you now consider it closed. If either or both parties ignore it, I'm not sure where you stand legally.....

As we dont know the cost of the repairs carried out by BT, this would depend on how I would persue the matter. How about claiming the costs through the small claims court or consulting a solicitor and bill them for any legal fees.

Look on your house insurance policy, they should be willing to pay the legal costs in sorting out the skip hire company. Alternatively, get a solicitor to send a letter threatening legal action or look at taking them to the small claims court, it's only about £25 to get a claim to court nowdays.

Thanks for all that. The bill is for £58 and I'm going to have to pay it as BT don't recognise a 3rd party's reponsibility. Having said that, they have held off since Sept which I suppose isn't too bad.

I'm going to get my solicitor to write to him next and then it's heigh ho off to the small claims court.

Look at the positive side. You've cost Wragg's more than £58 in the bad publicity they've received because of their actions.

Originally posted by Cols
Look at the positive side. You've cost Wragg's more than £58 in the bad publicity they've received because of their actions.

That's why I posted this thread, in the hopes that people would think twice before using him. Hope it works.:thumbsup:

actually I have had 3 skips from Wragg over the last month or so. Apart from the usual turning up 8 hours after they said they would, trying to over charge me a fro a skip then taking one away when I hadn't finished with it they have been spot on. :D
I too would give them the same high recommendation Max has

Perhaps Geoff could give them a ring to get an official comment on these complaints?

Originally posted by max
...I'm going to have to pay it as BT don't recognise a 3rd party's reponsibility.

I would say that in this case, you're the third party. Wraggs are responsible for the damage caused by their driver/equipment.

Imagine if, on its way to your house, the skip had been involved in an accident and written off another car. Would you be held responsible for that?

Don't pay it. If you do, BTs bully-boy tactics have won

Originally posted by Andy
Don't pay it. If you do, BTs bully-boy tactics have won

Andy I totally agree with you in principle, but unfortunately companies / organisations like BT will not care and just pass you on to a debt collection agency, affecting your credit rating and ultimately if you stick to your guns a visit from the bailiffs.

Originally posted by wibbles
actually I have had 3 skips from Wragg over the last month or so. Apart from the usual turning up 8 hours after they said they would, trying to over charge me a fro a skip then taking one away when I hadn't finished with it they have been spot on. :D
I too would give them the same high recommendation Max has

Crap service, when will they get it. Glad both you and Max recommend them so highly.

The line must have been low for the lorry to catch it in the first place, I haven't seen the mechanism go that high before. If it was dangling that low then surely it was a problem of BT?

Originally posted by fuzzy
Crap service, when will they get it. Glad both you and Max recommend them so highly.

The line must have been low for the lorry to catch it in the first place, I haven't seen the mechanism go that high before. If it was dangling that low then surely it was a problem of BT?

I live in a bungalow so it's as high as the roof. The driver was trying to put the skip on our drive when he broke the wire. Still his fault though.

Wragg in a sense have damaged your property. You rent it, so therefore it's yours. You are piggy in the middle. BT will see you as responsible so you'll have to pay their bill as the contract with them makes you responsible for the damage. Wragg will have to pay you.

I'd suggest you send them an invoice from yourself, adding on more for administration costs. They then have a bill to their company with a date and a number on it which you can then send a reminder for and then a threatening letter and then court action....your payment terms can be 7 days from the date of the invoice. The invoice can then be stored in their files for their accountant to see evidence that a bill has been paid.

Originally posted by max
That's why I posted this thread, in the hopes that people would think twice before using him. Hope it works.:thumbsup:

Well, it's worked in my case. I shall certainly think twice before using them. Thanks for the data. :)