A yorkshire terrier bus tried to sqeeze past my static car on ballifield and took my bumper with it!! and the bus company are saying im 20% at fault how that is? i dont know? when im parked up!!! they wont pay the full amount of the damage and it now looks like its going to court. Has anyone else had this sort of treatment from them? im disgusted by the whole thing.

get their HQ involved... Yorkshire Traction.

my solicitors have done everything possible believe me as this has been going on since may 2005. Apparently its the bus companys insurers will try everything to get out of paying for damages but there surely going to end up paying alot more when it goes to court as its pretty obvious im the innocent party.

speak to your solicitors about getting the press involved. bear in mind the yorkshire traction group has just been bought out by stagecoach (includes terrier), any bad press may not be deemed as much as a threat as it could have been pre buyout.

i have thought about that as a few friends have said the same its just finding the guts to be strewn over the news paper etc. What makes me so angry is the bumper is only £400 to buy and fit.. it makes me wonder if there company is stuggling?

if they wait 'til after the buyout the claim may not be transferrable, hence the delaying tactics.

I may be wrong but it sounds from your post like you had parked your car in such a position/way as to not leave enough room for a bus to get past. IF this is the case then i agree with the bus people, 20% is about right. Obviously they shouldn't have tried to squeeze though if there wasnt enough room, but there should have been.
However, if you mean that you and the bus were travelling towards each other and you pulled over to try and let it past, then i agree with you.

One thing I would say, is that posting a lot of details here MIGHT prejudice any court case, so please bear that in mind.

Joe

A long time ago I was involved in an accident that wasn't my fault,

BUT the insurance company said I was 30% to blame for being there in the first place.

Contributory blame. Without my being there the accident wouldn't have occured?

Afraid it sounds a liitle like that with yours.

I don't think that's true of all bus companies. And to be honest I'd expect yorkshire traction and/or stagecoach to be carrying the first several million as an excess.
That's how mainline operate.

I just rang my sister for a chat and she was telling me about her daughter-in-laws car bumper getting knocked off last week at firth park by..a yorkshire terrier bus! she doesnt know any other details as yet though as to what has been said.:suspect:

Sounds like classic Corporate Bullying. Could also ask your solicitor to get the other side's lawyers to confirm transfer of ownership wont affect your claim.

I may be wrong but it sounds from your post like you had parked your car in such a position/way as to not leave enough room for a bus to get past. IF this is the case then i agree with the bus people, 20% is about right. Obviously they shouldn't have tried to squeeze though if there wasnt enough room, but there should have been.
However, if you mean that you and the bus were travelling towards each other and you pulled over to try and let it past, then i agree with you.
id pulled in and was parked in a parking space when the bus stuggled to get passed there was plenty of room, there up and down that road everyday, allday!! the driver was such a miserable person and had a right go at me when im not at fault!

I just rang my sister for a chat and she was telling me about her daughter-in-laws car bumper getting knocked off last week at firth park by..a yorkshire terrier bus! she doesnt know any other details as yet though as to what has been said.:suspect:
No doubt your in for a long ride like myself almost a year since my accident!

A long time ago I was involved in an accident that wasn't my fault,

BUT the insurance company said I was 30% to blame for being there in the first place.

Contributory blame. Without my being there the accident wouldn't have occured?

Afraid it sounds a liitle like that with yours.

Same thing happened to me. I too was involved in an accident, that wasnt my fault, and which also had to go to court. I was found to be '20%' to blame.
The only winner in this scenario is the insurance companies, because both parties lost their no claims, even though only one party was to blame!

Good luck with your case though!

Did you get the drivers name and address?

If it were me I would go after him personally as well as the company, might get quicker results when it lands on his mat, he certainly won't like it!

I got rear ended years ago and the company and driver both got summons sent to them.

Went to court and not only did they have to pay I got the interest from them as well for the time they spent dicking around!

I hated them so so much and revenge was soooo sweet!!

B

The bus companies and their insurers can be swines - and a lot of it is bullying and delaying tactics.

I know of a case where a bus smacked into a stationary car which was in a queue of traffic, clean cut case for the car driver. At least it was until he heard from the bus driver's union's insurers who wrote to tell him they were claiming for neck injuries to the bus driver.

They had no case but it brought a great deal of stress to the car driver - who was a victim twice over. They'll try anything, and the bus drivers will almost always lie if they can because their job can be lost of they have too many prangs.

The courts should have the gumption to penalise the insurers for putting in frivolous and deliberately unreasonable counter claims.

It's not just bus companies.

A friend of mine was killed just over a year ago by a car. The driver was attempting to bring a case for damages due to stress, damage to their car and loss of earnings against the dead girls family.
The driver has now been found guilty of driving without due care, a relatively minor charge unfortunately, but at least it's put an end to their blatant harrasment of a grieving family.

Do you have photo evidence? How were you parked?
Why would a bus have to 'squeeze' past anywhere if ample space had been provided and you had parked sensibly/with concideration to other motorists?

Not accusing you of anything so don't take offence, but we only have your word to go on untill you show us otherwise.

:)

The bus companies and their insurers can be swines - and a lot of it is bullying and delaying tactics.

I know of a case where a bus smacked into a stationary car which was in a queue of traffic, clean cut case for the car driver. At least it was until he heard from the bus driver's union's insurers who wrote to tell him they were claiming for neck injuries to the bus driver.

They had no case but it brought a great deal of stress to the car driver - who was a victim twice over. They'll try anything, and the bus drivers will almost always lie if they can because their job can be lost of they have too many prangs.

The courts should have the gumption to penalise the insurers for putting in frivolous and deliberately unreasonable counter claims.

It used to be a situation that motorist's used to regard bus companies as an easy touch claiming all manner of things but no more the situation in general is nowadays that you can fight for claims etc.

Having read you post with intrest ( Ex Bus Driver ) I would like to know where you were parked? if it was near a bus stop then they are right, if not you keep fighting.

Do you have photo evidence? How were you parked?
Why would a bus have to 'squeeze' past anywhere if ample space had been provided and you had parked sensibly/with concideration to other motorists?

Not accusing you of anything so don't take offence, but we only have your word to go on untill you show us otherwise.

:)
i understand what your saying, the school was just about to finish so the road had cars on either side of the road there was a ice cream van opposite me the bus driver swung more my way to avoid hitting the van i think? then again the roads like that every day!! so i guess the bus driver has no excuse.

Having read you post with intrest ( Ex Bus Driver ) I would like to know where you were parked? if it was near a bus stop then they are right, if not you keep fighting.
i was parked nowhere near a bus stop. dont worry mate im going to keep fighting i know im not in the wrong, dont really understand it as its going to cost them so much more if and when it goes to court!!

i understand what your saying, the school was just about to finish so the road had cars on either side of the road there was a ice cream van opposite me the bus driver swung more my way to avoid hitting the van i think? then again the roads like that every day!! so i guess the bus driver has no excuse.

Regardless of where or how everyone else was parked it sounds to me like you had parked opposite an icecream van, and not allowed ample room for vehicles to pass.

The bus driver has no excuse because people park carelessly there every day? how does that work then?

sounds 50/50 to me and you are part to blame.

:)

Or maybe the icecream van was in traffic moving up the other side and hadn't been there when the OP parked.

Similar thing happened to me, my car was parked up on a Single Yellow on a saturday, out of restriction times. When some c'ck in a jacksons lorry sideswiped me. luckily mine was court on CCTV and i got a witness statement from the cctv operator. but it still took about 10 months to resolve.

full story here (http://www.vini.co.uk/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1124747694&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&)