Shopping carts hit car.?

Question

When shopping at a DollarTree, I came out of a store with my mom and discovered that two shopping carts hit her car. It was closing time and an employee was bringing in the carts. The employee witnessed the fact that this occured and said she was sorry. One week later after we found out that it would be over $1000 to fix the dents we went to the store to report it (we didn't think it would be that expensive to fix). There are no signs in the parking lot disclaiming responsibility for cart damage. The store has not done anything and the corporate office will not respond to several e-mails. We'd rather not go through our insurance company. I'm not sure where to go from here.

Answer 1

I am unsure if your statement is that an employee actually was pushing carts when this happened, or if an employee saw a cart roll into your car. If there was a person behind the cart that hit your vehicle, it's worth exploring with the grocery store. If a random cart hit your car, it's considered a standard hazard in a parking lot and no one is liable. The store doesn't need to post signs because the lot is private property and driving on it is at your own risk. Depends on what your deductible is with your insurance, too. Here's an example: You have a 500.00 deductible for collision (this is a collision, something collided with your car). The damage comes to 1k. Ask your insurance if your premium will increase for the payout, which is only going to be 500.00 since you pay the difference. If they're not going to increase your premium (and they probably won't since it is a non-fault loss), you can get your car fixed for $500.00. Makes sense?

Answer 2

Discuss this with the manager of the store. He probably has some clout with the corporate headquarters. Tell him/her that the store or corporate should reimburse you for the damages because it's the right thing to do, and you wish to settle the matter without the help of an attorney. Also, if the word gets around that the store did not pay, they could get a bad reputation. When you talk to the manager, you will need the employee who witnessed the accident.

Answer 3

The store is not responsible, in most states. This is a collision claim, and will only be covered by your insurance if you have collision coverage, and your deductible will apply.

If you don't have collision, your only recourse is to sue the store in small claims court - it's not worth hiring a lawyer, they'll charge at LEAST $150 an hour. But you'll probably lose. Just like you aren't responsible if someone hits a car parked in front of your house.

Answer 4

You could ask the store to pay for it...but, don't hold your breath.

You could take them to small claims court...but, that would be a big hassle.

You could maybe find a paintless dent repair guy and he might be able to fix the dents for a couple of hundred...if the paint is not broken.

You could pay the insurance deductible and get it fixed by body shop...but then your insurance might go up

The fact is cars get damaged in parking lots...the only way to escape damage is to leave in the garage.

Answer 5

I had this happen at a grocery store once. As soon as it happened I got the name of the manager and spoke with the assistant that was on duty that night. The grocery store paid for my damage and now have a sign in the lot warning of this. Since you did not report it to a manager at the time they probably won't pay.

Answer 6

You can report the claim with the insurance company that insures the store.If it was a plaza you want to file the claim with the insurance on the plaza.If it's a stand alone store you want to file the claim with whoever insures the store they should have business insurance.

Answer 7

Save yourself some greif and report it to your company. The adjusters get paid to sit for hours on the phone and work on-line to help resolve this stuff.

Answer 8

You either need to push a bit more on Dollar Tree, or turn it over to your insurance company.