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Car damage caused by abandoned shopping trolley

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I had not even exited my car when it was hit by the infamous abandoned shopping trolley in windy weather whilst at the supermarket this weekend.  When I got out and had a look the damage was quite bad, more than a little scrape.  At the time there was no Trolley Assistant in the vicinity and when questioned about why, I was told that he was on a break.

As expected, I have had no joy from Tesco when I complained about the damage their shopping trolley caused to my car and will have to repair the work myself or via my insurance company.

After searching through the websites it seems the Tesco Trolley is rating quite high in the 'Supermarket Shopping Trolley Car Damage Pole'.  This alone would make me question why Tesco have not introduced the more sensible £1 return trolley system across all branches of the supermarket.

Shopping trolley in supermarket I understand that some members of the public are just lazy. Something like this should ensure that they return their shopping trolley after use, but on the other hand, I feel that a supermarket should be ensuring the safety of not only their customers, but their cars too.

If this abandoned shopping trolley, which coincidentally, hit my car in high winds, had hit my son or anyone for that matter, then is Tesco still not liable for an injury sustained from one of their trolleys?  If someones car had rolled into my car in Tesco, then are they not liable for the damage to my car?  Would we not exchanged insurance details?  Surely when a supermarket gives access to the pubic then the road becomes a "public road" and falls under Road Traffic Law?  Also, surely the trolley attendants should be more vigilant during windy weather and take steps to prevent them from careering around the car park causing damage?

I ask you, is this a lost cause or should I pursue for some form of compensation?

By: Joanne


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Side swiped by trolly stack.

Side swiped by trolly stack.

Read " the occupancy liability act 1957. Supermarkets / stores " have a duty of care" to protect all persons and thier property whilst on thier premises.
29/09/21 Side swiped by trolly stack.
0
Fibromyalgia!

Fibromyalgia!

I complained to Asda 27/9/21 regarding 5 large scratches due to trolley cascading into my sons car as well as dents, reported to an employee passing at the time , told me to report it, which I did, I suffer Chronic Fibromyalgia waiting for the manager proved to be a time wasting situation, being a passenger of the vehicle in constant pain even before the collision, I could only offer information alone. My Grievance is y didn't the manager get back after? Looking on CCTV? Did they look at it? Act of God- there response, easy way out for Asda. I'm to get it touch with Asda 2 days later asking y have they not returned my sons call? It may have been the wind that caused the damage, my sons car was not parked we were in motion when it happened. My opinion is that Asda being Full of Wind are in the wrong, never offering any act of Kindness to there Loyal Customers.
29/09/21 Fibromyalgia!
0
Next

Next

Sue Sue, That's why you see so many BMW'S, Merc's, Audi's parking in remote parts of the car park straddling two spaces. Tip, don't park near a trolly bay. Leave the shopping to late night/everning, and never, never park next to a car with baby seats inside or disable folder in the windscreen.
PS, Straddling two spaces is also not a good idea, this is a red flag to angry drivers and yobs, most lightly you'll get keyed.
10/04/18 Next
1
SueSue

SueSue

My car was also hit on a windy day by an abandoned trolley
It happened before I could stop it and made a dent in my passenger door
I wrote to tesco and same excuses and we park at our own risk
Why haven't they got public liability insurance it's disgusting so we go shopping in their stores and we can come out to a damaged vehicle
It's not like thy are poor
The law is an ass and maybe the public should get a petition started not just for stray trolleys
but also for dishonest people who damage your car and drive away
This world is falling apart
It's so aggravating grrr!!
10/04/18 SueSue
2
shopper

shopper

It's the person who was just to lazy to return his/her trolley that should pay for the damage.

Tesco can't be held responsible for the rudeness and laziness of other shoppers.

I'd ask them to look at the camera footage and see if they can see who left that trolley behind. If they also parked there then it's easy to find them by their cars registration plate.

A coin system would be best.
But I think better would be to let people who's left behind trolley causes damage that Tesco at least try to find these people and make them pay for the damage they caused.

I think less people would be this lazy if the shops would try to find them and make them pay for the damage.
How hard is it to just put your trolley in the trolley bay where it belongs?
22/07/13 shopper
-2
anon

anon

Rust bucket hater, the post you are reacting to was made well over a year ago, seems like you are trawling this site looking for ways to vent some sort of anger or frustration. What's the problem, somebody dink your motor in a car park?
10/12/12 anon
0
Rust-bucket

Rust-bucket

Oh the joy of seeing the shiney new car parked in the remotest part of the car park all by itself, it just screams out "park next to me in you're beat-up old banger". I especially prefer beamers and Audis. If you can't stand dinks on you're cars, leave them at home and take the bus.
25/06/11 Rust-bucket
-11
Fred E

Fred E

If it's any use I had the same in a Costco car park a few years ago and they just said "send us the bill" which they duly paid. Not sure of the legal situation - I would have thought that they have a duty to ensure that their property doesn't damage your property.
24/06/11 Fred E
-23
Diesel Dr

Diesel Dr

S Type Jag two dents on Door caused by runaway trolley at Tesco Warwick, store not interested.
Now after using Tesco Rugby for 25+ years, shop at Sainsburys. Cost me £350 to sort out,

Tip for the future,
Find a place away from the trolley storage and at the top of an incline.
24/06/11 Diesel Dr
-5
peed off

peed off

As a organiser of a steam rally, I have to instruct everyone attending that because the farmers field is open to the public, it is now under the road traffic act regulations, and is classed as a public road. therefore if , for sake of arguement, you were driving in the field whilst the event is open to the public, you can be charged for offences under the act.(drink driving ,uninsured, no tax,etc)
So how can a car park which is open to the public every day be any different to a farmers field open for two days in the year?????
31/03/11 peed off
-2
Mr X

Mr X

A few day ago when parking at tescos new car prak in st neots ,the parking space is quite short so pulled in as far as I could to avoid my car being damaged by the sticking of to far.. but didnt pull in as far as to meet the curb. then did some shopping .. when pulling out of the parking space the curb edging pulled the bumper clean off my car.. the curb edging is set at over 5" and should be less that 4" . tesco has sent me a letter today and said parking at tesco is at own risk. Thanks Tesco ! for rewarding me for being a loyal shpper for year! and spending god know how much money over the years...
07/03/11 Mr X
-10
Chris Didcot

Chris Didcot

I find it unbelieveable that council cannot instruct the BIG supermarkets to stop allowing their trolleys to litter my town causing a constant eyesore. My phone calls to them seems to fall on deaf ears. 10-12 trolleys have remained in my area for weeks, normal for them My contact with the local town council has drawn a blank, they seem unconcerned about the impact it has on the tax payer. Interestingly we have 2 very minor super markets and they both operate a coin to use system and you never see theirs about town This fell on deaf Tesco ears.
03/03/11 Chris Didcot
-12
Dusty

Dusty

My car was damaged by a trolley in a Tesco car park. The wind was high that night and it was impossible to avoid the trolley which smashed into my car with some force. To cut a long story short the manage wrote an apology saying his "trolley team were out working hard at the time." What he did not realise (but will shortly!) is that I made a HD camcorder recording of the entire car park a minute after the accident and again one hour later. Many of the trolleys had overturned in the exceptionally high wind and were in the SAME LOCATIONS when I made the second recording! His story of the trolley team was proved to be a lie.
22/02/11 Dusty
4
Weston Babe

Weston Babe

It would be best for all if there was a £1 fee - returnable. Then all the trolleys would be returned and parked neatly in the correct place. It amazes me that some folk (usually young women as far as I've seen) either leave the trolley next to where they parked or take it near the trolley park and push it roughly in that direction - if it goes in or not, they don't look to see - often they are the ones who park at a weird angle or in two bays.
27/11/10 Weston Babe
-6
anon

anon

angry biker, surely it is your own responsibility to make sure your bike does not bump into anything? even if somebody did leave a trolley where it should not be. Be thankfull it was just a trolley, it could have been a small child. Please be more spatially aware from now on.
20/11/10 anon
-7

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