Customer just rang to say skip company had damaged the drain cover on driveway whilst collecting, should Skip co. have taken due care and therefor liable for it, or is it tough titty, we don’t except responsibility for any damage done?

Anyone got any experience of this? 1st time it’s happened to me in 15 years of trading. Obviously I’ll phone the skip company in morning but would like a bit more ammunition than just plain rage.

difficult to see how a grate was damaged picking a skip up.. every wagon driver whips wood under the legs that go down and take the weight then all the weight is on them big black rubber things the lorry rolls around on..
gonna be a lot of he said she said..

Yeah, would be interesting to see how exactly they damaged the property. Have they dropped the skip on it and it’s damaged it or was it the wagon dropping/collecting a skip.

Collecting skip, drain cover wasn’t broken in morning and is now and then not people at property all day was the skip company to collect.

I suspect it the leg on floor without wooden pad.

Never seen them use the legs as they should even when the weight of the skip is bouncing the front wheels off the ground. I have seen plenty if times when they’ve pulled the skip forward or turn it slightly by only putting chains at the front or just one corner usually if access is awkward due to narrow streets and tight driveways. If this is the case the drag marks would be evident. A skip that has been bounced off the ground due to difficultly lifting it usually due to overweight would damage a drain cover too but would leave evidence.
Both could be argued that the skip had been moved when empty so required dragging out. Overweight skips filled above the edges would be argued as the customers fault.

IME skip wagon drivers are only just above scaffolders in the care they take in a job. Some diamonds, but generally, if there is chance for damage, it will happen. Doubt it’ll be worth your phone call.

Best you can hope is that the next skip they collect has a matching drain cover in.

depends on what the lid was made of plastic injection moulding or galvanised steel or cast iron, domestic or commercial quality, a wheel may have cracked the lid or a wheel on the rear stabaliser

It’s a house with some age, so I’d say it was cast. I haven’t seen it yet but the word used was ‘shattered’ Galv I would imagine to bend and it’s not plastic 100%

If the skip company damaged it…. then they are liable. Same as if they swung their skip into a parked car. I don’t see any possible excuse – their skip, their lorry, their driver/operator. Nobody else could possibly be at fault.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like anyone saw it happen – so they will probably just deny it was them.

Depends on your relationship with the company I suppose. Do you put a lot of work their way?

Sort it out yourself straight away. That will keep your relationship with your customer on a good footing. Worry about the skip company later, they will probably deny it anyway. If they were a reputable company you would have known about it before the customer got home.

I will sort it out myself, it’s only a drain cover after all. I just feel like sending the bill to the skip co.

^ worth a punt. If only to give you an insight into whether you want to use them in the future.
if it’s only the cost of a drain cover and they refuse, will tell you something about who you are dealing with.

I can’t say how you could begin to pin the blame on the skip company unless it’s evident he’s put the leg down on the cover, which is brainless at best. Not his issue if the cover has popped under the load of the lorry as the skip has been placed where it was asked to be placed when empty. It’s not in their remit to do a ra of the ground conditions if you’re requesting it in a certain spot.

Over my time at work I’ve had quite a few home owners come in after a replacement drain cover.

(scrap yard, so we usually have a small selection of them).

It’s surprising how many are broken by vans, but I have had a few where the reason was a skip lorry’s wheels.

The older cast iron ones aren’t man enough for big vehicles.

wrightyson – Member
Not his issue if the cover has popped under the load of the lorry as the skip has been placed where it was asked to be placed when empty. It’s not in their remit to do a ra of the ground conditions if you’re requesting it in a certain spot.

Yeah, just carry on even though you know your actions will be causing damage. Throw is a sarcastic comment as you leave as well for good measure… then wonder why you dont get any more business from that client.

Yeah, just carry on even though you know your actions will be causing damage

Back in the real world the skip lorry driver would (the ones I use anyway) no doubt question if he wasn’t happy where you were suggesting to tip the empty. No one really knows what happened and who’s fault on collection,but the op said it was all fine prior to collection.
If he is at fault it may be down to what i said in the first line of my first post but if he’s done it driving to pick up a skip that’s been placed under instruction it ain’t his fault.

If it was me I’d replace the cover myself and say no more about it.

I “work with” skip companies as part of my job and I wouldn’t give them any excuse to be angry at me.

Logically extending the CRA,

Your customer has a relationship with you, and you with the skip company. Ergo, it’s your job to rectify the damage, and your job to attempt to reclaim any damages from the skip people.

every wagon driver whips wood under the legs that go down

I bet you a tenner they don’t

A domestic drain cover might not have been strong enough to have a skip wagon run over it.

FWIW I rate skip lorry drivers the worst on the roads based on the 3 instances I’ve had in the last month commuting.
The fourth was nearly being run over (on foot) by are car going the wrong way down a one way street. Both occupants wearing scaffolders hi-viz-all my prejudices are being backed up as of late..

What’s the difference between a normal hiviz, and a scaffolders hiviz? 😀
Anyway, unless you have some form of proof that the skip driver did it, your knackered. It’s easy enough to break a domestic man hole by driving a lorry over it, let alone putting a skip leg on it.

It’s surprising how many are broken by vans, but I have had a few where the reason was a skip lorry’s wheels.

The older cast iron ones aren’t man enough for big vehicles.

this happened to us- just the rear wheels on a box van were enough to crack a cast iron cover, so it doesn’t need someone doing something obvious like putting a leg onto one.

The skip company are taking a look at the photo’s, either way the cover will get replaced, either by them or by me.

That’s grate news.

boom tish…