Hi ,
Ive been providing my services as an HGV driver trough my LTD company for a Haulage company for a couple of months. Last week I damaged the truck, in the haulage companys yard(it was dark, poor lighting and rain). They want me to pay for all the repairs. isnt there an insurance claim they cam make?(si I can pay the difference) because I cant take any insurance on my company that can insure me for these type of situations.I did not sign any contract with them, only a verbal agreement.
Company A supplies services to Company B and one of its employees damages property of Company B in the process, Company is well in its right to claim that back from Company A.
Suppose Company A is in the business of painting and decorating and is retained by Company B, during the work one of the employees of Company A drops a tin of paint and damages the carpets of Company B, of course Company B is going to claim that back from Company A and is well within its right to do so.
You made the mistake of seeing a Ltd company as a way to avoid paying tax, however you underestimate the liability that it causes. You are not employed by company B, there is a contract, in this case a verbal one between Company B and Company A, as there is no agreement as to who pays for damages, Company B is well within its right to claim those damages back from Company A.
You are making the mistake and see this as you the driver driving for Company B and therefore on its insurance, that is not how you need to approach this.
Company B retained the services of Company A, Company A caused damage in its services rendered to Company B so needs to own up to it.
Company B can easily state that there was a fault remedy clause in the verbal contract, furthermore they have an industrial standard, common law and common practises on their side, you should have at least Public Liability insurance and as most if not all agencies pay for damages caused by their drivers the norm within the industry is clearly on their side.
Next time make sure you have an ironclad contract, written by a solicitor or at least by an industrial body clearly stating and dividing fault and liability you may however find that they won’t be interested in retaining your company’s services if you don’t meet the accepted standards of other service providers.
A far as I understand, if you damage the property you are liable (you supposed to have public liability insurance to cover that) but if you damage the vehicle the company insurance should cover it.
A Ltd company driver at work smashed the truck wash by driving out while it was still running, he got a £7000 bill, don’t know if he paid it, as he was ban from site
I am a Ltd driver myself and I can not find public Liability insurance at a fair Price, best I can find is £700, must be doing something wrong, everyone reckon it should be £50-60
jacobs transport:
A Ltd company driver at work smashed the truck wash by driving out while it was still running, he got a £7000 bill, don’t know if he paid it, as he was ban from site
That is the accepted norm in the industry, the driver is not an employee of the haulage company so his or her company (as in agency or LTD) is responsible for damages to the company vehicles, however not to third parties.
Agencies have what is called a drivers negligence insurance, that covers the damage to the companies’ vehicles while the agency driver is used, the owner’s insurance policy covers the damage to third parties.
This is a common practise and pretty much the accepted standard within the industry so I am not surprised that Ltd drivers get a bill for damages, as a matter of fact I fully expect it.
IF he didn’t pay the seven grand bill, the company could and may well have taken it to court. 50 quid isn’t worth haggling over, seven grand is worth taking it to court for.
You need to have a proper written contract before you do any work as a LTD driver and have proper insurance in place. Don’t just see it as a vehicle to save a few quid on your taxes, you need to thoroughly research the relationship you are entering yourself into and your responsibilities and liabilities before you start out as a LTD company.
As a LTD driver you may not be able to get drivers negligence insurance especially if you don’t have a track record or if you are a newer driver (again the two year rule pretty much applies here). You can either offer your services through an agency and be added to their negligence insurance or clearly state in your contract that you must be added to the company’s insurance you are offering your services to and not just for third party coverage, this however may make you more expensive than an agency driver and less attractive to a prospective company. Keep in mind though that lots of insurance policies of haulage companies require their agency/LTD drivers to have their own insurance and they won’t cover them fully comprehensive, third party only, hence the drivers negligence insurance.
Just starting a LTD company because it looks good for your taxes or because fat Joe in the pub recommended it to you without researching it and having proper procedures, contracts and insurances in place is a recipe for disaster
i would never ever work for an agency that offers drivers a route to a LTD company…or even one that operates under an umbrella…i would rather be out of work. All of these schemes are a ruse in my mind, as a get out clause…mainly for the agency. A LTD company is there to save the operator tax avoidance…so if he damages something belonging to another./.he is liable…so if he doesnt have the necessary insurance…its out of his pocket.
An Umbrella Company is one who takes on the burden of the agency…passing on any blame, with regards to Holidays, Tax and Insurance contributions and other such matters…and all they have to do when it goes ■■■■ up…is liquidate the umbrella.
These are all ploys to get out of their responsibilities…and each to their own and all that, but no way would i sign up to that ■■■■, or take responsibility for damage that may have been caused, is caused, or whatever is caused…thats what insurance is for, and thats what employers should have, and should be claiming on…not a driver ffs. and no way will i sign any document stating i will pay for any damage howsoever caused.
Upon stating the above, i can say that i am a very careful driver, i always treat a companies belongings as if they were my own, accidents do sometimes happen i agree, but so far in over 50 years of being in the industry, i have never made a claim, never had a claim made against me, never lost a load, and have always had a clean sheet on my deliveries…maybe i am fortunate to have been very particular in my loading./unloading, and if i cannot see my load being loaded, or i am not allowed on the loading /unloading bay…i will stamp the delivery/collection notes accordingly with one of the stamps i carry stating:
i was not allowed to supervise loading, or i did not supervise the unloading.
John123:
Hi ,
Ive been providing my services as an HGV driver trough my LTD company for a Haulage company for a couple of months. Last week I damaged the truck, in the haulage companys yard(it was dark, poor lighting and rain). They want me to pay for all the repairs. isnt there an insurance claim they cam make?(si I can pay the difference) because I cant take any insurance on my company that can insure me for these type of situations.I did not sign any contract with them, only a verbal agreement.
Thank you
What you are liable for depends entirely on what you put in your terms of business that you got them to sign. If you didn’t get them to sign any or didn’t put in a clause about responsibility for damages and losses then they can make you pay whatever they want and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Oh wait that’s right, you didn’t get them to sign a contract let alone give them terms of business. Might as well hand them the lube when you bend over.
wheelnutt:
Company A supplies services to Company B and one of its employees damages property of Company B in the process, Company is well in its right to claim that back from Company A.
Company B couldn’t claim from Company A in my case because I had a clause in my terms of business which I got them to sign which said neither I or any of my employees were responsible for any costs for damage or losses arising out of any actions we took.
And that is why, ladies and gentlemen, you have a terms of business with that in along with such things like terms of payment, penalties etc so you’re not at the whim of what your client decides.
John123:
Hi ,
Ive been providing my services as an HGV driver trough my LTD company for a Haulage company for a couple of months. Last week I damaged the truck, in the haulage companys yard(it was dark, poor lighting and rain). They want me to pay for all the repairs. isnt there an insurance claim they cam make?(si I can pay the difference) because I cant take any insurance on my company that can insure me for these type of situations.I did not sign any contract with them, only a verbal agreement.
Thank you
Given the OP was conducting work on the Haulage company premises, the company has a duty of care to ensure its employees and contractors are fully ‘insured’. Therefore any accidental damage should be covered by the company insurers.
The company could try and recover any losses from the OP but these would only be ‘out of pocket’ expenses that were not recovered by the insurance claim.
In future I politely suggest you seek clarification on the insurance status prior to undertaking assignments. Obviously should you be required to supply liability insurance, you would need a ‘rate uplift’ in order to recover such expense.
