My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?

"ernie mendoza" wrote in message
...

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?

First things first. Have you spoken to your neighbour?

Mike


--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

"ernie mendoza" wrote in message
...

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?

If at all possible say nothing to your insurers as most will use it as an
excuse to bump up your premium on renewal. If you get along with the
neighbour simply ask him to fix it, if he refuses send him a letter stating
that unless it is fixed by a given date you will have the work done and sue
him for the cost. Either way its up to him to make a claim on his insurance
or pay himself if he doesn't have insurance.

Mike

"ernie mendoza" wrote in message
...

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?


The first thing to do is to talk to your neighbour. Do not ask "Are you
going to pay for the repair?" as this is a closed question and can be
answered with a simple yes or no which is 50/50. Instead, butter them up
first with a comment like "That was was unlucky! At least it was only a
fence", then use an assumptive close by asking something like "When you get
the quote for replacing the fence, could you also get a quote for [insert
different type of fence here like 'closeboard'] as I'm considering a change
and I'll pay the difference". The focus is then shifted from whether they
will pay or not and on to the possibility of an upgrade which assumes that
they'll pay for the replacement of the current fence.

Andy
www.mygardenproject.co.uk

On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:17:34 +0100, "Andy"
wrote:



"ernie mendoza" wrote in message
.. .

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?


The first thing to do is to talk to your neighbour. Do not ask "Are you
going to pay for the repair?" as this is a closed question and can be
answered with a simple yes or no which is 50/50. Instead, butter them up
first with a comment like "That was was unlucky! At least it was only a
fence", then use an assumptive close by asking something like "When you get
the quote for replacing the fence, could you also get a quote for [insert
different type of fence here like 'closeboard'] as I'm considering a change
and I'll pay the difference". The focus is then shifted from whether they
will pay or not and on to the possibility of an upgrade which assumes that
they'll pay for the replacement of the current fence.

Andy
www.mygardenproject.co.uk

Thanks for the useful responses so far. My neighbour is away on
holiday. I want to know what my options are before he returns.

"Andy" wrote in message
news


"ernie mendoza" wrote in message
...

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?


The first thing to do is to talk to your neighbour. Do not ask "Are you
going to pay for the repair?" as this is a closed question and can be
answered with a simple yes or no which is 50/50. Instead, butter them up
first with a comment like "That was was unlucky! At least it was only a
fence", then use an assumptive close by asking something like "When you
get the quote for replacing the fence, could you also get a quote for
[insert different type of fence here like 'closeboard'] as I'm considering
a change and I'll pay the difference". The focus is then shifted from
whether they will pay or not and on to the possibility of an upgrade which
assumes that they'll pay for the replacement of the current fence.

Andy
www.mygardenproject.co.uk

Yes. You could come off very well here :-))

My neighbour knocked on my door one day and just said "Problem"
'What's your problem Tony? How can I help?'
"Not my problem. Yours"

What had happened was the wall he was building for a new garage, next to
mine, had been blown over in the night, smashed my asbestos roof and some of
the blocks 'could have' come onto my car. Too much junk in the roof stopped
any major damage to the car.

Asbestos roof was already leaking.

End result? A new roof, this time boarded and hot felted :-)))

I paid for the materials, Tony, a builder, did the work :-))

The car? A few scratches and it is so old it wasn't worth messing with :-))

I came off very well, but it does help to have good neighbours ;-))

Mike



--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

"ernie mendoza" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:17:34 +0100, "Andy"
wrote:



"ernie mendoza" wrote in message
. ..

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?


The first thing to do is to talk to your neighbour. Do not ask "Are you
going to pay for the repair?" as this is a closed question and can be
answered with a simple yes or no which is 50/50. Instead, butter them up
first with a comment like "That was was unlucky! At least it was only a
fence", then use an assumptive close by asking something like "When you
get
the quote for replacing the fence, could you also get a quote for [insert
different type of fence here like 'closeboard'] as I'm considering a
change
and I'll pay the difference". The focus is then shifted from whether they
will pay or not and on to the possibility of an upgrade which assumes that
they'll pay for the replacement of the current fence.

Andy
www.mygardenproject.co.uk

Thanks for the useful responses so far. My neighbour is away on
holiday. I want to know what my options are before he returns.

In my case I would be 'looking after' his property/grounds and would make
sure that his side was OK and tidy up anything which required dealing with.
Sort any damage which "HAD" to be done and wait for his return.

Mike


--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

"Andy" wrote in message
news


"ernie mendoza" wrote in message
...

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?


The first thing to do is to talk to your neighbour. Do not ask "Are you
going to pay for the repair?" as this is a closed question and can be
answered with a simple yes or no which is 50/50. Instead, butter them up
first with a comment like "That was was unlucky! At least it was only a
fence", then use an assumptive close by asking something like "When you
get the quote for replacing the fence, could you also get a quote for
[insert different type of fence here like 'closeboard'] as I'm considering
a change and I'll pay the difference". The focus is then shifted from
whether they will pay or not and on to the possibility of an upgrade which
assumes that they'll pay for the replacement of the current fence.


You sound as if you would make a good salesman Andy.
You forgot to add; Make sure you are talking to the "MAN" that being the
person with the Money, the Authority, and the Need. So if the neighbour is a
couple try to talk to them both at once. If its a business make sure you
talk to the boss.

Mike

On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:59:41 +0100, ernie mendoza
wrote:


My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?

I had exactly the same thing happen to me. My neighbour replaced the
fence and had the tree removed. I gave him half of the cost of my new
fence even though he didn't want anything for it.

I suppose if the insurance company had been involved or there was any
dispute thing could be very different.

Steve

--
Neural network software applications, help and support.

Neural Planner Software www.NPSL1.com

"Stephen Wolstenholme" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:59:41 +0100, ernie mendoza
wrote:


My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?

I had exactly the same thing happen to me. My neighbour replaced the
fence and had the tree removed. I gave him half of the cost of my new
fence even though he didn't want anything for it.

I suppose if the insurance company had been involved or there was any
dispute thing could be very different.

Steve

--
Neural network software applications, help and support.

Neural Planner Software www.NPSL1.com


""Get three quotations""

'Oh it's and Insurance job is it? ;-) ;-) know what I mean?'

You can't beat good neighbours :-))

Mike



--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

"ernie mendoza" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:17:34 +0100, "Andy"
wrote:



"ernie mendoza" wrote in message
. ..

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?


The first thing to do is to talk to your neighbour. Do not ask "Are you
going to pay for the repair?" as this is a closed question and can be
answered with a simple yes or no which is 50/50. Instead, butter them up
first with a comment like "That was was unlucky! At least it was only a
fence", then use an assumptive close by asking something like "When you
get
the quote for replacing the fence, could you also get a quote for [insert
different type of fence here like 'closeboard'] as I'm considering a
change
and I'll pay the difference". The focus is then shifted from whether they
will pay or not and on to the possibility of an upgrade which assumes that
they'll pay for the replacement of the current fence.

Andy
www.mygardenproject.co.uk

Thanks for the useful responses so far. My neighbour is away on
holiday. I want to know what my options are before he returns.

Do not contact your building insurers, they almost certainly do not cover
fences. Do not ask your neighbour whether he's going to pay for it. This
gives him the option of saying no, then you're in a dispute. Get contractors
to fix the fence, and then politely ask him to settle their bill. If he
refuses or just doesn't, point out to him that it is his responsibility. If
he still doesn't, write a letter to him pointing out that it is his
responsibility.

Complications may be - Is there still a large amount of his timber still
lying on your property? Is the fence yours or his, ie who paid for it last
time?

Steve

On 14/07/2011 08:59, ernie mendoza wrote:

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?



I would advise a preliminary chat with your insurance company, who deal
with these things all the time. You *will* need to talk to your
neighbour, of course, but knowing where you stand regarding insurance
cover must help with that. If our tree had damaged our neighbour's
fence, we would have approached them immediately with offers of help or
invoked our insurance cover. Alas, not everyone has an easy
relationship with their neighbours. If you have, don't risk souring it;
you still have to live with them.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 14/07/2011 08:59, ernie mendoza wrote:

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?
No one has yet said - Take Photographs - no room for arguments later

Malcolm

On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 Spider wrote:

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?

I would advise a preliminary chat with your insurance company, who deal
with these things all the time. You *will* need to talk to your
neighbour, of course, but knowing where you stand regarding insurance
cover must help with that. If our tree had damaged our neighbour's
fence, we would have approached them immediately with offers of help or
invoked our insurance cover. Alas, not everyone has an easy
relationship with their neighbours. If you have, don't risk souring
it; you still have to live with them.

The danger with mentioning it to an insurance company is that they keep
it on record and increase the premium anyway even if you don't make a
claim. It happened to me. It took several weeks and several phone calls
to get it removed.

It was Saga if I remember correctly. They also increased my car
insurance from £400 to £700 after making a claim seven years ago even
though I had insurance protection and it was a no fault accident. When I
complained they said that it was because of a general increase in
premiums. That really was a "saga" which went on for about four months
and about a dozen sides of A4.

I went to another company.

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK
http://rance.org.uk

"ernie mendoza" wrote

My neighbour's old tree fell over and damaged my fence. It was not
windy and the 30-foot tree's roots had obviously rotted and gone. How
should I proceed with getting my fence repaired?

1. Get my neighbour to fix it?
2. Claim on my buildings insurance. In this case should I get his
insurance details so my insurance company can recover costs from his
company? How do i recover my £100 excess? Will my premium increase as
a result of my claim?

From my experience with insurance companies:

If the damage is less than say £500 (real cost, not insurance valuation) -
don't involve them.
You will pay some excess - maybe £100 to £150 anyway.
As others have said, you will likely see your premiums mysteriously increase
(protected or not)!

When you come to renew your insurance and find the premiums have gone up,
you will also find that other insurers want high premiums (or won't quote)
due to your claim in the last 3 years.

Phil