The ‘severe’ damage could take more than £15,000 to repair
Mrs Raffle pictured by her damaged garage
A woman fears her garage could “cave in” at any moment after a Nottinghamshire council worker smashed into it with a lawnmower.
The damage to the Cotgrave garage could take more than £15,000 to repair as the family and the council remain in talks about paying for it.
Donna Raffle says she has been left “fuming” about the incident and the fact that, weeks on, nothing has been done to make the garage safe, leaving possessions, including bikes and fishing tackle, at risk of being crushed.
Cotgrave Town Council says it has “apologised directly” to the family and acknowledges that the May 12 incident involved “council equipment making contact with a resident’s garage”.
Mrs Raffle, 61, lives on a property backed onto by a row of three garages and she and husband Eric Raffle, 66, own the one on the far left.
Next to their garage is a triangle of grass which was previously maintained by neighbours, but which the town council took on responsibility for around 20 years ago.
Mrs Raffle believes the incident on May 12 involved a ride-on mower and says she and the family remain unhappy about the council’s initial response to the incident.
Steven Raffle, Donna’s son, said in an initial email to the council: “I have to say I am very disappointed with the way you have treated my poorly mother and father.
“My father has recently undergone surgery and the way this situation has been handled has added unnecessary stress at an already difficult time.
“Your worker damaged my parents’ garage and then downplayed the whole situation. When my parents asked for a breakdown and schedule of works explaining exactly what was being done, they were ignored and fobbed off, only being told to deal with your insurance company.
“You have had over two weeks to address this matter and, despite the damage caused, you have simply walked away and done nothing, leaving two vulnerable people with a damaged and potentially dangerous garage.”
The 40-year-old says he feels the council’s response to that email lacked empathy, when they said: “Council are very sorry that the incident happened and wish to get the repair sorted swiftly.” The family say nobody from the council has ever been in person to offer an apology or to inspect the garage since the incident.
Mrs Raffle says her stress has been compounded by the insurance process around repairing the garage, with the family at one stage being advised to go through their own insurance company.
Yet given the potential effect on their insurance premium, and the fact that it was a council worker who damaged the garage, the family have demanded they go through the council’s insurers.
To do this, the family have been told they need to get three separate quotes for the garage repairs and send them to the council, with the family so far having only dealt with a broker instead of the council’s insurance company.
The incident has caused ‘severe’ damage to the garage
Mrs Raffle said: “We’ve had nothing, all we’ve had is the emails. They wanted us to go through our insurers and I was fuming.
“It’s up to us to find the quotes from the builders. We’re both in our 60s and we’re not in good health and they want us to do their job.”
Cotgrave Town Council said: “Following the incident, the matter was reported to the council’s insurers and has since been formally referred to them to progress in line with standard insurance practices and the appropriate claims process.
“The resident has also now made direct contact with the insurers, and the claim is currently being considered by them.
“The council has not sought to avoid responsibility for the incident. However, once matters are referred to insurers, the claim and any associated assessments or repair considerations must be handled through the insurer-led process, in accordance with normal insurance procedures.”
The family still faces potentially weeks of uncertainty whilst the council goes through its insurance process and one quote already received says the whole repair could cost around £16,000.
Speaking about the current state of the garage, Mrs Raffle said: “The garage is still as it was. I won’t touch it until it gets fixed, because it’s going to cave in.
“The crack is across the whole structure so if I opened that garage door, the whole lot is going to go and everything inside will be broken.”
Steven Raffle said: “It’s not a little bump, it’s severe. The roof will snap if you open the garage door, but they just don’t care.”
Cotgrave Town Council added: “The council regrets that this incident happened and for the upset and inconvenience caused to the family.
“The council has remained in communication throughout and has provided the relevant insurer and broker details to assist the family in progressing the claim.
“As the matter remains an active insurance claim, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
