When you leave your vehicle overnight with a repair shop, you expect it to be there in the morning. But a Metro Vancouver man was left with a $3,000 repair bill after his vehicle was stolen from a local Broco Auto Glass.
Zach Hamill, a pro hockey player from Port Coquitlam, was trying to import his SUV but needed to fix the windshield first so it would pass inspection.
He left his uninsured vehicle locked inside the Langley Broco Auto Glass shop to get fixed. But the next morning, he got a disturbing phone call.
"They just said they have some bad news, your car was stolen last night," he explained.
Theives had broken into the auto glass shop, grabbed the keys to Hamill’s Cadillac and rammed it straight through the garage door. The thieves then took Hamill’s uninsured SUV on a 24-hour joyride.
Shortly after, Hamill spotted his vehicle driving by in Maple Ridge and called police. When RCMP stopped the vehicle it was full of cigarette butts and drug paraphernalia. The vehicle had thousands of dollars damage.
Hamill assumed Broco would pay to fix it, since it wasn't his fault the vehicle was stolen. But Broco's insurance company denied the claim.
"It was their assertion that there was no negligence on the part of the shop operator. He had taken all reasonable safeguards to protect the vehicle and unfortunately both became victims of crime," said Dennis Ostler, company spokesperson.
Broco says Hamill’s vehicle should have been insured. If it was, ICBC would have covered the damage.
The shop operator did offer to cover the cost to replace the windshield, which is worth around $300. But Hamill feels that wasn’t enough.
"I just told them, I think you guys are being unfair. I dropped my car off with you guys, I trusted you guys. You are a major million dollar company,” said Hamill, “I think they should be responsible for the damage. I’m not asking for anything else.”
Hamill did inform Broco that his vehicle was uninsured and he expected them to take care of it accordingly. But in denying the claim Broco's insurance provider, ICBC, ruled that “the shop did everything that a reasonable person would do to protect the customer's vehicle. It doesn't appear that the shop was negligent. This would mean that the customer's own insurance would be responsible to cover the theft of their vehicle."
When it comes to other automotive shops, insurance policies range from place to place. Some shops CTV News contacted have insurance that would cover car break-ins or stolen vehicles inside their premises. Others only had insurance for accidents caused by their mechanics, but were not covered for the contents of customers’ vehicles.
The bottom line is it pays to ask questions at your auto repair shop before leaving your vehicle overnight.
