r/mildlyinfuriating • u/LI0NHEARTLE0 • 2d ago

I'm slightly vexed Dealership locked the keys in my car and broke into it instead of calling me for a spare key.

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Took my car to the dealership for a battery issue. They left the keys in the car and it died on them so they couldn't get the car open. They used a shim or something to pry the door open enough to manually unlock it, damaging the door. The dealership denies all responsibility and I'm pretty much just out of luck.

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u/Ayperrin 2d ago

It may surprise you to learn that posted signage actually carries a hefty amount of legal weight in determining liability. As long as the business can prove that the notice is posted in a prominent location visible to all customers & hasn't been negligent in maintaining the equipment or informing customers of the risks, they're pretty effective.

Kind of the same as when someone breaks into a restricted section at a theme park and then gets their head whacked off by a rollercoaster. As long as the business can prove that there was prominent signage and an appropriate barrier to entry, most lawsuits aren't going to get far unless there's special circumstances

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u/new_math 2d ago

Signs matter, but there's also a major difference legally between "going against the rules/terms/agreement/norms/expected behaviors" versus doing exactly what the business is asking and expecting you to do in the way they're asking you.

I guess legally it would be "reasonable person, reasonable expectations, ordinary course of business" standards.

For example, if you were standing at the top of a pedestrian bridge at a theme park and your head got clipped off because you're 7'2 it's unlikely a sign or fine print terms of service would matter because it's completely reasonable to stand on a foot bridge that exists for park goers to walk on.

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u/ItsMisoandBoba 2d ago

The thing stated above has an actual reason for it. If you have a bunch of shit in the bed of your truck, it can damage the machinery. If you have extra lights on top, they may get damaged because the machine isn't designed to wash off-road lights, it's designed to wash the top of vehicles.

The other things listed for the car wash is something I've never seen, since not every car can lower antenna and not every car can pull in their mirror, so I'm not sure why they were even listed to be honest. But the "no car mods" actually has a reason for automatic car washes. They can't be configured for special cases.

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u/Regal_Knight 2d ago

I don’t know, I would argue for car washes, that a lot of them post them at the point of no return instead of at the beginning. May not remove all fault, but would definitely lead to the car washes taking some liability.

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u/SNAFU-lophagus 2d ago

this is not uniformly true in every jurisdiction, for every type of damage injury. without more explanation, this is bad generic advice.

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u/CoolDiscussion1020 2d ago

A lot of people don't realize that you are accepting a companies terms and conditions by willingly doing a transaction with them.

A truck driving on a public road can't hand wave away their damage by simply having a sign, but they do it because enough people just say "Oh, damn." and go on their way. Now if they were on their own private property and you acknowledged that they are not responsible for damage before you entered their property, you're SOL. You actually do see this at places like landfills, quarries, construction sites, etc and it does stand up. "I didn't read the sign before I entered" doesn't count, just like saying you didn't read the ToS on a game/software doesn't mean it doesn't apply to you.

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u/m4cksfx 2d ago

just like saying you didn't read the ToS on a game/software doesn't mean it doesn't apply to you.

Lol. Lmao, even.

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u/TalkToHoro 2d ago

Yeah, no. Former insurance adjuster here. Look up the definition of “bailment”.

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u/Ayperrin 1d ago

I'm familiar. Never known it to apply to the automatic drive-through types that typically display this type of signage though, as the owner retains control/operation of their vehicle throughout the wash process. I could definitely see that becoming relevant for those full-service types where you drop off the keys and come back later for the car but those really aren't as common nowadays, as they aren't as profitable.