You can claim damages for hail-damaged vehicles from the manufacturer

Kayseri experienced heavy hail over the weekend, which caused damage to many vehicles. Mahmut Şahin, Chairman of the Consumers Union, made an important statement regarding citizens whose vehicles were damaged by the hail.

"WE CANNOT JUST DISMISS THIS AS A NATURAL DISASTER"

Emphasizing that these damages can be covered by vehicle manufacturers with a formal report, Şahin said, "In such situations, we cannot just dismiss this as a natural disaster. This is not the first time we have encountered hail. There is no reason to act as if it is something strange, like saying, 'Oh, it's hailing from the sky, how interesting.' Hail is a natural phenomenon that occurs every year, has a probability of occurring, and its intensity and size are constantly warned about by meteorology. Since this is not our first encounter, everyone who manufactures anything—glass manufacturers, car manufacturers, awning manufacturers, or even paving stone or roof manufacturers—must take hail, rain, and even air temperature into account during production. There are countries in the world with temperatures of minus 50 degrees, and there are countries with plus 50 degrees. Are the cars, fuel, and freezing points the same in both? No. You have to manufacture according to the conditions there. Now, meteorology reports these hail events. Those who sell cars in Turkey know that it will hail, that it will be cold, and they know the intensity of the storms, so they are obligated to produce durable cars accordingly. Therefore, the primary party responsible here is the vehicle manufacturer. Those whose vehicle windows are broken or whose bodywork is damaged can collect these costs from the vehicle companies. However, one must pay attention to this: they should document the damage caused by the hail with a report—if possible at police stations or an official institution—or by using camera footage and photographs as evidence. If they have insurance, they can claim it under that; if not, they can demand it directly from the car manufacturer, regardless of the age or model of the vehicle. The way to do this is to have the damage assessed and then apply to the Consumer Arbitration Committees if the damage is below 104 thousand TL, or to the Consumer Court if it is higher, to be compensated for these losses," he stated.

"THERE ARE MANY PRECEDENT DECISIONS FOR THIS"

Highlighting that there are already precedent decisions for damages caused by natural events, Şahin said, "We experienced this before with roofs blown off by the wind. Roofs were blown off in storms. The responsibility there belonged to the firm, and the damages were recovered from them. There are many precedent decisions for this. In fact, not only the blown-off roof but also the damages to other buildings and vehicles were covered. This is the same thing; there is no difference. If there is damage due to hail, this can be shown as a precedent decision and claimed from the car company."

News Source: İHA