Legal Q - Theft by employee of company

[Usarka]

Question for those in the know.....I used to know this but it seems the drugs do work....

If you (as a consumer) contract a company to provide a service and one of their employees steals something of yours in the process, is the company liable?

Some examples:

• Take car to repair shop and one of the staff nicks your toolbox from the boot.
• You contract for home repair with unattended access and they steal some jewellry
• You leave something to be repaired and a staff member nicks it along with company cash etc and does a runner on the company.

And if they are liable, can they contract out of it?

Thanks in advance!

[AD345]

Yep

Nope

[Usarka]

You sure?

I know consequential damage is covered under the CGA, but doesn't theft make it a criminal matter therefore not covered in CGA?

Reason I'm asking is I'm dealing with a company who are saying they not liable and it's covered by my insurance etc - if they actually are then a) they are lying to me and I dont want to deal with them, and b) that probably also means that they will be a pain in the arse to get anything out of in the event of hypothetical incident.

[pete376403]

Isn't this the sort of thing that the companies Public Liability insurance covers?

[AD345]

Yep

Nope

[DingoZ]

Question for those in the know.....I used to know this but it seems the drugs do work....

If you (as a consumer) contract a company to provide a service and one of their employees steals something of yours in the process, is the company liable?

Some examples:

• Take car to repair shop and one of the staff nicks your toolbox from the boot. Theft from a motorvehicle. Can be charged
• You contract for home repair with unattended access and they steal some jewellry. Burglary, and or general theft. Can be charged
• You leave something to be repaired and a staff member nicks it along with company cash etc and does a runner on the company. General theft. Can be charged

And if they are liable, can they contract out of it?

Thanks in advance!

Yup, most of the above are fairly good examples of criminal acts....

[Usarka]

Isn't this the sort of thing that the companies Public Liability insurance covers?

Not if they don't have it.

Yep

Nope

Bastards!

[Jantar]

You report it to the police as a theft, and give the details of the company that had the responsibility of care, and who you reasonably believe to have taken whatever. You then go to your insurance company and make a claim. The insurance company will chase it up, and its no longer your worry.

[jafar]

Not if they don't have it.

If they don't have public liability insurance that is their problem NOT YOURS.
Sue them for any & all losses. Anyone without the correct insurance is deemed to be their own insurer

[Meanie]

You report it to the police as a theft, and give the details of the company that had the responsibility of care, and who you reasonably believe to have taken whatever. You then go to your insurance company and make a claim. The insurance company will chase it up, and its no longer your worry.

Yep thats exactly what i would have said, Your insurance company will chase theirs or them if they have no cover

[Usarka]

Even if you give them unattended access to your house?

No cover for theft by certain people ...... ii. any temporary guest

Edit: Just realised AMI have a 24hr phone number, and by the letter of the contract I am not covered, however they will look at it on a case by case basis.

Might be something to bear in mind huh.......

Thanks for the helps.

[BiK3RChiK]

I would never give anyone unattended access to my house. I would make sure I was able to be there when the service person arrived until they left.

[Usarka]

I would never give anyone unattended access to my house. I would make sure I was able to be there when the service person arrived until they left.

Bit of a bind though if it's a big job. If I take off the time from work to babysit them I might as well save the money and do it myself. Some holiday that'd be!

[Jantar]

Originally Posted by AMI Policy
No cover for theft by certain people ...... ii. any temporary guest

I would hardly believe that a contractor is a guest.

[Winston001]

Your question mixes two different areas of liability:

1. Criminal - only relates to the offender - for the police to act on, if they recover stuff all good, or get compenation from the offender - tui

2. Civil liability - which means you can sue the business whom you contracted to do the work. They owe you a duty of care to ensure your property is protected while their employee is there.

Your own insurance company should cover you for theft but if you aren't insured, police and Disputes Tribunal are where you go.