Accidentally damaged new van, may be fired?

wonderingwanderer · Post by **wonderingwanderer** » 02 Oct 2017, 20:34

Hello everyone! This is my first post, so apologies if this is in the wrong place.

I have been working with Royal Mail for just over 6 weeks now, and unfortunately I have scraped a new van with only 5000 miles on the odometer. It was an accidental incident that occurred as I was pulling into a customer's drive from a very dangerous road and I made contact against a brick entrance pillar - there is no damage to the customer's property.

I made my Manager aware the day after the event as he was not in when I arrived back at the depot. I was told today, however, that if there was to be an inspection of the van and it was to be reported to the Head of Command, I would face disciplinary action and most likely be dismissed due to damaging a van that's so new.

If this matter was to be reported, could anyone give me some information on what my rights would be?
Surely there are accidents frequently within Royal Mail, even with new vans, and to dismiss members every time due to incidents would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?

I'd just like some other opinions from independent sources rather than those influenced by my personal Royal Mail Depot.

Thank you very much!

ddtc · Post by **ddtc** » 02 Oct 2017, 20:45

Someone drove into a shop front at mine and still is working lol. No idea how, police even arrested them and yeah still in the job. Same person also drove into partially closed gate, front end pretty damaged and nothing.

Fair few others have dented the vans by hitting the corner of buildings, trees etc.

I myself had a customer reverse into the side of the van i was using. Luckily i was not in it and it was their fault. Told the manager what happened and said thats ok then not your fault. Next day said they interviewed the customer and found it in their favour somehow, but again i didnt get anything for it.

Not sure about other offices but it happens frequently at mine.

wannabeek · Post by **wannabeek** » 02 Oct 2017, 20:55

In my experience there are regularly minor knocks on vans like you have described at our place and the bosses go ballistic when:

A, it is a new van, or

B, it is a new guy.

When it is both A and B they get really knicker-twisted.

Nonetheless, nothing has ever resulted from these occurrences other than photos being taken of the damage, threats of all sorts and generally trying to make the new guy feel like an idiot.

Hopefully it will all blow over for you before long as it does at our place.

So long as you fess up and admit to every misdemeanour then I can't see how they can treat you worse than any of the other crazy drivers in the job!

wonderingwanderer · Post by **wonderingwanderer** » 02 Oct 2017, 20:57

ddtc wrote:Someone drove into a shop front at mine and still is working lol. No idea how, police even arrested them and yeah still in the job. Same person also drove into partially closed gate, front end pretty damaged and nothing.

Fair few others have dented the vans by hitting the corner of buildings, trees etc.

I myself had a customer reverse into the side of the van i was using. Luckily i was not in it and it was their fault. Told the manager what happened and said thats ok then not your fault. Next day said they interviewed the customer and found it in their favour somehow, but again i didnt get anything for it.

Not sure about other offices but it happens frequently at mine.

Oh my! Haha. Well, that certainly makes me more comfortable in regards to the severity of my accident. It's honestly a 8-12 line scuff by the back left wheel arch. It doesn't affect the driving experience whatsoever - I wouldn't suppose the driver of the van who crashed into the shop front could say the same!

I will absolutely defend my case in the event I am faced with disciplinary action.

Thank you for your examples!

wonderingwanderer · Post by **wonderingwanderer** » 02 Oct 2017, 21:01

wannabeek wrote:In my experience there are regularly minor knocks on vans like you have described at our place and the bosses go ballistic when:

A, it is a new van, or

B, it is a new guy.

When it is both A and B they get really knicker-twisted.

Nonetheless, nothing has ever resulted from these occurrences other than photos being taken of the damage, threats of all sorts and generally trying to make the new guy feel like an idiot.

Hopefully it will all blow over for you before long as it does at our place.

So long as you fess up and admit to every misdemeanour then I can't see how they can treat you worse than any of the other crazy drivers in the job!

Well, I can imagine being both A and B explains a few things

I think it's much more positive on my part with the fact that I immediately confessed the first moment I could.

I also hope it blows over before long! Thanks for your words :)

ddtc · Post by **ddtc** » 02 Oct 2017, 21:12

Not quite damage but a plumb at ours had a van stolen because they left the keys in to deliver something. Again still in a job. Its ridiculous and funny how much people get away with in this job even though managers threaten you with losing your job.

wonderingwanderer · Post by **wonderingwanderer** » 02 Oct 2017, 21:17

ddtc wrote:Not quite damage but a plumb at ours had a van stolen because they left the keys in to deliver something. Again still in a job. Its ridiculous and funny how much people get away with in this job even though managers threaten you with losing your job.

Aha! Wow. That's incredible! This all makes me feel much better about my situation haha :)

banner · Post by **banner** » 02 Oct 2017, 21:23

Are you on a temporary contract? (Some kind of trial period)

ted_e_bear · Post by **ted_e_bear** » 02 Oct 2017, 21:28

Hi, it can go either way, it will either just blow over or they will sack you, this has happened so be aware the outcome might be grim, if you were paying 100% attention you wouldn't have scraped the wall so it wasn't an accident it was bad driving, (not my words that's what they'll say) I've done it myself the same thing, there's been a few instances at my office of damage with no other vehicle involved (this is the important bit) so no one can advise on the outcome. As there wasn't a claim on royal mail from a third party I would say this is the best scenario for you and hopefully it will just blow over. Good luck.

Post by **greengiant** » 02 Oct 2017, 21:31

I've heard of a new start who let a van roll backwards down hill due to not having the parking break on properly, damaging two customers walls, and they didn't get the sack for it.

A probable outcome is you just need to do the driving assessment again.

Good luck.

Post by **Lincox** » 02 Oct 2017, 21:48

I reversed one into a wall on my changeover. The instructor had been very chatty up to that point. For some unknown reason he became extremely quiet and insisted that we return to the depot in order that he could report the matter. Apparently there was a dent in the rear door but it turns out that this had been done previously. So much for his inspection of the vehicle before we set out. Great news for me, I was never asked to drive again or take another changeover.

wonderingwanderer · Post by **wonderingwanderer** » 02 Oct 2017, 22:14

Thank you all for your input. You have given me a greater understanding of my possible outcomes!

Interested-seeker · Post by **Interested-seeker** » 02 Oct 2017, 22:18

wonderingwanderer wrote:Hello everyone! This is my first post, so apologies if this is in the wrong place.

I have been working with Royal Mail for just over 6 weeks now, and unfortunately I have scraped a new van with only 5000 miles on the odometer. It was an accidental incident that occurred as I was pulling into a customer's drive from a very dangerous road and I made contact against a brick entrance pillar - there is no damage to the customer's property.

I made my Manager aware the day after the event as he was not in when I arrived back at the depot. I was told today, however, that if there was to be an inspection of the van and it was to be reported to the Head of Command, I would face disciplinary action and most likely be dismissed due to damaging a van that's so new.

If this matter was to be reported, could anyone give me some information on what my rights would be?
Surely there are accidents frequently within Royal Mail, even with new vans, and to dismiss members every time due to incidents would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?

I'd just like some other opinions from independent sources rather than those influenced by my personal Royal Mail Depot.

Thank you very much!

Hey there

, don't worry too much, there are loads of vans at my office with dents in them. Mistakes happen and yours sounds pretty minor.

poisonivy6 · Post by **poisonivy6** » 03 Oct 2017, 07:19

A manager at our place left the handbrake off a van ( he said it was faulty) and it rolled down a hill into a pond , as far as I'm aware nothing happened to him. although he got plenty of stick when the resulting pictures were posted to social media.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 03 Oct 2017, 14:43

The most important advice has not been given - Get a rep involved quickly.