Long story short, car was stolen at valet stand. Looking for our best course of action. I.e.: who should we contact to represent us. Thanks in advance.
Well laws vary by state. Here in Massachusetts you would simply report it to your insurance company and collect on your policy. If there is any suing of a third party at fault, they are the ones who will do it. I would call your insurance agent/company first.
Already in contact with insurance, just didn't know if there was additional advice that others may offer.
Just happened last night. Appeared to be one valet working the location. Random person walked up when he was attending to a car, opened the board where the keys where, and took off. Not sure if there is anything one can do to guard against a brazen theft of keys in this manner.
just a mid size ford I'm going to leave the venue name out for the time being as the self parking area was flooded out from the recent rains. Self parking wasn't an option easily argued.
If you have comprehensive insurance, let the insurance company handle it. There is no sense paying your own lawyer. You will face a greater expense and net loss over your deductible. If you have no comprehensive coverage, make a claim with the restaurant, they may have coverage.
The worker/valet company could've not been negligent and actually locked the key box. I worked for a valet company 2 years at the end of HS and i know we were lazy and never did it....until the company had an S class and a CL stolen in one night and a few other vaket companies had cars taken the same way that week.
I worked valet as well, never had a lock, but always had someone at the board in charge of keys/tips.
Car was recovered inside of 24 hours, it was crashed and determined a total loss by the insurance company. Visible damage was minimal, but it took a hit to the right front hard enough to crack a wheel, no telling what type of damage could've happened inside the transmission.
Insurance is paying out the book value of the car. We aren't exactly pleased with that, so we are assessing our options on how to get us back to normal, i.e.: having a car that was going to be paid off this summer so we can make improvements to our new house with what was once car payment funds.
For "just a Ford" you are not going to get any more than book value unless you can prove significant add-ons to the car. But, here's a tip. Since there is only minimal damage, ask your insurance company what they'll sell it to you for. I bet it will only be about $300, if that much. You will have to get a salvage title and get a new wheel and tire ($100), but then you are good to go with no car payments.
