Contractors have churned up my front lawn!

The Halk said:
Surely it's a crime though? They've done damage to the lawn, damage which isn't just going to fix itself as there's holes there. Even it's not a specific crime I'd contact the police to see what they said. It might make it a lot easier to get money from the lazy contractors.
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He should definately not call the police on such a petty issue. You call the companyand complain. If they are reputable then they may off you compensation. The police have much bigger problems to deal with than a marked lawn.
 
I think the technical break down of criminal damage is:

Mens rea: intention or recklessness

Actus reus: (1) to damage or or destroy (2) property belonging to another

A defence can only be raised by way of lawful excuse, i.e. reasonable belief that the owner of the property would consent to the damage in the circumstances.

Afaik, it's immaterial whether the damage is temporary and can be repaired. From the sounds of it, it's not just a case of them squidging grass down. But making holes and leaving track marks in the soil.

Might also be a claim in trespass to land here as well, but i'm less familiar with tort. Either way I'd say take it up with the company first, if they refuse to do anything about it you could say you're going to report it or something if you want and see if that gets their ***** in gear.
 
Perhaps I view the police differently, but I'd have no qualms about asking them, either by phoning the non-emergency number or walking in and asking at the desk. It's reasonable to ask them for guidance I think. I don't think it's be reasonable to demand they go visit the company and lock em up. But before I went to the contractors to complain I'd like to have the police's opinion on it, as I think it might help should the conversation not go the right way. "Oh well the guys driving it were told, nothing I can do mate I wasn't driving it" etc. "The police have said it might be a criminal offence, do you really want me to go back to them and say you're refusing to put it right" "Oh, uh, let me speak to the owner".
 
physichull said:
He should definately not call the police on such a petty issue. You call the companyand complain. If they are reputable then they may off you compensation. The police have much bigger problems to deal with than a marked lawn.
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Why not? Although it may seem petty to you, it is criminal damage albeit on a small scale. This kind of thing is what the police non-emergency line is for. The police wouldn't come out to investigate something like this but if the damage needs to be paid for to be rectified, it will help the OP's claim if he has some sort of incident reference number.
 
I'm pretty sure the police could be dealing with things more important than a marked lawn.

Call the company first, only if that fails should you contact the authorities.
 
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