Parking lots in HCM City have refused to compensate owners of hundreds of motorbikes and cars which were damaged in the flood in HCM City.

Hundreds of motorbikes were still deeply submerged at a 500 square-metre parking lot in Nguyen Sieu Street in District 1 on September 27.

According to the HCM City Fire Police Department, 1,228 motorbikes and 114 cars kept at parking lots in many districts including Phu Nhuan, Thu Duc and Tan Binh had been submerged during the recent flood.

Damage was estimated at running into hundreds of millions of VND after hundreds of vehicles were left under two metres of water for more than a day, the department said.

Many people have complained that they had to come and take their vehicles for repair after parking lots refused to offer compensation.

"I had to call a xe om motorbike taxi to take me home on Monday afternoon after unable to take my motorbike out of the submerged parking lot," said Tran Van Tam from Thu Duc District. "I found my bike broken when I collected it the following day. It cost me over a million VND to repair it, but when I ask the parking lot for compensation, they refuse. They said that it was not their fault, but the flood."

Speaking to Dantri/DTiNews on September 28, director of the Duc Chanh Law Company, Nguyen Duc Chanh, said that the law stipulates that those providing keeping service must be responsible for protecting customers' assets, except in situations beyond their control. But the law lacks definition on the details.

"In this case parking lots could say that they have done all possible measures including specialist vehicles and pumps to remove the motorbikes from the water, but the flooding was so big that they could not do more," Chanh explained. 

Dtinews