On the morning of 19th Jan 2024 I parked my Tesla Model S in Tesla supercharger bay at South Mimms Welcome Break Service Station. This particular charging bay is unusual in that one can use it only by going in forwards. The rest of the bays require one to reverse in. The bay practice is to go into the bay unto the wheels touch the raised bar in the bay and then one knows that one is correctly parked for the charging cable to be able to reach the car. I did this and charged up. Upon reversing the bar in the charging bar caused the front of the car to break-off from the front of the car. On calling Tesla Roadside assistance they refused to help or even escalate the issue and stated I would need to make an insurance claim notwithstanding I had provided them with clear video evidence that this was not my fault, that it was the fault of the layout of the charging bay, that I am entitled to charge as a customer who has free lifetime charging from Tesla, have used charging bays for 6 years without issue previously and that I had 3 other independent witnesses who agreed that the damage could only have resulted from the bay design. I then was left with no other choice but to make an insurance claim and will be charged an excess fee of £650 by my insurance provider.
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