A Gateshead mum has slammed Domino's after their delivery driver knocked down the garden wall outside her flat.
Gemma Dixon ordered pizzas from the takeaway while socialising with friends at her home in Low Fell. The 36-year-old couldn't believe her eyes when the delivery driver crashed into the small brick wall outside the property and got stuck.
She believes they had reversed into her next door neighbour's drive in an attempt to turn around and had misjudged the turn. Gemma said she tried to help them by asking a neighbour to move their vehicle so they could get out.
Gemma, who has an eight-year-old daughter, said: "He was stuck on the wall and he had knocked half of it off. He's just totally misjudged it. We were in absolute shock. With his car being stuck on the wall, my priority was to help him.
"Why he went on her drive instead of up the street I don't know, there was no need. It's rude when people reverse into your drive and turn around."
The mum-of-one said there were two Domino's employees in the vehicle when the collision occurred at around 8.45pm on Friday, July 8. She said they were reassured by them that the company would fix the damage.
However she claims she went into the shop on Durham Road on Monday night and says staff were "unwilling to help". She said she was told they didn't have insurance to cover accidental damage and that it was the driver who personally needed to sort it out with his own insurance.
Gemma, who works part time as a nursery nurse, said: "I drove along and the damaged car was sat outside Domino's. I went in and explained and they said 'we're speaking to all the drivers, we don't know which driver it is'.
"They said 'You didn't report it within 24 hours' and I said 'I was completely reassured by them it was going to get sorted'. They said they don't insure their drivers for accidental damage and 'we'll get him to come along to your address'. I just felt really fobbed off."
Gemma said she rents her property and so does her neighbour and they cannot afford to pay to fix the wall themselves. She said she has now been put off using Domino's due to the way they have handled the situation.
She said: "They have been very cagey and unhelpful. I don't want to order anything else because it's not worth the risk. The way it's been handled is not good enough."
Domino's has since issued an apology and has sent a tradesman to fix the wall after being contacted by ChronicleLive.
A spokesman for Domino's said: "At Domino’s we take road safety very seriously, and all store drivers are licensed and fully insured when making deliveries.
"We are sorry about the damage caused by the team member in this case and have been in touch with the owner of the wall to offer our sincere apologies and to confirm that we’ll cover all the costs to fix it as soon as possible.
"A regional manager has also spoken to the driver involved to remind them of the correct process to follow on the rare occasion that incidents like this happen."
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