Damage after hitting pothole

D

DR-Z

Member
 Ashbourne (Derbyshire) and Aberdovey
Drving home in my 535 last night I hit a large pothole (4" deep and 6' long). Put a massive hole in the tyre, which instantly deflated. Not run-flat, so attempted to fit space-saver spare, but managed to snap locking wheel stud. 2 hours later after joining the AA and a call-out, managed to set-off home. I am deflated as the tyre! :cry:

Hopefully it's just the tyre and not the wheel, but the tracking will no doubt be out, so could be a sizeable bill.

Does anyone have experience of being able to claim for damage from the county council or highways (not sure whose road this is)?
 
I'm glad someone else has asked the question as I have hit one too which I think has damaged my Alloy. I believe you can make a claim (if it is a public road), somebody advised me that you need to get photos of the pothole (before it gets fixed) but I don't know what you do after that. In the meantime though you may want to get photos so you have proof.....
 
I believe that in order to get compensation from the council the pot hole needs have been reported and not fixed within a certain time period. You can check on places like http://www.fixmystreet.com/ to see if the hole was reported.

Also check http://www.potholes.co.uk/ for more information.

HTH.

Andi.
 
From recollection the pothole does not have to have been reported.

Councils are obliged to check roads on a regular basis and they will have a policy setting out the frequency of those checks. Some roads will be checked more frequently than others because they are more heavily used.

Obviously though you would need to show that the pothole had been there for some time and so the council should have been aware of it. Easier said than done.

I know of one council that is deliberately not repairing a particular road because of temporary high traffic levels relating to a building project, despite knowing of significant damage already caused by HGVs over the winter. Quite how they think that is acceptable I don't know but if anyone wants a new axle / suspension / alloys I suggest you drive down that road and duly put in a claim! (obviously joking :evil: )
 
I don't hold out much hope of claiming, but will try. Thanks andicole0 for the info - I've gone down this route, but don't expect ot to result in anything. Just been quoted £441 for two front tyres. :(
 
My son buckled an alloy in the blackwell tunnel. He took photos and submitted a claim. Took a while but eventually hot offered cost of anew alloy. Refused offer as not possible to get matching alloy. Eventually got offered cost of 4 new alloys.

First port of call is local council. They will point out if someone else to contact. Take photos of potholes and damage and persevere!!
 
andicole0 said:
I believe that in order to get compensation from the council the pot hole needs have been reported and not fixed within a certain time period. You can check on places like http://www.fixmystreet.com/ to see if the hole was reported.

Also check http://www.potholes.co.uk/ for more information.

HTH.

Andi.
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I have also been told this by a decent County Councilor. My daughter is going thro the process at this time. I believe the council must responnd within a given time.

Next stop for her is a solicitor!
 
I managed to claim for 2 tyres, one alloy wheel and a 4 wheel alignment a few years ago.

The council did everything they could to deny that I had a claim, but eventually they paid out on a "without prejudice" basis.

I did take photographs of the hole itself along with measurements of not only the size (and depth) of the hole, but how far it was from the centre of the road (to prove that it was impossible to avoid it without crossing the centre line).

Luckily they had also marked and fixed other potholes on the same road days earlier, which I also photographed.

All in all, I think that it is just a case of building up an overwhelming raft of evidence, which will show that you are serious, and then just bug the life out of them so that they know that you are not going away.

Good luck with your claim , it's worth a try.
 
andicole0 said:
I believe that in order to get compensation from the council the pot hole needs have been reported and not fixed within a certain time period. You can check on places like http://www.fixmystreet.com/ to see if the hole was reported.

Also check http://www.potholes.co.uk/ for more information.

HTH.

Andi.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the links. I've just reported the two monster potholes round by me.
 
Z4 Coupe said:
andicole0 said:
I believe that in order to get compensation from the council the pot hole needs have been reported and not fixed within a certain time period. You can check on places like http://www.fixmystreet.com/ to see if the hole was reported.

Also check http://www.potholes.co.uk/ for more information.

HTH.

Andi.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the links. I've just reported the two monster potholes round by me.
Click to expand...

As mentioned a couple of times before, they will do everything to put you off... take ages to reply, quote one rule or another.

To succeed, your evidence has to show negligence on their part. As it is a supposedly big hole & you were the first to report it, shows they were lacking in their duty even though they will claim they cant cover every stretch of road continuously.

To succeed, you need to be on their case weekly & engage a solicitor after 6 weeks, otherwise they will drag it out ... & out.... & out.

Show u mean business though do it fairly

best of luck
 
markeg said:
Believe inkey$ was pursuing a claim against his council (see post) - might be worth a PM....
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Well remembered markeg!

Currently underway but it's stalled slightly. First of went to the local council who sent me to the highways agency who sent me to the Red Route dept responsible for that particular stretch of road. Last email was about 3 weeks ago from a claims company asking for my details to be sent again. So far no update but I shall be chasing. My advice is go for it and keep on at them. Get as much evidence as you can and expect to be told the damage was there in the first place. But, nothing ventured nothing gained and if the worse case scenario is that they fix the pothole then thats a win for somebody else right.
 
Am being sent a claim form. In the meantime, have just ordered two new tyres (LHS tyre is OK with around 5mm, but is a bit worn on the outside edge) from Camskill. UniRoyal Rainsport 2, same as on the back, but still £285. And then there will be £30 for fitting, and I guess I'd better get tracking done. £££
 
around my area there are loads of deep potholes. im sure ive hit one and done some damage as my front-right wheel is dropping from 35- 22 psi every week or so. might just go and find one of the many and make a claim :evil:
 
Update - just settled with my local authority - they paid for the new tyre, cost of fitting and repair to the wheel. :)
 
I managed a claim against our local council after losing two tyres on a large pothole which had not been marked and the police even advised me to claim as I could not move the vehicle without recovery.

The council have insurers and it is with them you need to deal, try and get the council to refer you.

Good luck.

:thumbsup:
 
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