Potholes - claiming from the council?

[Andy]

Just back from helping a friend out with her car after she went down a pothole that she didn't see on New Years Eve

Complaint was a twitching in the steering wheel which changed with speed. So had a look over the entire passenger wheel feeling for babies in the wall, noticed the tyre was close to being flat as well. Long and short of it was the inside rim was majorly bent over, and the wheel was free spinning out of true. She managed to get a replacement from Ford with a tyre and a complete front  end re-tracked, total was just over £300 + VAT.

Shes on about taking photos and going to the council with the bill and asking for some sort of compensation. I pretty sure thats going to be received with a flat no, but has anyone had any luck or know anybody whose got anywhere in that situation?

[art b]

you should have a chance if the council knew of the hole......

some one has to have reported it.....

.ya cant prove that though....

[Incursus]

Seem to remember a friend of mine have a similar thing happen in Luton buggering up one of the Alloys on his TT.

Pretty sure he was successful.  If I remember I'll ask when I go back to work

[Fieldy]

Try and find some CCTV of her driving over the pothole I would have said....

[EDGE]

i tried claiming once for a pot hole that trashed the rear suspension bushes on the neon.  the car it the pothole so hard it broke the top mounts and sent the strut tops in to the boot !!!

it was SUCH a beurocratic ball ache I didn't bother.  Basically, you have to claim on your OWN car insurance to have the car fixed, then, and only then, make a claim against the council.  IF they decide to pay out for it, they will, and you can re-imburse your insurance company..The parts on the neon were only £65 so I didnt bother

Its such a BULLSH!T way of doing it I gave the bint on the phone a grilling for about an hour, not over the pothole, but about their procedure... basically, someone has to report the pothole otherwise they dont know its there.  I spent about a month or two calling them every other day telling them about potholes all over enfield, some were fixed, some not... least they spent more than £65


When dad hit a pothole in the BMW we were in business... He didnt claim on his insurnce as it wasn't enfield council (the bullsh1t artists) it was finchley, or camden or something.  The other coucils just ask you for a repair bill/invoice and then reimburse you if they deem it their fault...

basically, he bent an alloy, needed a tracking allignment and needed a few suspension parts renewing... surprising how it quickly adds up to nearly a grand

[Andy]

Quoting: Incursus

Pretty sure he was successful. If I remember I'll ask when I go back to work

Cheers bud, would appreciate that.

Quoting: Fieldy

Try and find some CCTV of her driving over the pothole I would have said...

She said it was a residential area just outside one of the towns, i drive it quite often and don't believe there are any cameras around there, not even speed cameras.

Quoting: EDGE

it was SUCH a beurocratic ball ache I didn't bother. Basically, you have to claim on your OWN car insurance to have the car fixed, then, and only then, make a claim against the council. IF they decide to pay out for it, they will, and you can re-imburse your insurance company.

You wouldn't expect any less from a council really.  


.

[philoldsmobile]

Carl at ducks cross salvage successfully got a wheel and tyre from Northants council from a pothole he hit in his '59 el camino, but that was a good few years ago.

[Pod]

There was something on the One show a while back about exactly that kind of thing. Can't remember any of the details though...

[Fieldy]

Quoting: Pod

There was something on the One show a while back about exactly that kind of thing. Can't remember any of the details though...

Useful

[Andy]

She's just received a form in the post that she needs to return with all the details of where when and costs.

Maybe Bucks CC aren't all that bad.

[Fieldy]

Quoting: Andy

She's just received a form in the post that she needs to return with all the details of where when and costs.

Maybe Bucks CC aren't all that bad

doesn't sound too bad, but I wouldn't get your hopes up TBH

[Andy]

She's sending the form back tomorrow, recorded delivery. Total costs £352.52.

Apparently its one that had been outlined, had spray paint around it as though it was down for repair.

[Andy]

Update:

Council have replied and have rejected the compensation claim for the damaged wheel.

The letter runs to two pages explaining how it was an unfortunate event and that they do their upmost to maintain the roads.

They state that they have complied with Section 58 of the Highways Act 1989 which states they did their duty to inspect the road way with their previous inspection being the 19th December 2009.

However it get interesting with them stating in the letter that the pot hole was reported on the 30th December (specific time 17:04). The date of her hitting it was 31st December. I'd would've thought that stating that would leave them liable but I really don't know how it works. However it will make interesting following. She says she's going to argue the case.

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Andy

However it get interesting with them stating in the letter that the pot hole was reported on the 30th December (specific time 17:04). The date of her hitting it was 31st December. I'd would've thought that stating that would leave them liable

I'm guessing they'll have a predetermined window for fixing them . . . they'll argue that it's within that window so tough titties.

[Big Mouse]

Must have been a pretty big pothole if she couldn't have just driven around it

[Andy]

Quoting: Big Mouse

Must have been a pretty big pothole if she couldn't have just driven around it

I don't know the exact story, but it was New Years eve night, so perhaps didn't see it till the last minute.

After seeing some of the craters that have opened up in the last couple of days, you have got to be really on your toes and often crossing into on coming traffic to avoid them.

All the same, steelies ftw!