Claiming pothole damage from the council

[blinky123]

Hi there,

 

Any idea how I would go about claiming the cost of a new tyre from the council? There is a massive pot hole on a fairly busy commuter road on my way to work, it is about two meters long, about the width of a tyre and almost a foot deep! It is lengthways along the road and is very difficult to spot - hence it completely blew my tyre out yesterday! Not a happy bunny as it was a newish tyre! To make matters worse, a lady came out of the house opposite whilst me and the other half were struggling and told us that it had claimed two of her tyres and she had written to the council already! I can appreciate the fact that they may not want to fill these holes in yet because more snow may on the way or whatever, but they could have at least put some bollards up or a sign or something! This road is not a residential road, it is a road leading up to a roundabout on a main A road and has a 40 mph speed limit.

 

Just looking for some opinions on wether I could claim this back from the council. I havent inspected my alloys yet because it was dark yesterday but could also be looing at some damage to them too.

 

Thanks in advance...

[heliosuk]

Tut tut Blinkey!! You've only had it back a month

As I remember it's pretty straight forward but ideally get a picture and the name and address of the lady. Refering to the pot hole of course oh and stick a rule in it the accurately gauge the size.

 

When reporting it to the council, apart from the obvious tyre replacement you should claim for a full geometry check as well which ought to be done by your embarrassed dealer half an hour away, and note to the council that the claim is subject to that and the check on the alloy wheel. I've always found them to be pretty good.

 

When it comes to the tyre, ask the garage fitting it to check the run out on the balance machine. In fact it might be best getting it all done at your ultra friendly dealer. He needs to recover something!!!! Ask him to make sure he does the rear end first or I might start chucking my toys out of the pram.

 

The above is quite important as the suspension is only validated on A/B class cars to kerb height/depth and not too fast either.

 

Let me know if it goes pete tong but I don't think you'll have any problems there.

[blinky123]

Hey helios, hows it going?

 

I know it's bad, I've been taking such care of it since I got her back! in my defense though it was my other half who was driving!

 

I've written a letter and am going there to take a picture today. It's so strange, I got a phone call out of the blue today from VW Tunbridge Wells telling me that at my last dealings with them (in October 2008!) that they issued an advisory that some work needed to be done on the suspension and did I want it doing now? I had no idea anything was wrong with the suspension and wonder why it has taken them so long to tell me about it, and I certainly don't remember them telling me this at the time, but I just shrugged my shoulders and said well you may as well have a look, but surely if there was work needing to be done to the suspension already, this pot hole might have put it right out of whack?

 

Also they're quoting me £285 for the 4th service, does that sound about right? And then plus the extra for whatever this suspension work is. It's due a service in February anyway and I was going to take it back to Horsham for that, but I need a new spare tyre pronto and it seemed like fate that they called me first as that was on my list of things to do this morning.

[heliosuk]

I sincerely hope the picture has been taken at a more appropriate angle this time But of course the pot hole damage "may well have caused the attention needed to the suspension" though we know the calling dealer is actually Walt Disney himself. Can you send me the pic please as was talking about it, the incident one of course, at work today as we expect a step increase in "mickey mouse" warranty claims heading our way.

 

The price quoted would be expected under normal circumstance so if I was you I'd sit down with the advisor and Martin at Mr Sensible dealer to discuss what isn't necessary and adjust accordingly. Let me know if they kick up a fuss. As we know that stamp is important.

 

Rumour has it the board of directors have had to allegedly go without schnapps for the last month. As you can see I'm still smirking hehehe.

[blinky123]

LOL!!

 

Would you believe it, I went to go and take a picture today and the council have filled it in! The tarmac was still wet! Quite annoyed about that but I have a witness as the girl who came out of the house opposite whilst we were changing the tyre (I say the royal "we" but I was pretty much just holding the torch) well, I used to go to school with her and she's told me the council have already paid for her two new tyres because of said pothole.

 

I've written an email anyway and sent it to the council today so hopefully I'll get a response.

[smutley]

Hi, I'm just about to fill in a claim form from Cardiff Council as I encountered potholes last week resulting in the destruction of two wheels & tyres and suspension damage .. new shocks needed over £400 in total. I informed the police, council and the local newspaper took photos of me and rpublished the story. So I wish you well with your claim and if you have any tips for claiming please pass them on to me! I found this website that looks quite useful Potholes.co.uk - Home Page

[blinky123]

Thank you very much smutley, I have emailed the council but still no response. I will wait another week then send a letter. I will certainly check out that website as well - good luck with your claim.

[smutley]

thanks blinky... and like you, the council have now filled in the potholes!

[blinky123]

Well the council have got back to me and are going to be sending me a claim form. Just as an aside to anyone who is familiar with my other recently solved problem with my car - I took it to VW for a service and they sold me a new wheel. Me being a girl with no idea of cars took their word for the fact that it needed a new wheel, took it to my local independent garage for a new tyre and they say they can't find anything wrong with the wheel, a few scuffs but at the most I could've sent it off to be repaired for a quarter of the cost of a new wheel?

 

When I think back to all the trouble and strife I went through with VW to get them to fix my cars engine, they say I should have taken my car to a VW garage, but then they do stuff like this and wonder why I don't trust them and why I would much rather take it down the road to my local garage who I trust and know wouldn't take advantage of me?

 

Sorry guys rant over!

[heliosuk]

Actually Blinky I'd side with VW on this one. Whilst I doubt either of them measured the radial and laterall run out of the wheel it's a case of being 100% safe. Alloys can absorb huge shocks but it can and does affect the metallic properties of the wheel before it goes into what is known as deformation (bent). This can only usually be seen by X ray. Whilst it might not be apparent from the looks of the wheel to then "get it repaired" because it's scuffed usually involves a machining process and then re powder coating. This process involves heating the wheel to temperatures very close to that where it makes the wheel soft. It's very, very carefully controlled and you can't mix different alloy wheels in the same baking chamber which is what tends to happen. I doubt also that the local garage repairers then test for hardness and X ray.

 

I've seen some quite horrendous film of what can happen in these circumstances, especially with motorbike wheels.

 

Anyway, it should be recoverable from the councils insurance.

 

Let me know if you have a problem with the claim and I'll advise further.

 

Kindest regards.

[blinky123]

Oh OK thanks for setting my mind at rest, perhaps they're not as bad as I thought! Well £265 quid is a lot of money for a new alloy so I was shocked. I guess my local garage is a fan of "try the cheapest thing first,' though it may not always be the best solution.

 

[heliosuk]

The price is about right and frankly I think they could do them cheaper and occasionally you can find them as old stock. But as ever in this situation you would be compromising the safety of the anyone in the car, more so if you did a high speed journey. To many people a wheel is a wheel but when it is turning at speed it's a very dangerous object and needs treating with respect.

 

Cheapest is not always the best though often done with the best of intentions but inavriably it comes back to bite.

 

Did Mr VW do the steering geometry check recommended??

[blinky123]

I should hope so, to be honest I didn't ask them - I just told them I'd run over a pothole and it was a pretty big pot hole and they told me they would do the necessary checks. I really wanted to take it to Horsham VW but as it was quite urgent and they are over an hours drive away from me, unfortunately it had to be my local VW retailer. I will hopefully take it to Horsham for it's next service but they don't seem to want to do it while you wait and it's too far away for me to go there and go home again then come back!

[heliosuk]

Ah ha. Blinky.

 

When you book up explain the situation to get a courtesy car for a morning etc. It's a case of fitting everything in. A good dealer, despite the distance is worth a fortune unfortunately and if you can get the timings right then Horsham is a great place to visit, such as .............err..........Horsham?

[blinky123]

Can't believe it - received a letter from the council today (after all this time!!!) saying they believe they have kept the roads in a decent enough state of repair and so will not be paying! I'm gobsmacked! If you could see some of the roads where I live, it's like patchwork and it's all just going to come up again next year when it snows and I'll probably have to go through all this again! Honestly I thought my council were decent but probably just too many people claiming for pothole damage and they've run out of money!

[Conniff]

This is the insurance saying they won't pay out, they always say that, don't leave it there. Ask them 'to reconsider before you take legal advice'.

[heliosuk]

I'd do as Conniff suggests Blinky and point out that you are able to get witness statements plus one where they have paid out on same said pot hole. I'd also ask them to provide the records of the road inspections that were carried out with date and time. I say time because depending on the use of the road a little pot hole can grow into a big pot hole.

 

I reckon you have enough experience of writing suitable letters to out manouvere them now but would be pleased to go over if you'd like.

 

Kindest regards.

[smutley]

I sent this email request to my ccc and they did send me the information

 

Dear Sir.Madam,

Under the general requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would be grateful if you would provide the following information in relation to ----------------(name of road) and in particular the section between ,,,,,, and ..........

Dates of all safety inspections undertaken on the carriageway in the two years preceding 20 January 2010

Details of all carriageway defects identified during safety inspections in the two years preceding 20 January 2010

• Details of how carriageway safety inspections are undertaken, including whether walked or driven, the speed of the inspection vehicle and the number of persons in the vehicle.
  
• The intended frequency of carriageway safety inspections.
  
• Details of all complaints and/or enquiries relating to the carriageway, received in the two years preceding 20 January 2010
  
• The hierarchy classification.
  
• The road/section number.
  
• The defect intervention criteria adopted in relation to the identification of all categories of carriageway potholes
  
• The time period(s) adopted between identification and repair (temporary and permanent) of all categories of carriageway defects.
  
• Whether or not the authority has formally adopted all or part of the standards contained within the national code of practice for highways maintenance management.
  

Please forward the information to:

[traffer]

A council tried this on with me. They advised that the road concerned was a "rural access road2 - which it is not and that they inspected it. Fortunately, they sent evidence of inspections, reccomendations and repairs. The affected section was earmarked for repair which had not been done some 5 months after the inspection. They paid up pretty quickly once that was pointed out.

 

Therefore ask for the documentation. Even if repirs are done and the road then becoemes dangerous, you can claim that the council was in breach of its duty for failing to repair the road properly.

[blinky123]

Thanks guys, I have the name and address of a witness whom the council paid for two of her tyres to be replaced with regards to damage by the very same pothole, so I will point this out as well in my next letter!