Claiming for pothole damage

[TeddyRuxpin]

Hi,

A few weeks ago I hit a big pothole and it burst one of my tyres immediately. Due to the situation, hitting it was unavoidable.

I replaced both front tyres (so that they match - didn't have a matching Continental tyre in stock and I didn't want mismatched tread wear anyway) at the cost of nearly £300. There is some slight damage to the wheel but the tyre guys said it wasn't something that would cause issues.

Reported it to the local council with pictures and a copy of the invoice I spent for the tyres - no reply until I chased up, but they've replied saying

"Thank you for your email.

I have checked the reference and the status has changed to Highways Enquiry - Department Working On It and a note has been left to advise a job order has been raised.

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us on the Telephone number below. Our hours of opening are Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Kind Regards,

Jessie"

Replying with 'ok but can I have some compensation please' doesn't seem like it will elicit much of a response.

Has anybody here successfully claimed for pothole damage from the council, if so, any advice/tips? Did you call up, or best to have something in writing?

Cheers,

 

[clk320x]

Hi,

A few weeks ago I hit a big pothole and it burst one of my tyres immediately. Due to the situation, hitting it was unavoidable.

I replaced both front tyres (so that they match - didn't have a matching Continental tyre in stock and I didn't want mismatched tread wear anyway) at the cost of nearly £300. There is some slight damage to the wheel but the tyre guys said it wasn't something that would cause issues.

Reported it to the local council with pictures and a copy of the invoice I spent for the tyres - no reply until I chased up, but they've replied saying



Replying with 'ok but can I have some compensation please' doesn't seem like it will elicit much of a response.

Has anybody here successfully claimed for pothole damage from the council, if so, any advice/tips? Did you call up, or best to have something in writing?

Cheers,

If the pothole had not been reported then AFAIK you can’t claim compensation.

 

[rf065]

While you have a valid claim for one tyre, no way will you get them to pay for two!

 

[AMGeed]

If the pothole had not been reported then AFAIK you can’t claim compensation.

Hmmm.
Are the council going to own up to the pothole being reported or fob you off and say yours is the first claim?

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

While you have a valid claim for one tyre, no way will you get them to pay for two!

Whatever the compensation is (even £50 would help), I’m talking about the process

 

[rf065]

Whatever the compensation is (even £50 would help), I’m talking about the process

First place to start is on line, various sites exist to report pot holes without relying on councils to be up front. Start with them and you might be lucky, if not, going directly to the council is your last resort.

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

First place to start is on line, various sites exist to report pot holes without relying on councils to be up front. Start with them and you might be lucky, if not, going directly to the council is your last resort.

Check out the original post for a little more context...

 

[rf065]

Check out the original post for a little more context...

I did see that, but various thrid party pot hole report internet sites are available that may contain proof that your pothole was already known to them thus they cannot deny you have a claim.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

My wife successfully claimed for an alloy and tyre a few years ago as one was damaged by a pothole. In hindsight the time and effort it took I wouldn’t bother claiming again. It must have taken 6 months and a number of forms, had to get the wheel inspected etc. Im sure they make it thus to dissuade people. My wife is super tenacious though with these things so persevered.

 

[BTB 500]

Do you have pictures of the pothole as well as the wheel/tyre?

In theory you should report it to your insurer as a no fault incident. An RAC guy told me a couple of years ago that successful claims handled by a council's public liability insurance could end up logged on the industry database, making not notifying your own insurer potentially a bit dodgy. He also said they were generally clamping down on payouts e.g. you wouldn't get the full cost of a replacement tyre unless you could prove the damaged one was brand new.

I'll be interested to hear how you get on. I've lost three tyres to potholes in recent years (two on the same side on our current S205 and a front one on our previous S203), but fortunately no wheel damage either time. In both cases the tyres were reasonably well used so I just took the hit (four new tyres on the S205 and two fronts on the S203).

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

Yes I submitted multiple pics of the pothole and of the flat tyre, along with the invoice for a new tyres

I wouldn’t want to mess with insurance/NCB and it would be less than most people’s excess anyway?

 

[BTB 500]

Yes I submitted multiple pics of the pothole and of the flat tyre, along with the invoice for a new tyres

I wouldn’t want to mess with insurance/NCB and it would be less than most people’s excess anyway?

Not suggesting you'd claim on your insurance (although you might want to for say two wheels & tyres), but you are supposed to report any incident/damage to them anyway. If your car gets damaged and this is sorted outside the insurance system then nobody is any the wiser, but if the other party pays for it through their insurance there's a fair chance your insurer will find out about it as companies share data on incidents and claims via an industry-wide database called the Claims and Underwriting Exchange ("CUE"). Unfair as it sounds some insurers do weight your premium for 'non fault' incidents, so not declaring them could be considered fraud.

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , where I live on a supermarket car park a very deep pothole has been months getting worse.

Someone decided to put a no parking sign in the hole , vanished within hours.

I think their is a minimum size that you cannot claim for. Did you take any photos of said hole with measuring equipment , a ruler.

Small claims court ?

Check if you loose can you have costs awarded against you !

 

[sgregory124]

Not suggesting you'd claim on your insurance (although you might want to for say two wheels & tyres), but you are supposed to report any incident/damage to them anyway. If your car gets damaged and this is sorted outside the insurance system then nobody is any the wiser, but if the other party pays for it through their insurance there's a fair chance your insurer will find out about it as companies share data on incidents and claims via an industry-wide database called the Claims and Underwriting Exchange ("CUE"). Unfair as it sounds some insurers do weight your premium for 'non fault' incidents, so not declaring them could be considered fraud.

From bitter personal experience, telling your insurance company about damage to your car, covered by a policy on which you have no intention of claiming on and that you're going to pay for yourself, is an open invite for them to put your premium up - because 'Reasons'.

Years ago, I used to own an Alpina D3 which was parked on the street outside my house. Some 'scrote' decided to lean on the drivers wing mirror whilst chatting to his girlfriend one night, breaking the mechanism in the process. I had it repaired at my own expense, but when it came around to renewal time, my wife insisted I tell my insurer about the damage (when they asked about non-fault accidents, damage etc). I did this to keep the peace and for my honesty, they duly put my premium up by another £70.

So frankly, I wouldn't be telling them anything they don't need to know. I haven't encountered an insurer yet that has treated me with anything other than absolute contempt at renewal time.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Unfortunately honest is often not the best policy......its not like not telling them would have made any difference at all or they could have ever have found out....unlike not telling them about a car that hit you....which could come to light. You gave them the amo....they shot you with it.....!

 

[BTB 500]

From bitter personal experience, telling your insurance company about damage to your car, covered by a policy on which you have no intention of claiming on and that you're going to pay for yourself, is an open invite for them to put your premium up - because 'Reasons'.

Years ago, I used to own an Alpina D3 which was parked on the street outside my house. Some 'scrote' decided to lean on the drivers wing mirror whilst chatting to his girlfriend one night, breaking the mechanism in the process. I had it repaired at my own expense, but when it came around to renewal time, my wife insisted I tell my insurer about the damage (when they asked about non-fault accidents, damage etc). I did this to keep the peace and for my honesty, they duly put my premium up by another £70.

So frankly, I wouldn't be telling them anything they don't need to know. I haven't encountered an insurer yet that has treated me with anything other than absolute contempt at renewal time.

My wife is a named driver on the policy for my SL. She had a single no-fault accident in her own car (hit from behind at a junction), and although that was settled in full by the other party's insurance the premium on my SL shot up when I disclosed this. You have no real choice if insurance has been involved as the details are logged on the industry database for all to see.

In the context of pothole damage if the council pay this directly you can almost certainly get away with not declaring it. But if they settle via an insurance company (which you'd have no way of knowing in advance) you run the risk of current or future insurers seeing the incident linked to your name on the database. Which could be a problem if you've not mentioned it when getting the quote.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

I think the harsh reality is that the odds are stacked completely against the victim as far as pothole damage goes. Even if you win compensation after a time-consuming drawn out battle you might still lose on increased premiums, so i would just suck it up and try to forget about it until election time.

 

[Numair Aidroos]

Get a solicitor.

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

For £300?

 

[oldguy57]

As a general point failing to disclose to Insurers what is termed a material fact ( ie convictions accidents, damage etc) can land you with major problems insurance wise. A policy can be voided from inception ( which could result in a prosecution for no insurance if you're involved in an incident) and you would then have to disclose this to your next Insurer if you can find anyone willing to insure you. A very slippery slope. So your premium increases a touch - not worth the risk.