Should I complain to the Council

Hootie19

Driving home yesterday in the dark and rain, my front passenger side wheel went down an utterly ENORMOUS pot hole. Honestly it was such a bang that I thought I'd driven up a kerb - it was that bad.

I rang the Council and reported the pot hole and they said that someone would be out to look at it (not repair it - just look at it!!) within five days. Fair enough, I worked for a Council and understand how these things work.

Thing is - in daylight today, I've noticed that I've got a bit of a blister/bulge on the tyre wall and my alloy wheel is damaged. So I'm going to at least have to get a replacement tyre, even if I ignore the alloy wheel, which is after all, just decoration.

The other thing is, I've known that pot hole was there for a few days - in fact DH thumped down it on his way home on Sunday night, but he doesn't seem to have sustained any damage to his car.

I rarely come down the road that way - I'm usually coming the other way, and turn into our road before the pot hole, so it didn't really register that it was there. The other thing is that it is just around a corner, so you're on top of it before you have a chance to react.

WWYD - do you think it's worth asking the Council to pay for a new tyre, or should I just take the attitude that if no one had told them about it (DH said he was going to after Sunday night, but didn't as far as I know) then they can't repair it, or should I hold them responsible (especially given the ruinously high council tax I pay, part of which is supposed to be for highway repairs, isn't it?) and expect them to pay up for a new tyre.

I would also add that I am recently unemployed, so cash is a bit tight, to say the least. I know a new typre isn't going to be *that* expensive, but it's something my budget could really do without having to accommodate.

bryanb

The other thing is, I've known that pot hole was there for a few days.

But you chose not to report it till after you drove into it?

dacouch

http://www.potholes.co.uk/

pinkneonmartini

as far as i'm aware if your vehicle becomes damaged due to the state of the road then the council do have to repair your vehicle.

have a look here:

http://www.potholes.co.uk/claims/how_to_claim

Hootie19

Yes, I'm guilty of that Bryanb. But in my slight defence, as I said, I hardly ever approach our road from that direction, and it wasn't until I'd actually driven over it myself that I realised how huge it is.

I would also say that the road (another that I rarely drive down as we approach our road from the other direction) that is at 90degrees to the pot hole road is also riddled with some pretty bad pot holes. I can see that one of the repairs done to one of those has failed.

Thank you for your response. I take it that you don't think I should ask the Council to pay for a new tyre (which I've just been told will be £60, and may also require a new wheel if it's damaged badly enough. This is from a totally honest and reliable mechanic who won't do work unnecessarily.)

vaio

Councils have a duty of care on potholes and if they fail in that they should pay for the wheel & tyre

The tricky bit is proving they failed in that duty of care……..

Common sense says they it’s not reasonable to expect them survey the roads everyday to check them but there are guidelines that give times within which they should repair reported potholes and I believe there is a requirement that they survey their roads on a regular basis to inspect for damage.

I’d be tempted to stick in a FOI request to the council legal department asking

• Had the pothole been reported and if so when
• What is their policy on frequency of road surveys
• When was that road last surveyed

Hootie19

Thank you to dacouch and pinkneonmartini (love your user name!!) for the links, and to vaio for the advice.

I have just sent my husband down the road armed with his camera to photograph it, and will follow the advice on the "how to claim" section of the linked website.

Thank you for all the responses. The hole is right on a corner and is directly outside the entrance to a lower school. I will pop down to the school this afternoon and ask if they are aware of when the hole first appeared (and if they have reported it).

ETA - husband has just come back from his photography expedition and said that the hole is at least 100, if not 150mm deep. While he was standing there, three other cars stopped and asked if he was from the Council to repair it. He told them no, he was just photographing it as my car had been damaged, and all three said that they had also reported it, and one said that the Council has sent him the forms to claim from them.

Hintza

vaio wrote: »

Councils have a duty of care on potholes and if they fail in that they should pay for the wheel & tyre

The tricky bit is proving they failed in that duty of care……..

Common sense says they it’s not reasonable to expect them survey the roads everyday to check them but there are guidelines that give times within which they should repair reported potholes and I believe there is a requirement that they survey their roads on a regular basis to inspect for damage.

I’d be tempted to stick in a FOI request to the council legal department asking

• Had the pothole been reported and if so when
• What is their policy on frequency of road surveys
• When was that road last surveyed

And if the pothole is large it didn't happen overnight.

However I have seen some get huge pretty quickly if heavy lorries use the road a lot.

Hootie19

Hintza - it's a side, side, side road, so no heavy traffic flow. The only lorries that come down that road are delivery lorries (Argos, for example), Dustcarts on bin day (Mondays) and deliveries to the school kitchen, so I don't think they would be held responsible.

But wouldn't it be a delicious irony if it were proved that the refuse lorries were contributing to the problem!

Gordon861

Before you put in the claim make sure you have a photo of the hole as it is now, councils have a habit of rushing out to repair them the moment a bill comes in so there is no evidence as to how deep it was.

brightonman123

i think some councils set a minim hole depth, before they bother looking at it.. despite a quick repair being cheaper than subsequent claims / injuries or worse!

take pics, call council, send letter and keep copies!.

if just a hole fix you need, name and shame them on twitter etc!