Pothole claims guide discussion

jim2

Hi,
In February I hit a pothole on a B road in the Scottish Borders which buckled front wheel and ruined 2 tyres.
I claimed for these sending photos of pot hole and was declined.
I therefore went down the FOI route. Council sent me relevant info and seems their maintenance records are all up to date.
Don’t think there’s much else I can do,
Yours frustratingly,
Jim.

ukjack

Just wondering if that section about "There are claims it would cost billions to bring the roads up to scratch over the next 10 years, but whoever controls the road has a legal duty to maintain it to a fit standard." really does mean WHOEVER.

We have right of way over a private road owned by another household. They don't/won't maintain it and it is shocking. Clearly there is constant lower level damage to the car which accumulates and some high impact damage intermittently.

Anyone any experience as to what the situation is regards private roads with legal right to cross?

Thanks

Scottydog2304

I hit a pothole 18mths ago and damaged two tyres and wheels which cost me around £1100 to have replaced.
I haven’t claimed because of my illness (mental health) can I still claim now? I am feeling almost normal now and not depressed. Thanks

andybolton1975

Hi, this is my first post here. I find it interesting and frustrating like New666uk I too hit a pothole on a Lancashire County Council maintained road. Whilst I did not claim or change my rim immediately I have successfully claimed however they have insulted me by offering £88.50 when claiming for £500 damages.

I have had numerous correspondences with LCC and am at this point being told damage was to 1 tyre (when it was the rim) and that it was only 1 which needed replacing. I have alloy wheels and am looking for some advice on the safety and general comments around legality of changing 1 rim.

Advice if anyone could help would be greatly appreciated.

Aylesbury_Duck

andybolton1975 wrote: »

Hi, this is my first post here. I find it interesting and frustrating like New666uk I too hit a pothole on a Lancashire County Council maintained road. Whilst I did not claim or change my rim immediately I have successfully claimed however they have insulted me by offering £88.50 when claiming for £500 damages.

I have had numerous correspondences with LCC and am at this point being told damage was to 1 tyre (when it was the rim) and that it was only 1 which needed replacing. I have alloy wheels and am looking for some advice on the safety and general comments around legality of changing 1 rim.

Advice if anyone could help would be greatly appreciated.

Insulted? What's the breakdown of the £88.50? What's it for? Just one tyre? What's the breakdown of what you claimed for?

I don't see a problem with the safety or legality of changing just one wheel rim.

Aylesbury_Duck

Scottydog2304 wrote: »

I hit a pothole 18mths ago and damaged two tyres and wheels which cost me around £1100 to have replaced.
I haven’t claimed because of my illness (mental health) can I still claim now? I am feeling almost normal now and not depressed. Thanks

You can claim but have you got all the evidence you'll need to stand a chance of succeeding? You'd need photographs of the pothole and know its exact location, plus a breakdown of what work you had done and the garage's report on the state of the wheels and tyres that needed replacing. Then you have to hope that the pothole had been reported and that you hit it in the time window between it being reported and being repaired and that the time taken to repair it was unreasonable.

If you didn't report it at the time and it hadn't been reported, others may have hit it after you did and not be able to claim, either.

andybolton1975

I am claiming just short of £500.
4 rims
Tyre swap
Rebalance twice
Rear wheel rebalance

The £88.50 is for 1 rim replacement.
The only thing I have read is that if the rims are not guaranteed to be the same performance. As my vehicle was at the time over 7 years I was unable to find just 1 identical rim.

Aylesbury_Duck

The trouble is that you’re seeking betterment. In other words, you’re wanting to get three new rims in addition to the one damaged. That’s unreasonable.

Without evidence that the pothole caused the damage, that it was previously reported and that the repair took place an unreasonable time later, you have no case.

andybolton1975

Hi Aylesbury Duck, therein lies the disagreement. I didn’t hit the pothole in purpose, would have bought 1 “like for like” if it was available whilst 1 was damaged I could only buy as a set of 4.

I personally don’t see that as unreasonable. Had the road been maintained this whole situation would not have occurred.

new666uk

@andybolton1975 glad you've got to the offer stage with them. Had the hole been notified to them before your incident? Curious how they deemed it their fault in your case.



Yes, a single alloy replacement is perfectly safe BTW.