Pothole claims guide discussion

King_Mustard

Please see attached a form (eb_potholeform-mse-1.pdf) I submitted to Staffordshire County Council about the damage a pothole did to my car.

Also attached is their solicitor's response (IMG_20200217_205524.jpg).

I expected it to be an open and shut case. There was no paint around it, my car hit it as it was massive, my car got damaged.

Can anyone help advise what I should do next?

Aylesbury_Duck

King_Mustard said:

Please see attached a form (eb_potholeform-mse-1.pdf) I submitted to Staffordshire County Council about the damage a pothole did to my car.

Also attached is their solicitor's response (IMG_20200217_205524.jpg).

I expected it to be an open and shut case. There was no paint around it, my car hit it as it was massive, my car got damaged.

Can anyone help advise what I should do next?

I've read their reply but not your letter because I don't want to have to save it first.

From their reply, it is an open and shut case.  In their favour.  As they say, they allocated a repair in a reasonable time.  They don't need to paint it. 

If you don't agree, try a small claims action.  The court will decide if the council's duty of care was reasonably fulfilled or not.

King_Mustard

Aylesbury_Duck said:

King_Mustard said:

Please see attached a form (eb_potholeform-mse-1.pdf) I submitted to Staffordshire County Council about the damage a pothole did to my car.

Also attached is their solicitor's response (IMG_20200217_205524.jpg).

I expected it to be an open and shut case. There was no paint around it, my car hit it as it was massive, my car got damaged.

Can anyone help advise what I should do next?

I've read their reply but not your letter because I don't want to have to save it first.

From their reply, it is an open and shut case.  In their favour.  As they say, they allocated a repair in a reasonable time.  They don't need to paint it. 

If you don't agree, try a small claims action.  The court will decide if the council's duty of care was reasonably fulfilled or not.

You're not really in a position to make judgement without reading my side first (i.e. seeing what I submitted to them, which contains my details and evidence).

Aylesbury_Duck

King_Mustard said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

King_Mustard said:

Please see attached a form (eb_potholeform-mse-1.pdf) I submitted to Staffordshire County Council about the damage a pothole did to my car.

Also attached is their solicitor's response (IMG_20200217_205524.jpg).

I expected it to be an open and shut case. There was no paint around it, my car hit it as it was massive, my car got damaged.

Can anyone help advise what I should do next?

I've read their reply but not your letter because I don't want to have to save it first.

From their reply, it is an open and shut case.  In their favour.  As they say, they allocated a repair in a reasonable time.  They don't need to paint it. 

If you don't agree, try a small claims action.  The court will decide if the council's duty of care was reasonably fulfilled or not.

You're not really in a position to make judgement without reading my side first (i.e. seeing what I submitted to them, which contains my details and evidence).

Ok, then feel free to ignore my advice.  Let us know how you get on.

Agrajag

King_Mustard said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

King_Mustard said:

Please see attached a form (eb_potholeform-mse-1.pdf) I submitted to Staffordshire County Council about the damage a pothole did to my car.

Also attached is their solicitor's response (IMG_20200217_205524.jpg).

I expected it to be an open and shut case. There was no paint around it, my car hit it as it was massive, my car got damaged.

Can anyone help advise what I should do next?

I've read their reply but not your letter because I don't want to have to save it first.

From their reply, it is an open and shut case.  In their favour.  As they say, they allocated a repair in a reasonable time.  They don't need to paint it. 

If you don't agree, try a small claims action.  The court will decide if the council's duty of care was reasonably fulfilled or not.

You're not really in a position to make judgement without reading my side first (i.e. seeing what I submitted to them, which contains my details and evidence).

I have read your submission, and I agree with Aylesbury Duck  (edited- got names wrong)
Please read back in this thread (or elsewhere) about Section 58 (they quote it). It is an easy (though may be considered unfair) clause which gets them out of most pothole claims. You need more evidence.
e.g. look at djp0459's post (previous page of posts). He is trying to dispute their section 58 defence by proving their schedulke is not adhered to. Good luck to him

gagangill

Pothole claim success (eventually!)

Hi All,
I wanted to share my journey too regarding the difficulty I faced when claiming back what I deserved. Back in November 2019, I hit what could only be described as a curb (it was between two roads) which was exposed by sinking tarmac. When I hit it, it was an almighty thud and once I stopped safely I saw the tyre side wall has a gash and the alloy wheel was chipped. 

Understandably I was fuming and immediately called the council who to be honest were not the best. I eventually found the page on the councils website where potholes are reported but no options to claim. I also came across MSEs forum about capturing evidence on potholes, so I rushed back and took a good number of pictures plus the damage sustained to the car. Once I captured all the evidence I uploaded all this to the council. Within 45 mins I got a mail that the pothole was repaired!!!! I was stunted that they responded so fast but i also became suspicious. I eventually get a formal mail where I could claim and was advised to put the car in for a diagnostics/repair. 

The upshot of that was a bill of ~£450 due to a damaged wheel bearing, which including the wheel repair and tyre totalled ~£700! I then made damn sure to completed the 6 page claim form correctly with all the evidence and repair receipts 😒! A few weeks later I got a response that it was under investigation so my natural reaction was, “great I’ll get compensated!” But soon enough they send no compensation since the pothole was reported in October and the authorities had 28 days to “play” with before repairing it, and since I hit the pothole within 28 days I wasn't liable for compensation! 

I emailed back saying that this isn’t fair that we have such a ridiculous rule which is backed by law. No surprise that they still said no and the authorities are within their rights to do this. I then proceeded with a formal response using the FOI act template on MSE site to request all repairs on the road in question and how it’s tracked and for how long. Four days later I receive a email saying that there was a breach of duty and I now have a cheque of ~£700! 

So please don’t give up and a huge thanks to MSE! 

VincentJT

On February 23, 2020 driving at night on my own on a B road, I hit a bad pothole. The only damage resulting from this was that my airbag light came permanently on, indicating some fault with airbag system. Had initial screening at local garage that cost £78, but garage not capable of giving complete diagnosis without further opening of air-bag system. Notified pertinent authority of pothole approximate location. Contact Insurance company who said that they would only pay buy sending an official to assess value of vehicle, deduct £250 excess charge, and pay me the residue, which would be almost nothing. They told me the car should no longer be on the road until air-bag correctly functional. Contemplating claiming against pertinent County authority (East Sussex), but not sure I should put the claim in now, or wait until I have a complete evaluation of costs involved. I am completely new to this sort of game, but have very little pension income, but need to have a vehicle for getting about, as I live in a rural area with weak public transport services. Can anyone advise?
 VincentJT

King_Mustard

Can someone please help me with my next response, as I'm at a loss.

I just can't see how hitting the pothole is my fault and I feel like they're fobbing me off as usual

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtXjMTxv8peTkfV8kAnnUebkr6XLCg?e=cBYroE

The link contains:

1. My form to them (December 27, 2019)
2. Their response (February 14, 2020)
3. My response (February 20, 2020)
4. Their response (March 3, 2020)

swhit

I submitted a claim to stoke on Trent city council for damage caused by a pot hole. It was unsurprisingly rejected. So following the advice I then put in a freedom of information request for the maintenance and repair of the road and how many complaints there had been about it. The freedom of information request was also denied using regulation 12 (5)(b)(course of justice) allowing them to with hold information if they believe it is going to be used for criminal or fraudulent nature or if it’s release would be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of a crime. I believe this is because the road was not inspected when they it was or they would release the inspection date and information. What should my next move be?  

King_Mustard

Can someone please help me with my next response, as I'm at a loss.

I just can't see how hitting the pothole is my fault and I feel like they're fobbing me off as usual

Link to PDFs: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtXjMTxv8peTkfV8kAnnUebkr6XLCg?e=cBYroE

The link contains:

1. My "Property Damage Incident Report" form to them (December 27, 2019)
2. Their response (February 14, 2020)
3. My response (February 20, 2020)
4. Their response (March 3, 2020)
5. My response (March 16, 2020) (sent as recommended by Money Saving Expert using their template)
6a) Their response e-mail (March 25, 2020) (contains two attachments, a and b)
6b) Site History Report (Wenlock Bank, 01/01/2019 to 17/03/2020)
6c) Site History Report (Stretton Road, 01/01/2019 to 17/03/2020) (some blanked information)

However, whilst he blanked a lot of parts in 6c, the council's solicitor sent me (possibly by mistake?) a far less blanked out version:

6d) Site History Report (Stretton Road, 01/10/2019 to 15/01/2020) (mostly unblanked)
However, I am still very lost