Damaged wheel due to pot-hole

rmg1

Hi all

I ran over a water-filled pot-hole yesterday and damaged my alloy wheel.
I've put in a claim to the local council (via email with photos of the damage attached) and they've passed it to their claims handlers who have acknowledged receript of my complaint.

As the damage was sustained on a public road where do i stand?
The claims handelrs have stated (via email) that:-
"For your ease of reference, please note there is no automatic right to compensation for damage sustained on the Highway. Claims of this nature are investigated to establish whether our client has acted negligently or not under the Highways Act 1980."

Assuming this is true (and I don't have any other recourse but to believe it is true) is there any I can/need to do until I hear from them?

This is a first for me so I'm not sure where I stand.

Any help on this gratefully received.

AdrianC

Whether they're liable or not depends on the class of road, how long since it was last inspected, whether anybody's previously notified the pothole, and - if they knew about it - whether they were still in time to repair it when you hit it.

It's entirely likely that they're in the clear - because they do take these timescales seriously.

If they aren't liable, then it's up to you to repair your own damage.

rmg1

In some semblance of order.....
I think it will be classed as a B-road
Not sure when it was last inspected (any way I can find out?)
Not sure if it was previously reported (any way I can find out?)

Scrapit

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/pothole-claims/

rmg1

Thanks for that.
I didn't that page existed so I'll have a read and see what else I need to do.

Mutton_Geoff

Also very useful help on this site ... https://www.potholes.co.uk/

traineepensioner

rmg1 wrote: »

Hi all

I ran over a water-filled pot-hole yesterday and damaged my alloy wheel.
I've put in a claim to the local council (via email with photos of the damage attached) and they've passed it to their claims handlers who have acknowledged receript of my complaint.

As the damage was sustained on a public road where do i stand?
The claims handelrs have stated (via email) that:-
"For your ease of reference, please note there is no automatic right to compensation for damage sustained on the Highway. Claims of this nature are investigated to establish whether our client has acted negligently or not under the Highways Act 1980."

Assuming this is true (and I don't have any other recourse but to believe it is true) is there any I can/need to do until I hear from them?

This is a first for me so I'm not sure where I stand.

Any help on this gratefully received.

We sustained damage to our tyre due to a pothole/raised manhole cover (sliced tyre). Our claim for garage callout and new tyre was paid within 1 week of submitting the invoice.
It must be cheaper for councils to pay for claims rather than fix the problem. However, we did notice that the pothole was filled in within a few days.

50Twuncle

Scour the internet to see whether anyone else has previously reported the hole

eg) https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/
https://www.potholes.co.uk/
etc etc
Especially - if it has been previously reported and spray marked !
You may want to check https://www.whatdotheyknow.com for any previous claims and use this as ammo !

rmg1

I couldn't see anything on-line about this pot-hole.
I've just submitted an FOI request to get the inspections logs, etc as well as their policy and a copy of the national policy.