Punctures incurred - do we have grounds for reimbursement?

renzotiger

Hi guys, I live on a housing estate which is still being developed.  In July 2020, they opened up a second entrance to the estate, this is close to where they are still building.  In the space of 6 months, I had 5 punctures (having never had a puncture in the previous 20yrs of driving!).  I posted on a local social media platform for the estate and discovered that many other people had incurred multiple punctures since using the entrance.  I emailed the developer, Avant, and explained the situation and asked them what clean-up measures they had in place in order to avoid building site debris littering the estate roadways and causing nuisance incidents like punctures.  I received no reply.  Given that we were in the midst of a pandemic, I gave them the benefit of the doubt.  Now that society is moving a bit more now, both the building site and the estate are more active.  2 weeks ago I got another 2 punctures, new car this time and I had to replace the tyres to the tune of £350.  I fwd the original email to the relevant person at the developer with a cover email asking again to inform the residents what clean-up operations were in place and to provide guidance on what I would need to provide to claim for reimbursement.  They have replied to me today basically saying that they believe they have sufficient measures in place and in this instance, there are no grounds for reimbursement. Any advice would be very much appreciated

tacpot12

I think you would need to find out what measures are in place, and consider whether they are sufficient. Your experience and that of others suggest that they are not. I would start collecting witness statements from the other people who have suffered punctures. 

Stratus

I also went through a series of punctures when living on an unfinished new build estate but that was decades ago and it was never as many as 5.

Two suggestions:
The issue of keeping the site roads tidy might be an issue a local councillor might be interested in getting their teeth into.
You might also like to investigate places near you that can carry out vulcanised tyre repairs so damage in otherwise unrepairable areas can be fixed. Near me, a minor puncture repair is £12 while an overnight vulcanised bake for a major repair is double that. Still considerably cheaper than a new tyre.

renzotiger

Stratus said:

I also went through a series of punctures when living on an unfinished new build estate but that was decades ago and it was never as many as 5.

Two suggestions:
The issue of keeping the site roads tidy might be an issue a local councillor might be interested in getting their teeth into.
You might also like to investigate places near you that can carry out vulcanised tyre repairs so damage in otherwise unrepairable areas can be fixed. Near me, a minor puncture repair is £12 while an overnight vulcanised bake for a major repair is double that. Still considerably cheaper than a new tyre.

They’re runflats so not legally repairable 

sheramber

Can you not avoid this  second entrance since it is causing the problems?

There is a road close to me tha tis littered with potholes, some very deep ones.

I do not use it but go the long way round rather than risk puncturing my tyres.

born_again

I would guess from all the new estates near us that their "clean-up measures" will be limited to a road sweeper going up and down a few times.

[Deleted User]

You got 7 punctures driving through this area, even though you knew this entrance had a risk of punctures. I'd suggest you claim compensation from yourself for continuing to use it knowing the problems.

renzotiger

Deleted_User said:

You got 7 punctures driving through this area, even though you knew this entrance had a risk of punctures. I'd suggest you claim compensation from yourself for continuing to use it knowing the problems.

Thanks for your insight. Puncture 1 & 2 I thought was down to bad luck. Punctures 3-5 happened at the same time. I then informed the builders, there was a pandemic and everyone started working from home. 12 months on, Punctures 6 & 7 happened at the same time.  Your sarcasm is unwelcome 

renzotiger

born_again said:

I would guess from all the new estates near us that their "clean-up measures" will be limited to a road sweeper going up and down a few times.

That’s exactly what it consists of unfortunately 

jimjames

Can you go for a walk along the road to see what might be causing it? Have you found nails/screws in the tyres?

Alfrescodave

Might be worth getting the local news media involved. This might get more attention from the developers, especially if they are still building and hope to sell future houses.  Also organising a group that has been similarly affected would show that this isn't just one person with a gripe.