Pothole Claim - Responsibility Being Passed Around

mad_mix

I made a claim in May 2021 to my local council for damage caused to my car by a pothole.

The council responded in July 2021, claiming that the responsibility lay with Cadent Gas. 

Cadent Gas then responded that Balfour Beatty were responsible.

Balfour Beatty then responded that their subcontractor, Flowaime were responsible.

So I am now left wondering as to my next course of action.

Are the council ultimately liable for the state of local roads?  Can they legitimately blame their subcontractor, or should I pursue my claim with them further?

Grey_Critic

According to the Lloyds register documentation that I compile responsibility would lie with the council. They appoint *A* as the contractor who may or may not appoint a sub-contractor but whoever does the work the main contractor is responsible for the actions of anyone employed by them. The council should reimburse you as they instructed *A* to carry out the work and will hold him responsible within the contract - but it is the council that instigated the work so legally they are the person you would sue.

Ectophile

Are Cadent Gas actually a subcontractor of the council?  More likely, they were the last ones to dig up the road, so the council are blaming them.

Remember that the most cost-effective way to deal with a member of the public making a pothole claim is to say "not our fault".  If they are lucky, the person gives up and goes away.

But to make things harder for you, you need to show that your car was damaged because of the negligence of someone else.  It's not enough that the council owns the roads, if they can argue that they couldn't reasonably have known that the pothole was there.