We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Pot Hole Damage

Options
Hello, 
I hit a pot hole a few weeks back. It completely shattered my wheel, snapped the cv axle and tore through my gear box. The car had to be picked up on a flatbed and was subsequently written off. 
I have been paid out from my insurer, however it was an old car so I didn’t get much. I’m now without a car and completely out of pocket if I want to get a replacement. 
I was going to make a claim with the council however I’ve since found out it was a private road. 
I’ve spoken to the local highways agency and highways England. They simply said it wasn’t their problem. 
I don’t know where to go from here. How do I find out who owns the road? 
I’ve contacted multiple solicitors but they’ve all said they’ll only take on my case if I’ve sustained injury- which I haven’t. 
Is it a waste of time to pursue this? 

«1

Comments

  • Car_54
    Car_54 Posts: 8,837 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Your insurer has already paid you, presumably the value of the car. What else do you think you can claim for?
    If anyone has a valid claim against the road owner it is your insurance company.
  • DB1904
    DB1904 Posts: 1,240 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    Car_54 said:
    Your insurer has already paid you, presumably the value of the car. What else do you think you can claim for?
    If anyone has a valid claim against the road owner it is your insurance company.
    Maybe the excess. 
  • Sandtree
    Sandtree Posts: 10,628 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    When your insurers paid out they inherited your right to recover their outlay from whoever caused the incident (assuming it wasnt your fault) and so the first thing to do is to speak to their Recoveries department and ask them if they are attempting to recover from anyone/how its progressing. There is a chance they've registered it as a single party incident and so it hasnt been passed to Recoveries but that depends a little on the quality of the claims handlers.

    If they are attempting recovery then you can ride their coat tails and look to get your uninsured losses after them. 

    If they have decided that there are no realistic prospects you have to decide if you agree or not. Not sure why you contacted the Highways Agency, it looks residential and therefore if its an adopted road it would be the local council. If its an unadopted road then it will be more complex to find out who owns it and more importantly their duty of care will be much lower than a public body like the council.
  • Grey_Critic
    Grey_Critic Posts: 1,491 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    If it is a private road how come it has double yellow lines
  • Sandtree
    Sandtree Posts: 10,628 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    If it is a private road how come it has double yellow lines
    Its not only councils that can buy yellow paint... several car parks we use have double yellow lines on bits they dont want you parking in
  • DB1904 said:
    Car_54 said:
    Your insurer has already paid you, presumably the value of the car. What else do you think you can claim for?
    If anyone has a valid claim against the road owner it is your insurance company.
    Maybe the excess. 
    Yes, while the insurance has paid me out, it was an old car so I only got £1.5k minus £500 excess. My car was incredibly well maintained but for that price I’m only able to get a car in today’s market which is older or in excess of 150k miles. I by no means wants a brand spanking new car, but I am going to be out of pocket in order to get myself something decent. 
    I guess that’s just the way of it, and my own bad luck.  But I thought I’d just ask if there was anymore I could do in the way of claiming from the actual road owners. My insurers said as it’s a total loss they had no interest in pursuing any other party and if I wanted to go down that route I’d have to do it by myself. 
  • IIWY I would "take a hint" that if a solicitor doesn't want to take it on, then it's probably a lost cause.
  • Sandtree said:
    If it is a private road how come it has double yellow lines
    Its not only councils that can buy yellow paint... several car parks we use have double yellow lines on bits they dont want you parking in
    But does it have any legal standing?

  • Sandtree
    Sandtree Posts: 10,628 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    troffasky said:
    IIWY I would "take a hint" that if a solicitor doesn't want to take it on, then it's probably a lost cause.
    No, under £10,000 of property damage with no injuries then the solicitor cannot claim anything from the defendant. No solicitor with morality will take on a case where if the claimant wins they end up paying their solicitor more than what they win. 

    Sandtree said:
    If it is a private road how come it has double yellow lines
    Its not only councils that can buy yellow paint... several car parks we use have double yellow lines on bits they dont want you parking in
    But does it have any legal standing?

    No, but doesn’t stop people painting it because we’ve learnt that double yellow means no stopping 
  • DB1904
    DB1904 Posts: 1,240 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    Sandtree said:
    troffasky said:
    IIWY I would "take a hint" that if a solicitor doesn't want to take it on, then it's probably a lost cause.
    No, under £10,000 of property damage with no injuries then the solicitor cannot claim anything from the defendant. No solicitor with morality will take on a case where if the claimant wins they end up paying their solicitor more than what they win. 

    Sandtree said:
    If it is a private road how come it has double yellow lines
    Its not only councils that can buy yellow paint... several car parks we use have double yellow lines on bits they dont want you parking in
    But does it have any legal standing?

    No, but doesn’t stop people painting it because we’ve learnt that double yellow means no stopping 
    They mean no waiting. 
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.