Council refusing tyre damage

Vizard

One of our cars hit a pothole and it split the tyre. The claim after depreciation for wear isn't huge, it's £175 ish. 

The local council is refusing to pay because they say that they inspected the road and didn't think the potholes(s) bad enough.

It was however bad enough to split the sidewall of my tyre!

I am pondering whether to make a small claim, but obviously want to understand the principles upon which a decision will pivot.

Many thanks for any advice.

DE_612183

Have you taken photographs of the pothole with perhaps a tape measure to provide context?

You should check on the relevant council website what they say - mine says:

You can report potholes by completing our simple online formTo qualify for repair the pothole must be at least 40mm (1.5 inches) and extend in any direction by at least 300mm (just over the size of a sheet of A4 paper) 

Mark_d

You need photographs of the pothole, and showing the location.  I would also get photographs with a ruler, showing the size and depth of the pothole.
Perhaps your tyre was in a weak condition prior to hitting this pothole - we don't know.  Any case will depend on the size/depth of the pothole and possibly the location.

MattMattMattUK

Vizard said:

One of our cars hit a pothole and it split the tyre. The claim after depreciation for wear isn't huge, it's £175 ish. 

The local council is refusing to pay because they say that they inspected the road and didn't think the potholes(s) bad enough.

It was however bad enough to split the sidewall of my tyre!

I am pondering whether to make a small claim, but obviously want to understand the principles upon which a decision will pivot.

Many thanks for any advice.

Firstly there are rules about what you can claim, these are set out in law and provided the council has complied with inspection periods etc. then you do not have a claim.

Secondly you hit a static hazard, the council will report this to your insurer, you will lose your NCD and have an at fault accident reported, you will be required to declare that going forward, so you have to weigh up the cost of that as well. 

Baldytyke88

Vizard said:

One of our cars hit a pothole and it split the tyre. The claim after depreciation for wear isn't huge, it's £175 ish. 

I am sure that you will get lots of resistance untill the council give way. £175, that must be more than the cost of the tyre unless they are specialist low profile tyres?

DullGreyGuy

Vizard said:

One of our cars hit a pothole and it split the tyre. The claim after depreciation for wear isn't huge, it's £175 ish. 

The local council is refusing to pay because they say that they inspected the road and didn't think the potholes(s) bad enough.

It was however bad enough to split the sidewall of my tyre!

I am pondering whether to make a small claim, but obviously want to understand the principles upon which a decision will pivot.

Many thanks for any advice.

Councils have to set their own road inspection/maintenance policy and have to stick to it. You can hold them liable if you can prove they have failed to follow their own policies. This would normally be done by asking for a copy of the policy (it may be online), request details of when the road was last inspected/its findings and any reports of issues they've had on that road since the inspection. 

It's very possible that they inspected the road a couple of weeks ago, at that point the pothole was minor and scored such that it had to be fixed within 3 months. Then the pothole deteriorated in those weeks until you hit it. If no one had clearly reported the pothole was now much worse then they wouldn't be liable. Councils have a finite budget, they cannot realistically inspect every mm of their roads every day nor fix all issues the same day. 

As others have said, some councils apparently threaten to inform your insurer of the incident so make sure you already have if you want to go down that route. 

Nobbie1967

I wouldn’t waste your time. Someone on here decided to try and issue a claim and it went on for months, took loads of time and they gave up in the end. The council know the system a lot better than you do and will use that against you.

Found it, 12 pages!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6466779/actions-before-small-claims-court-with-council/p1

Bigphil1474

Wot DullGrey said.