Potholes, anybody claimed and won?

[h4rdy]

I had a blow out back in January due to a Pothole and put a £900 claim in to the council.

Just! got it back rejected due to section 58 of the road traffic act.

Not sure where to go from here as Pothole.co.uk is not as clear as I would like it to be.

Basically I had two new tyres, new wheel, tracking and labour costs.

Any advice?

[mortygttdi]

yes take them to the small claims, they will pay the price once they know your going to court, but you need a set in stone claim.

Photo's
All receipts
maybe a engineers report to say the damage was caused by the potholes?

You also need to check how quickly they repaired the particular pothole you hit, has they cannot come back with section 58 if they didn't take reasonable time to rectify the problem.

Darren

[h4rdy]

I have all that Darren, they filled it in pretty quick as it must have damaged loads of peeps cars.

I might take a trip down there tomorrow.

Do I make the small claims threat or have I actually got to serve them with a writ(?)

My next question to myself, can I be bothered.

[vRStu]

Not a pothole but I claimed for speed bumps damaging the underside of my car.  They initially resisted but eventually coughed up.

I would say apart from anything else it's now a matter of principle.  Small Claims is a simple process, you can even do it online now.

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/claims/index.htm

or

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

Fees are £60/£70 depending on which service you use.  I think you can add the fees to the claim.

[h4rdy]

Is it best to get a solicitor or will it not get that far.

Can I defend myself easily in small claims?

[vRStu]

You don't really need a solicitor for a Small Claim - That's sort of the idea of it, it's for the average man on the street to seek redress.

[vRStu]

I googled to read Section 58 which is at the link below if you've not read it yet -

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/58

[garrardrj]

Having recently damaged one of my wheels and tyre i looked into this process.....I believe that another issue may come into it as to whether you run on standard wheels/tyres for the car or not...........if you have lowered the profile and wheel diameter then more damage can be done to your wheeel and tyre. To prove neglect by an authority is "nearly impossible" as the authority would generally have to give you the evidence to prosecute/claim

[berg]

Hi J,

the 58 Defence is a valid one for county councils to use - after all they are the largest landlords in the country and cannot be expected to repair every defective paving stone, pothole, cracked step unless someone has reported it to them and they have failed to act. otherwise, the system of inspection is a valid Defence ie they inspect said road in set intervals and if there is no defect present when they last inspected it then they can repudiate your claim.

as someone else said though sometimes they will crumble after you have issued proceedings once they see your evidence ie photo's of pothole, photo's of damage, repair estimate and invoice as they dont want the hassle but on the other hand they may fight it all the way - depends on the exact council and the advice the county solicitor provides.

[h4rdy]

Seriously the pothole was a metre long and 0.4m deep!

I will try and find the pictures.

[berg]

Seriously the pothole was a metre long and 0.4m deep!

I will try and find the pictures.

Unfortunately this is irrelevant if, for example, they inspected it on 5th April, pothole developed on 10th April, no one reported it to them and they are not due to inspect again until 5th June.

[h4rdy]

Just went up there today and there are loads of potholes again so I am going to take a load of pictures maybe tomorrow morning and email the guy who turned down the claim and tell him I am taking the council to the small claims court.

See what happens.

I wouldn't normally claim but the same thing happened last year on the same road and I left it as I am not a blame and claim person.

I am mainly upset because when you pay Road Tax and Council Tax to sort this stuff and I can't even drive up the road in safety I find that disgusting.

A girl who lives near me wrote off her car due to the potholes on this road and the insurance company is dealing with it.

I think also I will apply for a freedom of information regarding this road and see how often they actually check it.

[mortygttdi]

Good on you Hardy its about time someone stood up to the iron fist of the council

If even more people where like you the council might get off there backside and do more to help.

I hope you get it sorted mate and good luck let us know the outcome.

Darren

[berg]

Just went up there today and there are loads of potholes again so I am going to take a load of pictures maybe tomorrow morning and email the guy who turned down the claim and tell him I am taking the council to the small claims court.

See what happens.

I wouldn't normally claim but the same thing happened last year on the same road and I left it as I am not a blame and claim person.

I am mainly upset because when you pay Road Tax and Council Tax to sort this stuff and I can't even drive up the road in safety I find that disgusting.

A girl who lives near me wrote off her car due to the potholes on this road and the insurance company is dealing with it.

I think also I will apply for a freedom of information regarding this road and see how often they actually check it.

As said, going to the small claims court should not cost you too much, issue fee prob about £75 (they have just changed and cant remember exact figure.

Once/if proceedings are issued they will have to disclose the inspection records to you on their standard disclosure list - if they dont you can apply to the court for specific disclosure.