Any solicitors out there to help with a Letter Before Action
Discussion
Hi guys,
I am now at a stage where I want to take the council to court after a string of inconsistancies and not accepting liability.
I have been more than reasonable.
I want to write a 'Letter before action'
Can anyone out there help or give some pointers as to what it should have in it.
The claim is for pothole damage (popped tyre, buckled wheel), about £830 worth of damage (Alpina D3 19" wheel and Michelin PS2 tyre) Tyre was a few thousand miles old.
Council website says 40mm or below is acceptable, pothole was 45mm.
Council insurers tell me it was inspected on the 31st of Jan, but council tell me it was repaired on the 4th of Jan (27 odd days before?) I questioned this, they said they recieved the report on the 31st. I requested the report, nothing. They keep 'reminding me' that I should seek legal advice.
Plan - 14 day letter before action, then small claims court.
I am now at a stage where I want to take the council to court after a string of inconsistancies and not accepting liability.
I have been more than reasonable.
I want to write a 'Letter before action'
Can anyone out there help or give some pointers as to what it should have in it.
The claim is for pothole damage (popped tyre, buckled wheel), about £830 worth of damage (Alpina D3 19" wheel and Michelin PS2 tyre) Tyre was a few thousand miles old.
Council website says 40mm or below is acceptable, pothole was 45mm.
Council insurers tell me it was inspected on the 31st of Jan, but council tell me it was repaired on the 4th of Jan (27 odd days before?) I questioned this, they said they recieved the report on the 31st. I requested the report, nothing. They keep 'reminding me' that I should seek legal advice.
Plan - 14 day letter before action, then small claims court.
993 T said:
Hi guys,
I am now at a stage where I want to take the council to court after a string of inconsistancies and not accepting liability.
I have been more than reasonable.
I want to write a 'Letter before action'
Can anyone out there help or give some pointers as to what it should have in it.
The claim is for pothole damage (popped tyre, buckled wheel), about £830 worth of damage (Alpina D3 19" wheel and Michelin PS2 tyre) Tyre was a few thousand miles old.
Council website says 40mm or below is acceptable, pothole was 45mm.
Council insurers tell me it was inspected on the 31st of Jan, but council tell me it was repaired on the 4th of Jan (27 odd days before?) I questioned this, they said they recieved the report on the 31st. I requested the report, nothing. They keep 'reminding me' that I should seek legal advice.
Plan - 14 day letter before action, then small claims court.
I'd go with something like the following.I am now at a stage where I want to take the council to court after a string of inconsistancies and not accepting liability.
I have been more than reasonable.
I want to write a 'Letter before action'
Can anyone out there help or give some pointers as to what it should have in it.
The claim is for pothole damage (popped tyre, buckled wheel), about £830 worth of damage (Alpina D3 19" wheel and Michelin PS2 tyre) Tyre was a few thousand miles old.
Council website says 40mm or below is acceptable, pothole was 45mm.
Council insurers tell me it was inspected on the 31st of Jan, but council tell me it was repaired on the 4th of Jan (27 odd days before?) I questioned this, they said they recieved the report on the 31st. I requested the report, nothing. They keep 'reminding me' that I should seek legal advice.
Plan - 14 day letter before action, then small claims court.
LETTER BEFORE ACTION
Dear Sir/Madam
I write following my letter dated xx of xx, in which I requested a copy of the report relating to the pothole in which the wheel of my car was damaged. This report determine whether the council is liable for the cost of a new wheel due to allowing a pothole to exceed the maximum allowable depth of 40mm.
I regret to inform you that unless I have received this report within 14 days of the date of this letter I will have no further option but to start proceedings at the County Court to claim for the cost of a new wheel to replace the one damaged by the pothole.
I trust that you will give this matter your prompt attention.
Best Regards,
993 T
Note that this is probably not the right time to issue a letter before action. It would be better to wait until the report has been received before going legal.
The best option right now would be a FOI request, which will get the report out of them by hook or by crook.
Don't bother putting Letter Before Action or anything like that.
Simply write a letter advising that you are complying with the over riding object of the Civil Procedure Rules and you are seeking to settle this matter without resorting to court and the resultant costs, however in the event that they continue their unreasonable and vexatious conduct in refusing to enter into correspondence and accordingly you put them on notice of costs. You offer them this final opportunity to respond, failing that you will have no alternative but to issue proceedings.
In respect of the report, advise that you are seeking the same under Part 18 of the Civil Procedure Rules and in the event that they fail to disclose you will consider your position in respect of making an application for disclosure and once more seeking costs.
Simply write a letter advising that you are complying with the over riding object of the Civil Procedure Rules and you are seeking to settle this matter without resorting to court and the resultant costs, however in the event that they continue their unreasonable and vexatious conduct in refusing to enter into correspondence and accordingly you put them on notice of costs. You offer them this final opportunity to respond, failing that you will have no alternative but to issue proceedings.
In respect of the report, advise that you are seeking the same under Part 18 of the Civil Procedure Rules and in the event that they fail to disclose you will consider your position in respect of making an application for disclosure and once more seeking costs.
I think you'll find you're on a wing and a prayer. Usually you might have a chance, but it's always difficult to get a claim settled with any local authority for pot hole damage.
Problem is there exists an epic number of pot holes and this is not the first time in recent months that this problem has occurred. What is known is the authorities are busy doing what they believe is as much as they can, which is evident by the number of temporary repairs visible along or roads. It's also a wide spread problem which every motorist is more than aware of. Given the unusual nature of the circumstances which have brought about this pot hole problem, the road user is aware of the problem and as such has a duty of care to themselves to be a great deal more cautious. I'd be amazed if you get a result under such circumstances.
To be fair the local authorities are doing what they can aren't they? I don't see how you could blame them, and I don't believe the law will side with you either because of the unusual circumstances we are all very aware of. Drive carefully!
Problem is there exists an epic number of pot holes and this is not the first time in recent months that this problem has occurred. What is known is the authorities are busy doing what they believe is as much as they can, which is evident by the number of temporary repairs visible along or roads. It's also a wide spread problem which every motorist is more than aware of. Given the unusual nature of the circumstances which have brought about this pot hole problem, the road user is aware of the problem and as such has a duty of care to themselves to be a great deal more cautious. I'd be amazed if you get a result under such circumstances.
To be fair the local authorities are doing what they can aren't they? I don't see how you could blame them, and I don't believe the law will side with you either because of the unusual circumstances we are all very aware of. Drive carefully!
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