M40 Subsidence Damaged My Car
Discussion
On Friday May 29th 2009 I was driving back home to Marlow, Bucks from Gatwick Airport. As I left the M25 and joined the M40 I was driving towards Beaconsfield and I hit a massive hole. I was driving in the centre lane and buckled three wheels.
The highways agency lawyer says that subsidence occurred on the M40 on Saturday 30th May and the hole didn't exist on the Friday night.
Did anyone else damage their car on the Friday night? Can anyone confirm that there was a hole in the motorway on the Friday night. Any help much appreciated.
The highways agency lawyer says that subsidence occurred on the M40 on Saturday 30th May and the hole didn't exist on the Friday night.
Did anyone else damage their car on the Friday night? Can anyone confirm that there was a hole in the motorway on the Friday night. Any help much appreciated.
I got this reply today. I am 46 and have never made a claim against the highways agency or any public body in my life.
I refer to the claim which you have made against our client, UK Highways, for the damage to your vehicle. Please note that I have now taken over conduct of this matter. I have reviewed the file and note that there is no contemporaneous evidence to show that the incident occurred in the manner alleged and that the alleged incident was the cause of the damage to your vehicle. We can further confirm that the alleged date of your incident 29/05/09 does not tie up with the date of the actual defect on the road.
Based on the above we must confirm that liability is denied and we have no offers to make.
I refer to the claim which you have made against our client, UK Highways, for the damage to your vehicle. Please note that I have now taken over conduct of this matter. I have reviewed the file and note that there is no contemporaneous evidence to show that the incident occurred in the manner alleged and that the alleged incident was the cause of the damage to your vehicle. We can further confirm that the alleged date of your incident 29/05/09 does not tie up with the date of the actual defect on the road.
Based on the above we must confirm that liability is denied and we have no offers to make.
After I hit the hole the car seemed to be fine. It was a massive bang and I told my wife about it the next morning. Subsequently there was a subtle vibration that started at 73mph. I thought the propshaft was vibrating and didn't link anything to the night on the M40. At the next service I was advised that one of the rear wheels was buckled. A new wheel was fitted. The vibration continued and at the next service I told them to look into it. The front wheels balanced fine but they said they were both buckled. I told them I didn't believe them and took the car to a vibration specialist. They said the front wheels were fine and on-car balanced them. Mercedes insisted the wheels were buckled on the inner rim and to prove it they would put a loan set of wheels on the car. It was as smooth as silk. I then bought two new front wheels. Mercedes had to specially order the wheels from Germany because it was so unusual to replace them. They asked how on earth I had buckled three wheels. My wife reminded me about the massive hit on the M40.
I have hit lots of potholes and never bothered to report it. We all have better things to do. Ordinarily there is no way you can remember hitting a pothole and especially not the time or date. This hole was massive. At least the width of the central lane. I could name the date and time because I had flown into Gatwick from Munich.
Heres some links for you!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.potholes.co.uk/claims/how_to_claim
It would seem from the newspaper reports that they all say it occurred on the Saturday...Good luck
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.potholes.co.uk/claims/how_to_claim
It would seem from the newspaper reports that they all say it occurred on the Saturday...Good luck
The fact that it was first reportedon Saturday is not proof that the problem didn't exist on the friday night.
The photocopier at work was not working on Monday but didn't get reported until Tuesday - the defect was there on Monday but nobody reported it!
We live in a "claim culture" with many people jumping on the bandwagon of claiming their "free money". I'm not in any way suggesting the OP is doing this - quite the contrary so please don't take offence. I do however appreciate that the authorities have a responsibility to us the tax payer to defend a claim where they believe they have evidence against the original argument.
I had a similar problem some years ago and received a similar reply. I made my counter argument and sent my response from a soliciter who offered to take up the case if I wanted to go forward with it. The letter cost just under £100, my wheels were about £800 so my claim went from £800 to £900. I received a cheque within a week for £800 as full and final settlement. I accepted.
The problem the OP has got is there is no proof the damage was caused by the M40 incident even though it is easy to cast doubt on the argument put by the local authority.
The photocopier at work was not working on Monday but didn't get reported until Tuesday - the defect was there on Monday but nobody reported it!
We live in a "claim culture" with many people jumping on the bandwagon of claiming their "free money". I'm not in any way suggesting the OP is doing this - quite the contrary so please don't take offence. I do however appreciate that the authorities have a responsibility to us the tax payer to defend a claim where they believe they have evidence against the original argument.
I had a similar problem some years ago and received a similar reply. I made my counter argument and sent my response from a soliciter who offered to take up the case if I wanted to go forward with it. The letter cost just under £100, my wheels were about £800 so my claim went from £800 to £900. I received a cheque within a week for £800 as full and final settlement. I accepted.
The problem the OP has got is there is no proof the damage was caused by the M40 incident even though it is easy to cast doubt on the argument put by the local authority.
Thanks Eagerbeaver and no offence taken. The authorities have wrote to me yesterday and suggested I contact a solicitor. It would be nice to have a slam dunk to prove 100% that my story is true. The only way is if another road user confirms the hole was there on the Friday night. My other thought is using the freedom of information act and as the UK Highways if they had any complaints based on damage on the Friday night.
They won't have any reports for Friday because the fault wasn't there on Friday. By that I mean it is going to be very hard to prove it existed earlier, who ever reported it first it was on the Saturday, it may be worth attempting to identify the time of the reporting, if it was 1am and you hit it at 11pm then it may strengthen your case.
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