Help with legal action
Discussion
A good excuse to wheelie the 999 everywhere now tho!! 
I have read in car mags of people doing this, basically some people have got cash out of the council but it took a very very long time like a year or so. First you need to go to the site & photograph the hole Then if the wheel is to be repaired photgraph that, or if replaced keep the knackerd wheel & the receipts etc.
Ring up one of those legal helpline things you see in the back of the bike mags for better advice than my drivel tho!!
ps can I have a go on the 999, please, pretty please....
I have read in car mags of people doing this, basically some people have got cash out of the council but it took a very very long time like a year or so. First you need to go to the site & photograph the hole Then if the wheel is to be repaired photgraph that, or if replaced keep the knackerd wheel & the receipts etc.
Ring up one of those legal helpline things you see in the back of the bike mags for better advice than my drivel tho!!
ps can I have a go on the 999, please, pretty please....
I had a friend of mine turn up on my door ranting because he had a similar incedent. He hit a large pothole in the road which wrecked his tire (instant flat) and dmaged his alloy rim. He duly contacted the council, whereby they informed him that as he was the first to report it, his claim could not be paid by the council. Their "apparent" logic for this is it stops false claims??! If more than one report is received then they pay. So my advice is get a mate to ring it in first and ask, but with no damage, then ring it in yourself afterwards. If they then say that they have no record of it, you can always use your mate as a witness that was riding with you. I dont know if all councils use this system, but its true for Hillingdon.(LBH @ the Civic Center)
Er what was road tax for again??
Er what was road tax for again??
I think I've heard that "we need more than one report" before too.
If they do try to avoid you and you look at legal action, try to contact the AA, they can provide a load of useful tips on this type of thing - where to go and what to do.
If it doesn't seem to go anywhere (remember customer service is not their specialty), you can always threaten them with a small claims court. The Maximum compensation benefit is £5,000 but they DO advise that you represent yourself and DO NOT have a lawyer.
This way, the cost to you is only a day out of work, which you will probably get refunded if / when you win.
Also, you could let them know that you are going to contact your local paper. They will want to avoid the bad press, particularly if play the "dangerous to life and possibility if serious injury" chord is used and pay you to go away!
If they do try to avoid you and you look at legal action, try to contact the AA, they can provide a load of useful tips on this type of thing - where to go and what to do.
If it doesn't seem to go anywhere (remember customer service is not their specialty), you can always threaten them with a small claims court. The Maximum compensation benefit is £5,000 but they DO advise that you represent yourself and DO NOT have a lawyer.
This way, the cost to you is only a day out of work, which you will probably get refunded if / when you win.
Also, you could let them know that you are going to contact your local paper. They will want to avoid the bad press, particularly if play the "dangerous to life and possibility if serious injury" chord is used and pay you to go away!
you need to prove negligence on the highway authorties part before they will pay out. Existence of a pothole is not negligence, council being aware of it and doing nothing about it within the allotted time is. Hence the first caller not getting paid out. How do you know you are the first caller?
They would also have to pay out if the pothole was picked up on one of their inspections and they did nothing about it. Councils have to keep records of inspections, for up to 6 years. I would take photos, measurements, and then write in explaining the accident and costs involved, they will check their records, you can ask to see them too. Some councils have been know to lose records, and thus have to pay out by default. This happend recently to a certain London Borough, and a famous case involving a gentleman riding a penny farthing and a wheel rut, gentleman got paid out purely on the basis that the council lost the records, as they couldn't prove they met the maintenance regime. Funnily enough the claim was not for damage to the penny farthing, but to his genitals which got burnt by the catalytic converter of the car he got run over by after he fell off!!!!!He survived.....
They would also have to pay out if the pothole was picked up on one of their inspections and they did nothing about it. Councils have to keep records of inspections, for up to 6 years. I would take photos, measurements, and then write in explaining the accident and costs involved, they will check their records, you can ask to see them too. Some councils have been know to lose records, and thus have to pay out by default. This happend recently to a certain London Borough, and a famous case involving a gentleman riding a penny farthing and a wheel rut, gentleman got paid out purely on the basis that the council lost the records, as they couldn't prove they met the maintenance regime. Funnily enough the claim was not for damage to the penny farthing, but to his genitals which got burnt by the catalytic converter of the car he got run over by after he fell off!!!!!He survived.....
A few years ago, over a period of a year, I destroyed 5 wheels and tyres on my then T5R in potholes around Edinburgh. Initially I wrote and claimed the Council for two wheels and tyres - over a year later I still had no payment. When it happened for the second time I got my lawyer to deal with it, and she would not let go of them. She got me payment in six weeks. I gave her the original claim (now 15 months old) to pursue.
That took her 4 weeks. I do not think councils bother about the public and simply hope we will give up. A lawyer threatening court certainly works. She also added her fee to each claim and they included that also !!
That took her 4 weeks. I do not think councils bother about the public and simply hope we will give up. A lawyer threatening court certainly works. She also added her fee to each claim and they included that also !!
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