Claiming Cmopensation for Pot Hole Damage

[NickyTwoHats]

I have searched but can't find anything.

Does anyone have experience (or even letters that work) of claiming for damage done by a pot hole?

My Father's car needed a new wheel, tyre and recovering from the scene.

[Gillet]

I am doing this at the moment. Mine was in the Blackwall Tunnel, so normally you'd contact the local council, but i had to do mine through Transport for London for some reason.

Basically, send the council a letter telling them of the damage + any pics etc you have. They should then automatically assign your case to a solicitor. Mines been on going since November and i'm told it could be a further 4 months to sort out.

Luckily i have a 2nd car as my wheels cost near on £1000 and i can't afford a new set.

good luck

[whirligig]

I wrote to Highland council about 18 months ago enclosing the receipt showing the cost of two replacement tyres, a photo (only a phone one) of the pothole and map showing where it was. Also a non-ranty letter saying what had happened, that there was no sign warning of the (massive) pothole and that it was unacceptable. I got a cheque for the full amount (without prejudice of course) about two weeks later. Well worth the cost of a stamp.

[cw42]

I did this for a damaged Oz Superleggera off my old classic scooby. Damaged by the massive pothole that had developed near my previous workplace in Stockport.
Sent them a picture of the whole with a pen in it for scale another general picture of the road and bills for the repair of the alloy and geometry/tracking being done.
They paid in full, and within a week after paying, the hole was filled!
Worth doing.

[toby9980]

It seems things have moved on in this area as about 10 years ago I think it was we were at the Scottish Classic car weekend in Doune with our TR3 and hit 2 successive potholes. The first bottomed out the suspension it was that big and the second bent the fan blade on the chassis from flexing and stuffed it through the radiator core. So with no car and a whopping bill for a recore and fan replacement etc Perthshire council replied to our claim letter saying thank you for pointing out the holes and they would consider fixing them with their next budget. We sent them numerous pictures of the goles and the damage to the car along with witness statements etc and not a single penny.

[V8s ONLY]

My wife damaged two wheels in Shropshire,Had to buy four new wheels as originals unobtainable. Council put in hands of insurers who came up with every excuse in the book and basically called us liars.They stated that the photo of the hole could not be where we said it was as they had inspection records to say the road was in good condition,the photo clearly showed the hole and it location .They seem to be implying that we dug it ourselves just before we drove into it.

[_rubinho_]

I damaged an alloy and tyre in a pothole in Cambridgeshire. My incurred costs were about £400 for a new wheel and two front tyres (I only ever change an axle never a single wheel). I took photos of the pothole and wrote to Cambs County Council for compensation. The damage to the road surface was right on the edge of the tarmac but did incur into the white-lined area and, due to being on the apex of the corner, an oft travelled part of the road. They wrote back to me denying responsibility as the damage was not on the main highway and according to their "maintenance experts" did not require repairing. I was rightly upset but accepted the decision. A week or two later however I drove down the same piece of road and spotted the pothole which had damaged my car had been filled in with fresh tarmac. I took a photo of the repaired road and wrote back to the council asking why they had repaired the pothole if their experts deemed the damage not repairworthy. They replied with a cheque for the whole amount! Long story short, they're sneaky fkers who'll try anything to get out of paying. Stick with the claim though and you stand a good chance of getting satisfaction.

[BravoMark]

I agree with rubinho I got 2 punctures on my left side on boxing day a few years ago. Stuck on the A82 at 7 o'clock at night, pitch black, cold and raining not nice. Recovery driver said 7 cars in one day had been recovered from the same spot!! Took me a while and had to threaten legal action but i got £300 in the end. Theres a lot to be said for the handy digital camera and the mere suggestion of legal action.