pot hole damage.. will council pay up?

[mikejt]

I hit a terrible pot hole a week or so ago, and its damaged something to do with my steering, it makes a groaning noise occasionally with lock on (usually when reversing) and now its making a knocking noise (but not a CV joint/driveshaft type of knocking).

I am writing a letter to the council but dont really know where to start, have i got any chance at all of claiming damage costs back? or will i get no were ?

Cheers
Mike

 

[colin79666]

Have a look at this on how to gather the evidence you need:
http://fwd.channel5.com/fifth-gear/videos/consumer-info/potholes

Basically you need to proof of the damage and the pothole itself.

 

[mikejt]

cheers, will have a look at it now

 

[T14086]

if we all claimed (and lets face it the condition of the roads are currently sh*te) then the council will go bankrupt!

Lets do it:devil:

 

[mikejt]

Haha!!

Ive already paid for a few tyres (£68 a go) and i dont know how much my steering is going to cost or the extent of the damage, i'm just fed up of paying £155 a year road tax and driving on sh*te roads which damage my car

 

[Nathan126]

I had three tyre's get bulges because of pot-holes, never tried claiming because i heard something about them only paying if theyre aware of the pot-holes

I heard if they're spray-painted then they obviously know, but it gets difficult if they don't. So you'd need lots of evidence/photo's. Was just easier for me to pay it, although maybe should have claimed..

 

[mikejt]

I had to change a tyre because of a bulge, failed the MOT (i forgot it was still on) its in the boot as a spare at the moment untill i get round to either changing it, or putting one of my other wheels in....

 

[ChrisUK]

I've claimed twice and won 1. The other they refused to pay out of court, however small claims court should take care of that shortly .

As said the key is to gather evidence. If practical take pictures with an object (empty coke can etc) in view to show scale of the hole.

Also wouldn't hurt to get a letter from your local friendly mechanic describing the damage and the fact it was caused by a pot hole. It's no coincidence that most of the roads near me have either been resurfaced to pot holes filled in! .

 

[mikejt]

Cheers for that, i know one or 2 mechanics so il ask one of them to assess the damage for me

 

[T14086]

IMO suspension work has shot up in recent years, wonder why! 2 million pot holes in the UK apparently....more like 20 million!

 

[colin79666]

Sample of one near me last year:

 

[Stu DemonD]

Sample of one near me last year:

Is your pink length 6 or 12 inches?

 

[ben]

What causes them anyway?

 

[colin79666]

Is your pink length 6 or 12 inches?

A foot

What causes them anyway?

Poor maintenance coupled with botched repairs in the past and winter weather (freeze, thaw action and grinding road salt).

 

[M21MFS]

What causes them anyway?

Water getting into the depths of the tarmac - then expanding when the weather turns cold and it freezes, thus breaking the tar.

That's the short version I believe!

 

[Ziggy122]

i've got those upside down potholes around me

Can i claim for them?

Ziggy

 

[T14086]

What causes them anyway?

cheap materials

Water getting into the depths of the tarmac - then expanding when the weather turns cold and it freezes, thus breaking the tar.

That's the short version I believe!

Thing is the roads were never in this state in the past as far as I can remember in my 37 years and it did rain then as well!

i've got those upside down potholes around me

Can i claim for them?

Ziggy

 

[DaveMcT]

Cheap materials and restrictive contracts.
One huge pothole down my way was filled according to the markers, but a gouge/crack right next to it wasnt touched. I asked the bloke why he couldn't pour some tar into the crack. "Not my job he", said "We can only do the bits they mark". So next year there will be another huge hole in almost if not the same spot. "Yes", he said.

So we have some council apparatchik going around with a spray can to mark the holes - like they are not visible anyway and a contractor goes out to fill them and no doubt another apparatchik comes along to box tick the job done.

Oh but we are saving money by measuring the job. OK, sack the apparatchik and that's another who knows how much money to fill a lot more holes.

 

[T14086]

I asked the bloke why he couldn't pour some tar into the crack. "Not my job he", said "We can only do the bits they mark".

Grab a can of yellow spray paint and mark the other pot holes

 

[BlueDan]

I had three tyre's get bulges because of pot-holes, never tried claiming because i heard something about them only paying if theyre aware of the pot-holes

I heard if they're spray-painted then they obviously know, but it gets difficult if they don't. So you'd need lots of evidence/photo's. Was just easier for me to pay it, although maybe should have claimed..

Reminds me of this.

Sample of one near me last year:

I hit a lake earlier in the year.