Car Damaged By Pothole - Can One Claim From Local Council?

[Nollywood]

A friend of my wife has just fallen foul of a massive pothole. She was driving through Peterborough tonight, when she slammed into a large pothole at 40 mph.

Damage to her car:

Bent and cracked passenger front alloy wheel (it ripped a hole in the tyre!!)
Bent lower suspension arm.
Bent ball joint.
Bent track-rod (the car is pulling to the left, and steering is not straight).
Passenger side driveshaft has moved out of the trans, enough to leak oil.
Cracked windshield from impact in lower left corner (tax disc area).

The AA recovery photographed the crater that she drove into, as well as the damage to her car, and has given her his report with all the damage listed. He says she should be able to claim off the council, rather than her own insurance company. Is this possible? The car in question is a 2003 Volkswagen Bora TDI PD 130.

[A8_Tony]

Check to see if there's any yellow spray around the hole. Take a pic as proof if not. Have a tape measure next to the hole to show the size of it.

If there's yellow paint around it the council can make it difficult. However, she's obviously got a good case for making the claim.

I have heard that the councils pay out pretty quickly where a claim is valid.

[limoncello]

you defo can claim, but may differ from council to council, i claimed from leeds council as i went over a pothole they had repaired badly, the entire filling they had used to fill in the pot hole became one huge lump of concrete which jumped out and slammed the side of my car

when i contacted the correct department they simply asked me to send a photograph of the pot hole and damage, and get three estimates for the repair.

[Nollywood]

Sounds good. No yellow markings round the crater. The AA man measured, I have no idea what the dimensions were, I would imagine details are in his write-up.

He also took one picture of the crater with a 15" wheel sitting in it. It was wide enough to mask a third of the tyre's circumfrence. Luckily the car is stock SE height, might have been a different story.

[tintin]

You should definitely be able to claim successfully. I had the same problem with my Fiat Coupe several years ago - the wheel, tyre, and suspension were all damaged by a similar pothole. Get whatever evidence you can, including, ideally something from the AA guy (as an independent witness).
My council (Trafford) acknowledged the claim quickly, but then passed it to an outsourced agent (Zurich Insurance) who really dragged their feet, but eventually paid out in full on all the items - I just had to hassle them, so you may find the same with your council.

[mannyo]

if you don't live in a big city, then the claim will be through the County Council rather than your local District / Borough council since its the County Council that is responsible for the highways.

The claim will only be paid, if the fault has been previously spotted / reported and is on their computer system otherwise how would they know the hole was there waiting to be filled.

[Nollywood]

Thanks guys, I've passed all your advice on, and sent her a link to this thread, so perhaps we'll have a new, non-A8 member.

[David's8]

I seem to remember from someone else who got involved in such a claim that there is a "standard" for potholes (would you believe it) used by council departments which determines whether it is a pothole requiring attention or not. Best thing, as suggested, is to get photos - preferably with ruler indicating size and depth. Try and avoid getting run down in the process.

[David's8]

I have taken the text below from Bournemouth Council Code of Practice as an random example:

Highway Inspection Category 1 Defect Guidelines
Carriageway

■Potholes in excess of 40mm deep
■Depressions or ridges in excess of 40mm over 1000mm
■Vertical faces in excess of 40mm


Try on your own council website - they may well have similar guidelines.
Best of luck

[christhompson]

and this site has useful info

http://www.potholes.co.uk/claims/how_to_claim