sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I now have 4 buckled wheels from driving into pot holes. I knew i had one but the other 3 are from the roads after all the snow we had. I am submitting a claim for the wheels damage to the Highways people. I have pictures of holes and a quote for new wheels.

The holes i am claiming for were reported by myself and other people that have driven into them. The same holes were not repaired for nearly a week after they were reported.

Have i done everything i need to make a claim? The reason i am asking is because its very difficult to prove. Has anyone else been successful in making a claim?

My new wheels will be black as i have killed the white ones

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

anyone?

and if you have any suggestions for some black 17" wheels under £400 i would be very happy

rich0375

I've had the same happen to me, but my suspension and bearing was ruined too, (i hit it pretty fast!) I took photo's and gave them repair bills, they told me it would be fine but then refused and sent me a nice sorry letter! 2 days later the hole was fillrd in! I was told afterwards by someone that works in that department that most get refused and you should always appeal against the decision as most appeals win.
I hope that makes sense and helps!

G.Mac

iTrader: (2)

I think your going to be in for a fight, they will come back thanking you for letting them know about the holes but upon their last inspection there was nothing there so they cannot pay out on your claim .
I had this with my local council, there had been a potholes on this certain corner for more years than I can remember, I knew they were there and always went wide but a lorry was coming round the corner and was starting to come over onto my side of the road which left me no choice to hit the pothole, and burst the tyre and wheel, but falsified / flogged council records showed that the road was in good condition just a few monthe earlier, even letters from local residents made no difference and I got shafted


(hope im wrong in your case)
Graeme

rich0375

Thats what the letter they wrote me said! The road was fine upon last inspection and thanks for letting them know. All i got after that was short of money paying for it myself!

Black-Hawk

iTrader: (4)

I hit a pot hole on an A road in my mitsi about 3 1/2 years ago, i had 19"s with 35 profile tyres, the impact bukled the alloy and within a few miles the tyre was completly flat, 3 1/2 years later i still have to avoid the same pot hole, all the best.

Marin

iTrader: (1)

I have just had a claim refused after hitting a 3" vertical edge where the road had been planed for resurfacing overnight. The council (Herts) claim it was ramped etc - I have no photos as a blind corner, nowhere to stop and no footpath to walk back on. Not sure whether to take the hit (all 4 Ultralites bent) or pursue it further?

Pyrotechnic

iTrader: (1)

Got one like it on my way home, first time I hit it I didn't know what was going off, thought I'd lost a friggin' wheel! Might have to let them know about it.

ricardo

I've used this site before to report a hole, and it was fixed the next day.

FillThatHole.org.uk

Once listed on there it is a 'known' hole, so the council would have a lot more trouble saying it wasn't present at the time of a claim...

webby v7 slipperwagon

iTrader: (2)

I hit a hole in my XR2i when i was a teen. Huge fookin hole and my cars still at the bottom of it. Well it felt that big, Good luck, but dont hold your breath

ruislip

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I have managed to take pictures of some holes with my mobile phone nearby. I nearly got killed in the process but hopefully the pics will help my case. From the replies on here though, it looks like i am more likely to lose.

Some holes are so deep that when i have gone into them i shut my eyes and scream almost in pain as i know i have hurt the car

my car feels like it is a bag of spanners with squares wheels

And wont be long before a pot hole causes a driver to hit a car, or worse

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

iIdon't know weather to laugh or be confused

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

You need to take clear pictures (ie not phone camera..!) showing the depth of the hole (ie with a ruler standing vertically in the hole showing a depth measurement- use another straight edge across the hole and against the ruler, if deeper in the middle than the edge) and a copy of one of that days national news paper headlines within the picture. This shows the hole is current and not from 6mths ago etc. Take a few more wider shots of the layout of the road etc.

Also, include decent close up photo's of the damage to the wheel/tyre and ideally copies of a couple of estimates for the cost of replacement/repair.

Cover this with a polite letter stating that you are seeking compensation for the damage and unless you have a satisfactory response within 7 days you will be forced to take action against the council in the small claims court.

See hear for further info (usually a very reliable site ):
Pot hole damage to car, can I claim? - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums

IMHO, if you do this right you will have a good claim, however, saying that you have four wheels damaged may diminish your chances of sucess. They will rightly think you must be a cr@p driver to have hit and damaged all four wheels..!

Just found this too, good read:
https://www.rac.co.uk/web/forum/showthread.php?t=5480

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Big pothole, lots of pis with markers indicating depth etc

Pic deleted LOL

Smashed wheel (19" Kahn RSV in bright fliter and very expensive too)

Pic deleted LOL

But no evidence that they knew about that particular pothole... they can't repair a pothole that they don't know about !

Best of luck


Shaun

Steve_PPP

iTrader: (3)

cheers for the link, just reported a hole that i have to avoid every day by crossing to the wrong side of the road.

slipstream_uk

iTrader: (1)

Is it just me, but ive to scroll left & right to see the fooking huge pic.

There is also this site: Potholes.co.uk potholes, road repairs, council highways, forums

The top pic is good condition compared to the roads in my town, ive to travel 5 miles of road worse than that. The council dont even bother mending the roads up here. Theres a dug up roadabout near me, with next to no tar left on it and its been like that for nearly 5 years.
It was on my local radio that there is no funding until 2017 to have the roads here fixed.

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

FFS 2017..! They're probably hoping we'll all be in flying cars by then..! What a joke.

Oh and yes, midlfe's pic are a bit on the large size..

The problem with reporting a pothole on one of these web sites is if you then prang your wheel in it they could argue that you should have been aware of it and therefore avoided it..!

GC8WRX

Dont potholes have to be reported by somone 3 days before any claims can be accepted, afaik this is to give councils a chance to repair it, i may be wrong though!

THE DOCTOR

iTrader: (2)

My father used to work for the highways agency, pot hole claims are very difficult to pursue due to the fact the council will use the " we didn't know about it " clause which 99.9% of the time will serve as their get out of jail free card....

The only thing to bear in mind about any pothole you hit is to inspect it for yellow paint....

If the council have inspected a reported pothole they mark it with yellow paint around it..(colour may change from county to county) basically that is so the the highway agency know which pot hole to fill in.

If it has apint markings, the council are aware of it and so that is the .1% where they pay out for claims..

I know this doesn't help your cause but may help others reading this thread

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

Group buy on yellow spray paint anyone..?

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

If I'm being honest, I was rather hoping that link would lead to a rather different kind of website!

WRX_Dazza

claiming for 4 wheels??? PMSL.

you'll be trying to get out of a mobile phone contract next!!!

good luck.
btw: round here they paint round holes the council know about and then they are valid claim holes IIRC. if they dont know about them then hard cheese.

also how do you know other people who have hit the potholes? did they leave their business card by the hole somewhere??

all the best

Renegade

Sorry to hear about the wheels. Did the same to mine last year on one of our local roads. The council sent me a claim form like War and Peace and then had the cheek to say the signs pointing out ramp had been stolen. By By claim. My white 17 inch Enkei racing wheels are now available cheap for someone who can repair them and Ive purchased a set of new TE wheels in graphite for under 400 notes.

madmooro

think about bikers too .they hit theses pot holes and could end up bloody dead .

claim for one wheel at a time or maybe two on one side .say it was hit the holes or dodge em and hit a lorry .

and dont give up at first refuseal

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

FFS that's one of them coffee spat over screen moments..

Yes I said coffee..

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

4 wheels damaged = council laughing at you and you ending up on a website somewhere with one of those joke insurance form claims.
come on, 4 wheels damaged? all from a pothole?

What did you go back to make sure it was a pot hole? from both sides?

next time park further away from the kerb missy

Hakon

I had two damaged, both on the same side. I got 50% of their value from the council..in the end.

From my experience, I would advise;
Getting a report from a wheel and tyre place
Writing the letter in such a way that there is no misunderstanding on anything, addressing each of your issues individually. But at the same time not giving any information not necessary to them, such as type of car, size of rim etc.
Always send correspondence, signed for. Makes the the addressee come and sign for it and it carries more weight.
Suggest you may get legal advice, never threat.

DazW

iTrader: (1)

Solihull Borough council paid up for mine ...£500 (rare Jap Import OZ Crono & Goodyear Eagle F1) without fuss ...Bromsgrove Council on the other hand, did not

Their 'get out of jail free card' is if the road is regularly inspected ...but ask for a copy of the inspection sheet & go over it with a tooth combe- normally does the trick