Conference terri::cars_uk

Answer 1. 

No I haven't, but I've often wondered how one would go about it myself

Answer 2.

Try Talking Pages 071 600 9000

    Take a photo of the offending hole and your damage, then notify the
    council in writing of the incident, and your intention to seek 
    compensation. They will no doubt repair the damage to the road within a 
    day. 
    
    Also, things will be a great deal easier if you had someone in the car 
    with you at the time!...did you? If so, you have someone to support
    your claim.
    
    I know of someone who waited 5 months before the council paid out for his 
    tyre. You'll have to chase/hassle them constantly, but it can be done.
    The question is do you really think it's worth all the hassle?
         

>>Please point me at any existing topics that deal with the following.
>>....I'm sure you will!
    
    Been there, done that.  Try note 774 and its replies.
    
    
    In my case, I wrote to the council, who ignored the letter.
    When I phoned some time later to chase them up, they claimed
    that since the road was not a primary route that it did not
    need to be kept up to the standard of repair that applied to 
    major carriageways (or some phrase like that).
    
    I didn't bother going further with my claim, perhaps I should have ?
    
    BTW, the road was subsequently repaired.
    
    
    J.R.

    RE: Wheel replacement.
    
    Halfords have quite a range of alloys, some of which are Wolfrace.
    

    It'd be worth a try, you could try the CAB if you get problems. Also,
    don't forget that many house/car insurance schemes give you free access
    to legal advice, so if your's does...
    
      Before you tell the council, do as .2 said and take a photo, as
    councils do tend to fill them in and disclaim knowledge of any such
    thing!

    I think the answer is as a few back , HASSLE.......
    
    
    I have had experiance of councils slope shouldering claims. They love
    sloping it off to someone like a contractor who dug a hole or just turn
    plain deaf. Experiance has shown that anyone concerned is always
    looking for a scape goat, and definatly don't want to pay. The long and
    the short of it , rightly or wrongly , is to try the council, if they
    wear it great, but if they put up any resistance and the cost of
    whatever got damaged is small, swallow the cost. It could cost a lot of 
    a lot of time money and heart ache to get a couple of hundred pounds
    out of them.
    
    Before anyone jumps down my neck, I don't agree with it and them the
    B******DS  should pay. If it were easy to get the money and not cost me
    more that the price of a couple of phone calls or stamps,I would on the
    case every time. But to consider suing a council for a new wheel  that
    costs a couple of hundred quid and possibly suffer finacial ruin is
    just not worth the hassle.
    
    
    	Its not right , should not be the case, one should have recourse as
    we all pay poll tax and road fund licences, but I personally don't have
    the funds to fight a local government. Try it and see.
    
    
    Garry

    
    Can't you take this kind of claim to the small claims court? They have
    a modest, fixed fee for hearing cases and no(?) legal representation is
    allowed.
    
    Mark

>>                           -< Try it and see...... >-
    
    Definitely worth trying - do take a photo of the offending hole first.
    
>>    the short of it , rightly or wrongly , is to try the council, if they
>>    wear it great, but if they put up any resistance and the cost of
>>    whatever got damaged is small, swallow the cost. It could cost a lot of 
    
    This is what I did.  In my case, I ended up by paying for it myself.
    
    If you do get any joy, please let us know.
    
    Also, if you get a successful response in writing, could you
    send a copy of the letter to me (John Rutter @SBP, F11.2) ?
    
    J.R.

>>                  -< Hardly Guiness Affair expensive, is it? >-
    
    No, but I wouldn't want to take off the time required to chase it up.
    
    Whether losing money as a [money-grabbing !] contractor ( ;-) )
    or using up leave as a permie, buying the wheel may be cheaper.
    
    Even so, write to the council and try to get a response.
    
    Also check for tyre damage, and tracking if it's the front wheel.
    
    BTW, what size wheel is it ?
    
    J.R.

    
    re: .6
    
    Don't know about the chances of success, but it NEED not bring
    financial ruin.
    
    You can use the small claims procedure in the County Court, where
    the procedures are less formal and costs are NOT awarded for the other
    side's expensive lawyers even if they WIN.
    
    Thus you outlay is limited.
    
    Receiving a summons even the council may think it easier to settle.
    
    
    Mike H.
    

    
    Ummm, I'm not sure, but I don't think you have to appear in the Small
    claims court. I _believe_ you simply send in a description of the claim
    and await the result.
    
    Mark

    Another point to bear in mind; how do you prove that the damage was
    caused by that pothole and not by driving up the pavement? (I'm not
    saying that it wasn't the pothole that caused the problem but the
    council may take that attitude.)
    
    It's still worth the cost of a stamp though.
    
    Barry.

    
    re: .12
    
    The standard of proof required in civil procedings is "on the balance
    of probabilities" NOT "beyond all reasonable doubt".
    
    So if you say that it was so, can show that it easily could have been
    so and the defendents can't show that you are likey to be wrong that
    should satisfy the court.
    
    Mike H.
    

    	It's my experience that you DO have to appear in the Small Claims
    Court but, as was previously stated, it is much more informal (a chat
    over the table with you, him and the Beak) and no costs are brought to
    bear.
    
    	We took our landlord (or rather, the agency letting the property
    for him) to the SCC in Oxford for holding back some of our deposit
    money when we departed for what we thought were unreasonably costs.
    After several weeks of haggling with them we appeared in court, the
    Beak asked if we had tried an out-of-court settlement, we said yes, he
    said try again! and they coughed up (not quite what we were going for
    but enough).
    
    	If they know you are serious they usually won't take it all the
    way. Give it a try, I say. Even Councils have their responsibilities
    and should take them seriously!
    
    	Good luck.
    
    Colin

    
     I've had the missfortune to go down a pothole and do damage to my car,
    the story goes like this.
     I took a photo of the hole (a big bug*er it was aswell), took a photo 
    of my front wheel (which had a big dent , a crack , and a bubbled
    tyre), got the claim form from the council and sent it all off with the
    estimate. The estimate came to #370 quid. The car needed a new front
    wheel,tyre, new suspension arm, and the rear wheel had its dent knocked 
    out. (Escort RST b.t.w.).
     I recieved various letters saying "your claim is being dealt with",
    "it has been passed on to our insurers", etc etc. After about 6 weeks
    i recieved a letter saying your claim has been rejcted......I was
    fuming so i got straight on the phone to find out why.
    They said that if the council can prove that they inspect the roads
    regularly then the damage is due to unforseen circumstances which the
    council can not be held responsible for. I asked them what "regular"
    was, the reply was every 3 months. I asked when the road was last
    inspected, they said 4 months ago, i said well thats it then, they havent
    done their job, i want my money. They said , but we have recently had
    bad weather (snow and ice) and the damage was probably due to that, and
    the council have a backlog of holes to repair and cant do them all at
    once, so your claim was thrown out. I carried on arguing with this
    woman but didnt get anywhere so i gave up.
    So i think its a waste  of time the council having insurance because
    with such a ridiculous set of rules they will never pay out.
    So if you try i hope you have better luck than me.
    
    Nick.
                                             

Lots of helpful advice - many thanks.


I've taken photos of the hole and the damaged wheel, and once I get an idea of the costs of
repair/replacement, I'll contact the council.  I'm not going to give myself ulcers trying to
win my case, but I will push them a bit! I'll post the results here.


I must say a few words about the service I've got from Micheldever Tyres....

It looks extremely unlikely that I'll get a direct replacement for the Wolfrace wheel. 
I've tried several sources and it's usually the old sucking-through-teeth/shaking of head/
"you've got *no* chance, mate" sort of response! Not wanting to splash out for a set of 4 
(must keep up appearances!) I thought of getting the wheel repaired.

ATS suggested a company in Reading - Shadow Racing - but I could find no number for them
....anybody know of them? Ralph Motors suggested Micheldever Tyres (you can always rely 
on Ralphs!)


The approach to Customer Service at Micheldever is amazing! 
. They were *interested* in my  problem. Several people got involved in the discussion on 
  whether the wheel was repairable. It appears that Wolfrace are quite soft (no kidding!) 
  and therefore easier to put back in shape than most.
. They arranged for the wheel to be collected and repaired by an outfit called "Spit & 
  Polish"
. They will ring me when the wheel's ready.
. They advised me that it was illegal to continue to use the spacesaver wheel, as it is only
  legal as an emergency spare to get you to a repair depot. (Question: can this be really 
  true? ) I shrugged, and said that I'd have to run the risk, as I had no option.
. They then, *and this was the most impressive part*,  produced one of their own (used)
  alloy wheels and loaned it to me until I get mine back!!! They asked me to go easy on the
  tyre, as it belonged to one of the staff personally!

Maybe my expectations are cynically low, but this level of service is way and beyond anything
I would expect, and I will heartily recommend Micheldever Tyres to anyone in the future.

Sorry for the length of the reply, but I *am* impressed!

    
    Does anyone have anything BUT praise for Micheldever?
    
    Mark

    Re .15

    I had exactly the same experience with Hampshire County Council. 

    Hole at side of road, damaged wheel and tyre, photographic evidence
    submitted with claim, exchange of many letters over 4 month period but
    no compensation received etc.

    Council rejected the claim saying as they did not know about the hole
    they could not be held responsible and that said road had been
    inspected 6 weeks prior and found to be up to standard.

    It would appear that proving that the hole caused the damage is no
    longer sufficient. You now have to prove that the council were
    negligent by failing to maintain the road at the minimum standard. The
    problem is that THEY set the standards!

    The only way round the situation is to prove that the council knew about
    the hole but failed to take remedial action.

    Martin.

    Try contacting the Parish Council. sometimes they notice holes and
    report them to the county.
    
    If they did, and if.... the dates fit, you may have a chance....
    
    JK

    On the same thing but a different angle. 
    
    	At the moment my journey into work is through Hackney (london).
    The Gas board are replacing miles of gas main. It appears that every
    major contractor is involved in digging up the road and putting these
    pipes in. The people digging the holes seem to have the logic a drunken
    warthog. The roads are like a battlefield and the traffic is something
    else. I don't understand how the council can let them dig holes so that
    the road becomes an virtual maze . That to my way of thinking is down
    to the council and for making a total mess. They allow the holes to be
    dug ,any problems around that is there responibility. That problem is
    mainly short lived. The real problem's will happen in 3-6 months time
    when the road all starts to sink. The stupid idiots digging the holes
    just fill them in with the junk they dug out and pop a bit of soft
    tarmac on top.  When the road is more like a rallycross course that a
    road , because the contractor has not repaired the road properly, who's
    fault is it?
    
    	My thinking on this is that the council are responsible. As I
    understand things (right or wrong), the hole is licensed by the council.
    During the time the road is up, the contractor is responsible for damage
    etc related to the hole. When the job is complete, road surface
    repaired. The council are entitled to call the contractor back to sort
    the road out if the repair is not up to standard. On the assumption that 
    the council have ok'd the job, then any further problem related to the 
    road subsiding or whatever ,the council are liable for any damage caused 
    by that.   Baring in mind that most people have said that it is basiclly a
    waste of time , does anyone have any different view on that.
                        
    
    Garry

    The utility that dug the hole are responsible for re-instatement and
    maintenance for a period of about 6 months. (This is to allow for
    settlement) After this period responsibility returns to the council.

    Any complaints should be directed initially to the council and they
    sort who is responsible, ie Gas, Telecom, Water etc.

    It may not seem like it but the councils do have restrictions on when
    roads can be dug up. ie only emergency works are authorized in the 6
    month period following re-surfacing. Most utilities try to work
    together these days when laying new mains. It's cheaper for them if
    they can share the cost of digging a trench and laying pipes and cables
    at the same time.

    And the source of these fascinating revelations - a relation who works
    for the Gas board department that is responsible for digging holes in
    the road!