Driving my car the other night and I hit a pothole with a front wheel. I didnt see the pothole but certainly felt it. It punctured the tyre with a textbook pinch flat and knocked the tracking out of alignment, costing 130 quid to fix. I went back and had a look and found two massive (I mean feckin huge -got pictures) pothole channels in the road, and because it was midnight I reported it to the police to make the council /highways agency aware. A few pals have said I may claim damages from the council, anyone know if I can and how to do it??
It's possible. You need to know whether the road is local or county council and get in touch with them. They'll send you a claim form. I've had two incidents with damage but failed on both counts to get owt out of them. There are alsorts of loop holes. Persistance may pay off, but you can defo give it a try.
Try Honest John He has a section in the motoring section of the Telegraph on Saturday, lots of good advice. Also: FixMyStreet & Potholes.co.uk - Home Page I understand that if the pothole has not been reported or the council can prove it has been inspected win a certain period of time they are not liable (assuming it's local & not highways agency). If it is near wher you live, put on a high vis & get hold of a yellow spray paint they use for highlighting repairs, they may fix it quicker.
Take your spare wheel and photograph it in the pothole, get your car in the same shot if possible and that should tie everything together, that way there's a scale to the size and depth in the photos. A friend went through all this, they did try to be shitty, like 'Outside the apartment block at 43 Mossley Hill Drive' wasn't enough, please be more specific, so he sent them GPS Long & Lat coordinates from his GPS for the hole and they paid up for a new wheel and tyre. Good luck
