Stupid Pothole

[Parthiban]

Ok, so I recently got a set of the 18" styling kit alloys, had them all fitted with brand new Eagle F1s on Tuesday, and then yesterday unavoidably hit this:

which has done this to my front wheel:

and this to the rear wheel:

Now I'm planning to get in touch with the council about this and have done some reading on potholes.co.uk but wanted to check on here if anyone has had a similar experience - I just want to make sure I do everything exactly right before I get in touch with them to make sure I have the best chance of a successful claim.

Luckily as I only had the tyres fitted the day before this happened, they've agreed to vouch for the fact that the wheels were fine when they fitted the tyres.

It's a right pain, any help is much appreciated

[treborlex]

sorry can't help with your claim but hope your successful.

just wanted to say i'm gutted for you thats one nasty pothole

also do you know the name of the road if so think you should name it to give fellow members a chance of avoiding it.

[Vyker]

That sucks!

Make sure you read potholes.co.uk thoroughly and also try your luck at pepipoo.

How fast were you going?

[Rikos]

Hello fella, really sorry about the damage to the wheels. I hit a pothole recently but i only had to have 2 new tyres. I couldnt try and claim as i didnt get any evidence

I hope you are succesful in the claim though.

[Mike_B]

With a hole like that, there is little chance the council will be able to wriggle out of it. Complain vociferously and you should get your damage rectified.

And be glad you weren't on a motorbike...

[DJ Wozza]

I could feel but not see the damage last night mate.

Looking now that is terrible, especially on the inside edge.

Best of luck and like I said, contact the member I mentioned last night as he has some experience of this.

[Noel]

I hit a pothole last week and drove the front left wheel back 1.5 inches..... It's going in to Toyota later to access the damage... probably have to go though my insurance :(

[SHAHZ]

Happened to me a few years ago, buckled the :tsktsk: out of one of my alloys, council didnt accept liability and said it was thames water that were working on the road at the time and to take it up with them, couldnt be bothered and just forked out for a new alloy.......make sure you take plenty of pictures of the pothole and make the :tsktsk: pay for the damage.....did the tyres survive? or have they bubbled....gutted for ya man

[Jackal321]

this is what really :tsktsk: me off about this incompetent government. they tax the :tsktsk: out of motorists then they expect us to drive on crappy roads like that.

I've seen potholes like that get 'repaired' by the council only to be needing repair again after two weeks

rant over

[Mark W]

Its all part of the cunning ploy - Increase duty on fuel, increase Road Fund Licence, Tax you on Insurance, Increase the MOT, take out any section of dual carriageway and replace one lane with a bus lane and finally ensure the roads are in that bad state of repair that it damages your car so you incur more cost. You can then try and argue with the people that the local council have employed using the Council tax money that you have paid.

We can then all go back 50 years in time where only the really wealthy can afford to buy and run cars and anyone else is forced to use public transport - Which is such a pleasant experience nowadays - with opportunities to be spat on, kicked and punched by groups of 15 year olds who then cant be prosecuted because of their age.

Parthiban - really sorry about your rims - I'd be gutted - and hope you get somewhere in getting back the money you paid for them. I'd also go for some comensation of time spent having to resolve and re-fit.

[Boxbrownie]

I hit what can only be described as not so much a pothole than a ditch on one of my local roads.....completely bent the rim and instantly burst the tyre on my wifes KA......sent a claim to the local highways authority (had piccies with measure like yours) and after 6 months and many reminders we got paid in full.

Best of luck matey.

Best regards David

[WylieCoyote]

It's well known to be a complete nightmare to get money out of councils to pay for damage from potholes. In your situation I'd do exactly the same. The important thing I would say is to stand your ground, don't give up and hope for the best. Don't expect them to cough up though without a fight - if they do, result!

Best of luck!

[Parthiban]

Thanks for all the replies, wasn't actually going that fast, don't think it was even thirty as I was following a bus - but from the sound of the thud I knew straight away something wasn't right.

I've spoken to the tyre shop, and they've said if it hasn't bulged on the edge (which it hasn't) then the tyres are fine - is that correct? Hope it is as otherwise that would be a waste, the tyres haven't even done 50 miles yet

To be honest, I know it's going to be a pain, but I'm going to go as far as I can with this, hopefully we can set a precedent to make sure in future it's solved quicker..............I'll keep you posted :)

[sparkystav]

Gutted mate,

I'd hate that to happen. Hope you get it sorted.

Thieving Goverment again

Stav

[Rabster]

Hey man from the 1st few pics i was thinking it was abit of curbing but WOW thats a buckle and a half, a hole that was what 2 1/2 inches i now try to drive round them no matter how small they are there a 2 repeat offenders in Debden/loughton they repair it and less than 2 weeks later there is a big hole again i swear they dont give a darn not there cars that use the roads its the cars we paid for in our taxes that they drive

Hope you get it sorted mate and your not to much out of pocket have you thought about some form of personal injury i mean to do that 2 the wheel must have bounced you in the seat maybe a form of whiplash

mate of mine managed to claim for njury after a similar incident

[WylieCoyote]

I am not suggesting anything here, but whiplash is VERY difficult to disprove ;)

[Tony-Bones]

Sorry to read this mate.... When you claim don't forget the Geo...... Oh here this is how to claim>

Immediate: Evidence gathering. Take a picture of the offending pothole. This is essential as the hole could be repaired before your claim is settled. Measure if possible Length x Breadth x Depth, not always easy we know. Take pictures of the whole area just to show no warning signs.

Report pothole to Council and Police if it is a danger, this helps to create a record and maybe help someone else.

Obtain written report from your repairer outlining the damage, probable cause if he can say so and the cost to replace.

House to house enquiries from anybody living nearby to try and establish how long the hole has been there and if other similar occurrences have occurred and take full details of any witnesses traced.

Establish from local council who is responsible for the road i.e. the County Council Highways or District Council and fire off a letter to them with COPIES of your evidence claiming compensation from their Insurance. You may be lucky and succeed and if not depending on the strength of your evidence action in the Small Claims Court.

The local authority has a duty to maintain the highway and you will have a claim against the council if you suffer injury or damage to property as a result of a defect in the road.

s58 of the Highways Act 1980 gives the Local Auth a possible defense as follows....

(1) In an action against a highway authority in respect of damage resulting from their failure to maintain a highway maintainable at the public expense it is a defense (without prejudice to any other defense or the application of the law relating to contributory negligence) to prove that the authority had taken such care as in all the circumstances was reasonably required to secure that the part of the highway to which the action relates was not dangerous for traffic.

(2) For the purposes of a defense under subsection (1) above, the court shall in particular have regard to the following matters:—

(a) the character of the highway, and the traffic which was reasonably to be expected to use it;

the standard of maintenance appropriate for a highway of that character and used by such traffic;

© the state of repair in which a reasonable person would have expected to find the highway;

(d) whether the highway authority knew, or could reasonably have been expected to know, that the condition of the part of the highway to which the action relates was likely to cause danger to users of the highway;

(e) where the highway authority could not reasonably have been expected to repair that part of the highway before the cause of action arose, what warning notices of its condition had been displayed;

but for the purposes of such a defence it is not relevant to prove that the highway authority had arranged for a competent person to carry out or supervise the maintenance of the part of the highway to which the action relates unless it is also proved that the authority had given him proper instructions with regard to the maintenance of the highway and that he had carried out the instructions.

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Gutted for you, I know the council have a get out not sue what it is ( may be something like they knew about it and it was on the plan to fix it ), not sure though. If my wheel and tyre had damage like that showing I don't think I would feel safe leaving the tyre :( Maybe get it took off and check the inside too.

[Parthiban]

Cheers for the tips guys, but I'm from the old school line of thought where I don't claim for something I didn't suffer, as long as my car gets fixed I'm happy.

Just been on the phone to Lexus to get an estimate for the work to send on to the council, two styling kit alloys, two tyres, full geometry - said I wouldn't get much change out of £1000

Obviously also a note to mention that it is subject to doing the geometry and checking whether there is any further suspension damage, etc..........

Let's hope this claim works!

[WylieCoyote]

Cheers for the tips guys, but I'm from the old school line of thought where I don't claim for something I didn't suffer, as long as my car gets fixed I'm happy.

Just been on the phone to Lexus to get an estimate for the work to send on to the council, two styling kit alloys, two tyres, full geometry - said I wouldn't get much change out of £1000

Obviously also a note to mention that it is subject to doing the geometry and checking whether there is any further suspension damage, etc..........

Let's hope this claim works!

Fair enough. £1000 sounds a lot - but then it's not suprising really. Hope you get this sorted with minimal hassle.

[Rob]

u can get the alloys repaired no problem

[Hando]

Parth,

Sorry to hear about this - but really well done on the photo's - without those (especially the one with the tape meassure) you haven't a hope in hell of getting any cash back. Happened to me and I couldn't take photos as it was on a busy dual carriageway and taking photos with a tape meassure would have been the end of me. Needless to say the council didn't pay out.

Get the claim in asap - and the council will send round assesors to check it out - if the road is local to you keep an eye out for them trying to repair it beforehand.

With those photo's and a quote for new rims - I'd hope you'll have some success.

u can get the alloys repaired no problem

Really Rob? When mine was buckled (about the same as parth's) everyone I took it to said it could be repaired but the repaired rims were dangerous - any truth in this? I know Ahmet had his repaired when he hit some debris on a motorway though.

I've still got my buckled rim in the shed so if it could be repaired it'd be handy as a spare. Anyone know of places in uk that do this? (I tried to find somewhere at the time but had no luck)

[spikes]

i have a friend who hit a pothole like that at less than 30 mph and the split the wheel on the inside dish but the wheels were wearing 215.35.18 rubber

[Rob]

friend of mine similar damage on the rim, went to a wheel repair place here and got it back 2 weeks later looking like new - place was TUeV approved and they also gave him a certificate for the repaired wheel.

[spikes]

friend of mine similar damage on the rim, went to a wheel repair place here and got it back 2 weeks later looking like new - place was TUeV approved and they also gave him a certificate for the repaired wheel.

its worth getting a quote