Has anyone here ever managed to get compensation for a car damaged by potholes / damaged roadways?

[Pennies]

I trashed two tyres and an alloy today going over a 'puddle' that actually turned out to be a 4 inch deep pothole. It's going to cost me over £300 to get it repaired. I'm going to complain to the Council but I was just wondering if it will actually do any good?

Anyone got any expereince of this? What happened?

Yep - you will get money unless there is a warning sign telling you not to drive there. Lots of people burst tyres on a road near me before Xmas and the council paid up.

Might be an idea to get a photo of the pot hole just so you have proof.
I've heard of people getting compensation for stuff like that, you go get them, good luck.

I did take a picture but it was on my phone and also it had been raining but was sunny at that point so you can't really see what the problem is very well. I tried to show the depth of it using a stick but that was pretty rubbish as well.

The AA guy said I was the second person he's gone to that day from the same pothole.

Another Ivor here!

I suggest you write down all the details. Take a photo or two and write down the date and time you took them. Contact the council to let them know about the damage that has resulted from this pothole and that you want them to pay for the full cost. Enclose a copy of a written quote from a garage with your letter. Ask for them to reply within a certain number of days. Enclose your full details i.e. your name, address, tel number, e-mail address to make it as easy as possible for them to contact you. Keep your letter as short as you can whilst giving all the details they need.

Take a better photo as soon as you can. Mark up a stick (broom handle perhaps) using paint with length marks and then they can see the depth of the stick when it is in the hole. Keep a note of the details of the AA man. They might fill the hole pretty darn quick, so do everything as soon as you can.

Us Ivor's are full of good advice, or is it full of something else, I forget

we recived an offer of the princely sum of 25 quid today from our local council for the puncture to our tyre. It actually cost 40 to replace, but apparently a "nominal sum" was deducted for wear and tear! incidently, we had no photos of the offending pot hole. don't think this would have made any odds though.

at Ivor!

Photos do make a difference to the claims cases I deal with at work. We always ask if photos have been taken and to be given a set if they have. If they refuse we wonder what they have to hide (i.e. that it actually happened somewhere else entirely) and it weakens their case.

that's fair enough. we were actually quite surprised to get anything. dh gone to buy take away with it.

My claim failed because the pothole was on a street near my house and they said I should have been aware of it as I had said somewhere along the way that i often use this particular road - so be careful how you word things.

sixlostminkeys - luckily that's not a problem for me. I was on the way to see a mate in her new house and I'd never even been there before.

Pennies, let us know how you get on. It's nice to be "on the other side" so to speak, though I, thankfully, just do the admin, not the decision making. Make sure you include in your claim letter the weather conditions and if it looked just like an ordinary puddle whilst driving towards it i.e. it didn't have a yellow due-to-be-fixed-soon circle around it or anything, then include that.