16th April 2018
How to claim for pothole damage
The Vasstech team is offering a free pothole check across all of our garages. No charge, just part of the Vasstech ethos, to keep everyone safe and sound on the road. Contact us today to book your free pothole check!
Hit a pothole? Paid for expensive repairs? By law the council must perform routine checks of the road and complete repairs in an allocated period, here’s how to claim for your expenses to the council and make a claim for them to pay for your repairs.
No.1 Perform a safety check
If you’ve hit a large pothole, you’re going to know about it and chances are it has likely caused some damage to the car. If safe to do so, get out and assess the affected area. Check the tyres – are they showing any significant signs of wear, are the alloys dented in any way or is the car tilting to the side? If so get these checked by a professional, and if you don’t feel that it is safe to drive your car, don’t!
No.2 Make a note
Return to the site where you collided with the pothole. Make a note of the date, time and location of where the pothole is. Describe the pothole in as much detail as possible, including the position in the road, size, and any notable marks or landmarks that may help to point out the right pothole!
No.3 Take photos
Alongside your note-taking, grab a camera and take several photos of the offending pothole. Try to photograph any distinctive landmarks within the photo, damages to the car and the actual pothole itself. Use something familiar such as a water bottle or shoe to effectively demonstrate the size of the pothole. A stick can be useful to show the depth of a pothole filled with water.
No.4 Keep invoices and receipts
Make sure that you keep any invoices or receipts you were given when you paid for your damages to be repaired in a safe place. Without these crucial documents you cannot claim exactly what the costs were, and therefore you are unlikely to receive a payout.
No.5 Write to the Council
You’re ready now to write you the letter of complaint and claim to the council. Within the letter, provide a detailed account of the incident as well as all the photographs taken of the pothole. Attach the invoices and receipts as proof of costs incurred, then simply await a response.
No.6 Insurance Claim
You can make a claim to your insurance provider, but it will most likely affect your no claims bonus and increase the premiums of your monthly payments; it will also most likely cost you an excess.
No.7 Make an Appeal
Despite the fact that the council fix the roads and perform maintenance, they are not responsible for any potholes they do not know about. The council will also have a set period to fix the pothole. If the council deny being aware of the pothole, your initial claim may be denied. However, ask for a copy of their reports, if there is a pothole that matches the description and location of the one you were affected by, and it has not been fixed in time then you are entitled to the claim.