Can you still claim for pothole damage after the hole has been filled?
A MOTORING expert has revealed whether you can still claim for pothole-related damage to your car even after the hole has been filled.
A whopping 23,000 drivers were compensated for repairs related to the state of Britain's roads, government figures revealed this week.
Now Alex Robbins, the resident motors whizz, has shed light on the rules around claiming from councils.
Alex was replying to a letter whose author claimed that they had been charged £840 to repair the suspension on their Nissan Qashqai.
The distraught driver explained: "The mechanic suggested, without any prompting from me, that potholes may be to blame.
"I have tried to get compensation, but the council says I must tell it the date and time of the damage and the location of the pothole with a photograph.
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"But the pothole I suspect has caused the worst damage has been filled in."
Alex's advice was to still take a photo of the filled-in hole along with an approximate date and time when the damage would likely have occurred and explain their belief that it was caused by repeated impacts.
He added: "I suspect the council will still reject your claim.
"However, if you’re willing to commit some time to this, you can take the matter further."
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First, use a Freedom of Information (FOI) request too get hold of the council's road maintenance policy and the inspection record of the road in question, as well as the record of when any reports were made and repairs carried out
The council will have set out in its maintenance policy how often it should be inspecting roads and how quickly repairs should be made following reports.
If you can prove that the council has not been following its own policies in this regard, you may well be entitled to compensation.
In the event that the claim is rejected a second time, the final option is to take it to small claims court.
However, Alex urged: "I would seek legal advice before you do this, as the burden of evidence will be relatively high, and if you lose, you’ll have to pay fees that could cause your costs to spiral."
It comes after the date that driverless cars are set to appear on UK motorways was revealed.
Meanwhile, one family found themselves locked in a war with their local authority over the ownership of the parking spaces outside their home.