Hit pothole - How do I claim

whitelightrider

Folks,

Im one of the unlucky crew that hit the pothole on the Monivea road last week. Guards were called and think there was a tv crew there also.

Anyway I had to buy a new tyre. I got photos of the tyre and photos of the pot hole.

Just wondering how I go about claiming that money back from the council?

fryup

you got two chances......slim and f&ck all

a_v525

If it happened to me, I'd get a receipt for the tyre & I'd also get the alignment done on the car, then post photocopies of the bills to my local council who are in charge of road maintainance along with a very strongly worded letter asking why the f**K (not in those words ) I'm paying road taxes if my car gets damaged on the roads. Then I'd ask rhetorically if I was allowed to not pay road tax, then I'd gladly pay for my own car repairs due to road damage. I'd send it by registered post to my council so I could prove they received it if they didnt reply to me.
If I was really pissed off, I'd keep a copy of the letter, then if I got no reply I'd bring it to small claims court. I'm pretty sure the council would chicken out & pay the money, & if not Id say the judge would agree with you. Its a discrace the state of the roads in this country especially with the extortionate road tax.

Guy:Incognito

a_v525 wrote: »

asking why the f**K (not in those words ) I'm paying road taxes if my car gets damaged on the roads..

They'd probably politely reply that you dont pay road tax, you pay motor tax and it's not ringfenced for roads.

Jemmy

a_v525 wrote: »

If it happened to me, I'd get a receipt for the tyre & I'd also get the alignment done on the car, then post photocopies of the bills to my local council who are in charge of road maintainance along with a very strongly worded letter asking why the f**K (not in those words ) I'm paying road taxes if my car gets damaged on the roads. Then I'd ask rhetorically if I was allowed to not pay road tax, then I'd gladly pay for my own car repairs due to road damage. I'd send it by registered post to my council so I could prove they received it if they didnt reply to me.
If I was really pissed off, I'd keep a copy of the letter, then if I got no reply I'd bring it to small claims court. I'm pretty sure the council would chicken out & pay the money, & if not Id say the judge would agree with you. Its a discrace the state of the roads in this country especially with the extortionate road tax.

lol you think its that easy! Good luck is all I'll say, if you hassle them you MIGHT get it but I know it took 2yrs of hassling for one person to get there money! I've never heard of anyone else getting anything back.

whitelightrider

There were 12 to 15 cars damaged that morning on a pothole that was covered in and reopened again. Its in your rights that if your car is damaging by hitting the above, then you are entitled to recoup the cost of the repairs.

The tv and the gardai were there so there is evidence of it.

Berty

Google. Malfeasance.

You haven't a leg to stand on. The word was invented so people can screw you out of money.

Jemmy

whitelightrider wrote: »

There were 12 to 15 cars damaged that morning on a pothole that was covered in and reopened again. Its in your rights that if your car is damaging by hitting the above, then you are entitled to recoup the cost of the repairs.

The tv and the gardai were there so there is evidence of it.

Of course you have a right, doesn't mean you'll be successful in your Battle!

I hope you do get your money, I had 4 wheels and a back axle broke in one week over 2 seperate craters so I feel your pain but I wouldnt get your hopes up thats all.

mad2race

For the Council to be liable you must show that they had carreid out work in a negligent manner, or malfeasance, and this resulted in the damage to you tyre/wheel.

The council will no doubt rely on the defence of nonfeasence and this is still a still a defence to a local authority I'm afraid. There is law going back to 1961 (Civil Liability Act) which has a section that allows a road authority to be held liable for damage caused as a result of their failure to adequately maintain a public road but this hasnt been brought into operation.

Sorry but there is very little chance of getting anything from them, have heard a few stories of guys getting something after pestering the Council for extended periods, I was really nuisance money, "here we will give you this if you F off" more or less.

cml387

From previous discussions, I think you might have a case IF the council had attempted to repair the pothole and failed to fix the problem.
If a new pothole causes damage, the coucil can say that they didn't know about it.
If they knew about it (and by definition if they attempted to fix it then they did know) and failed in their attempt to remedy the problem, it's a different story.

pippip

I'm going through the same thing with the M50 after that pothole a few weeks ago. Now I'm actually claiming off the company involved in the roadworks not the council or NRA.

I have a mate who hit a pothole in wicklow on his way to work. Nearly ripped the front wheel off. He barely made it to work as it was just down the road but had to get it towed from there and have fairly large rebuild done on the front suspension along with new wheel.

Managed to claim full amount of the council with very little hassle.

Jemmy

pippip wrote: »

I'm going through the same thing with the M50 after that pothole a few weeks ago. Now I'm actually claiming off the company involved in the roadworks not the council or NRA.

I have a mate who hit a pothole in wicklow on his way to work. Nearly ripped the front wheel off. He barely made it to work as it was just down the road but had to get it towed from there and have fairly large rebuild done on the front suspension along with new wheel.

Managed to claim full amount of the council with very little hassle.

Wow getting it out of the WCC is hard, he must hav done all the right things! Any idea where in Wicklow is was?

biko

Check this thread

pippip

Jemmy wrote: »

Wow getting it out of the WCC is hard, he must hav done all the right things! Any idea where in Wicklow is was?

Somewhere between Rathnew and Rathdrum. I think they were backroads. Was about two years ago.

galwaytt

fryup wrote: »

you got two chances......slim and f&ck all

OP - don't listen to them.

I live within 2kms of the N6 compound, the company that has single-handedly destroyed 100's of km's of road in this area - including the Monivea road - in the last 2/3 years, and to date, the Co Co has paid out in excess of Eur130,000 for damage to cars in this area.

The Co Co are entirely culpable, as they have a Duty of Care to the public, even from a Public Liability point of view, to both inspect, and maintain, roads to a safe standard. It is NOT the job of the public to police the road network on their behalf.

And I personally know people who have succesfully been re-imbursed for both tyre, wheel and suspension damage. So, get your repair, get your bill, and send it in to the County Council with a 7 day deadline for payment. Follow that up with a solicitor's letter.

Do not give up, and ignore the detractor's.

wilson10

In Co. Louth you would have no chance.

My son blew 2 alloys and tyres in a massive pothole that had been patched a number of times and then wasted a lot of his time trying to get some compensation. No chance, total waste of time.

BostonB

Unfortunately Someone will have to die before this country starts fixing roads/potholes properly.

mickdw

The law is simple enough as it stands.
If a pothole develops, as they do through what could be considered normal wear & tear, then the council are not liable and you will get nothing.
If a pothole is due to some form of poor workmanship and you can prove this, then you will get paid. Generally, if you can show evidence of the hole being filled recently and it has opened up again straight away, that is usually sufficient to prove your case. Another instance where they are liable would we where for example they leave a road works site in such a condition that damage is caused to your car. A common example of this is where you might catch the underside of your car on a manhole cover which is sticking up until the final road surface is applied. they are always liable in this case.
Many years ago, I believe a directive came from europe that would make the council liable for any damage caused by less than adequate surfaces. This has never been writin into law here. Surprise surprise

craichoe

Jemmy wrote: »

lol you think its that easy! Good luck is all I'll say, if you hassle them you MIGHT get it but I know it took 2yrs of hassling for one person to get there money! I've never heard of anyone else getting anything back.

Road tax in Ireland is Cheap mate :rolleyes:

Jemmy

craichoe wrote: »

Road tax in Ireland is Cheap mate :rolleyes:

Whats your point? I didnt say anything about road tax, quoting the wrong person here I think Mate!

craichoe

Jemmy wrote: »

Whats your point? I didnt say anything about road tax, quoting the wrong person here I think Mate!

Crap ... Typed in the wrong window .. sorry

roosterman71

No such thing as road tax, its motor tax. It doesn't go to pay for roads, it goes to a big bucket with all the other tax monies in the country and is then doled out to whatever its needed for.

PanhardPL

Worth checking your facts, as a number of years back the Government ruled that all monies received through Motor Tax would go into a fund for the upkeep of Non National roads.

testicle

You will only get money out of the local authority if they had previously repaired the same pothole. Otherwise, you might as well eat your photographs.

Daroxtar

Contact Wesley Quirke at 087-Faketan:D

roosterman71

PanhardPL wrote: »

Worth checking your facts, as a number of years back the Government ruled that all monies received through Motor Tax would go into a fund for the upkeep of Non National roads.

Proof?

Fatswaldo

A couple of years back I tried to make a claim similar to the op. Tyre, rim, and suspension banjaxed after smacking a pothole in the middle of the road. Got a PFO letter from the council quoting vicarious liability, ie. they didnt cause the pothole so they were not liable. As others have said unless there have been roadworks etc on this stretch of road, you are on your own!

Learned a lesson though - no more low profiles for me. :cool:

pippip

roosterman71 wrote: »

Proof?

http://www.dublincity.ie/ROADSANDTRAFFIC/MOTORTAX/Pages/MotorTaxHome.aspx