Out of nowhere, you spot it, it's already too late to swerve, you’re forced to drive through it and hope for the best..... with over a million potholes reported on our roads, this is just a part of driving in the UK.
Potholes can pose a safety hazard for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. Not only do they increase the likelihood of accidents, they make roads trickier to navigate, and can cause damage to your vehicle.
If your car sustains damage from a pothole, it may be possible to get compensation. I've put together this thread to help you with the process of filing a pothole claim, determine who is accountable for the damage, and report a pothole on the roads.
New fund to help fix the UK’s pothole problem
As part of the recent budget announcement, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer a £200 million fund aimed at addressing the country's pothole issue. Here's hoping we will see some improvement in the roads to prevent the damage happening in the first place.
Who’s responsible for pothole damage to my car?
Responsibility typically falls on the local authorities, who are accountable for maintaining the roads in the local area. For roads that span across multiple areas, such as A-roads and motorways, the responsibility often falls on:
However, if the damage is due to other debris on the road, you will need to make a claim through your car insurance policy.
Am I eligible for compensation?
Not all potholes will be eligible for compensation. The local authority is accountable for maintaining the road but must have been informed in advance about the pothole and failed to take appropriate measures to fix it.
How to make a pothole claim:
1. Check & document the damage
When assessing potential damage caused by a pothole, it is important to consider factors such as:
----------
2. Gather evidence
Take photographs of the pothole if it is safe to do so (not on motorways). Also make a record of:
----------
3. Report the pothole
Report it to the appropriate authority responsible for maintaining the road. You can locate the correct council using:
For major roads, you must report the pothole to the relevant national authority.
Even if not making a claim it's a good idea to report any bad potholes to promote road safety for all, and prevent future damage to your car
----------
4. Submit your pothole claim
Firstly, contact the local authority responsible for the road maintenance that you reported the pothole to. Clearly state that you want to make a claim for pothole compensation and provide a detailed description of the incident, including when and where it happened, and what actions you have taken since to address the damage to your car.
It is crucial to include supporting documents such as copies of photos, witness details, confirmation of pothole damage from the mechanic, quotes, repairs for damage, and any other details that could assist your claim.
There are limits to your right to compensation, it's not a done deal. To be eligible, you must prove that the local authority failed to meet its obligation to maintain the road under Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980.
What happens next?
The local authority is obligated to respond to complaints within 30 days. If they don’t, contact them again via the complaints department. It's likely they will get back to you with one of the following responses:
What if your claim is denied?
If your claim is denied you have the option to escalate the matter by submitting a formal complaint. The complaint should be in writing and include all the evidence you have collected, such as photographs and the quote for repairing your garage. It's also important to include any correspondence that you have had with the council regarding the issue.
If the complaint still doesn't resolve the issue, taking legal action against the local authority is another option. However, this can be a lengthy and costly process, so not to be entered into lightly, and seeking legal advice before pursuing this route is advisable.
If there's major damage to your car, then you may wish to go through your insurance for repairs.
Hope this is useful! It would be great to avoid damage in the first place and for roads to be taken care of properly, so if you do see a bad pothole, please report it using the "Report a pothole" tool on the government website .
Potholes can pose a safety hazard for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. Not only do they increase the likelihood of accidents, they make roads trickier to navigate, and can cause damage to your vehicle.
If your car sustains damage from a pothole, it may be possible to get compensation. I've put together this thread to help you with the process of filing a pothole claim, determine who is accountable for the damage, and report a pothole on the roads.
New fund to help fix the UK’s pothole problem
As part of the recent budget announcement, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer a £200 million fund aimed at addressing the country's pothole issue. Here's hoping we will see some improvement in the roads to prevent the damage happening in the first place.
Who’s responsible for pothole damage to my car?
Responsibility typically falls on the local authorities, who are accountable for maintaining the roads in the local area. For roads that span across multiple areas, such as A-roads and motorways, the responsibility often falls on:
- Claim for damage to your vehicle
- England: National Highways England
- Northern Ireland: NI Direct
- Scotland: Transport Scotland
- Wales: Traffic Wales
However, if the damage is due to other debris on the road, you will need to make a claim through your car insurance policy.
Am I eligible for compensation?
Not all potholes will be eligible for compensation. The local authority is accountable for maintaining the road but must have been informed in advance about the pothole and failed to take appropriate measures to fix it.
How to make a pothole claim:
1. Check & document the damage
When assessing potential damage caused by a pothole, it is important to consider factors such as:
- Any new vibrations being produced by the car
- The handling of the steering wheel
- Whether the car is pulling to one side
- Visible damage to wheels & tyres
----------
2. Gather evidence
Take photographs of the pothole if it is safe to do so (not on motorways). Also make a record of:
- The exact date and time of the incident
- The contact details of any witnesses who may have been present
- The precise location of the pothole on the road
- The extent of the damage caused to your vehicle
- Damage uncovered from a reputable garage and provide repair quotes
----------
3. Report the pothole
Report it to the appropriate authority responsible for maintaining the road. You can locate the correct council using:
For major roads, you must report the pothole to the relevant national authority.
Even if not making a claim it's a good idea to report any bad potholes to promote road safety for all, and prevent future damage to your car
----------
4. Submit your pothole claim
Firstly, contact the local authority responsible for the road maintenance that you reported the pothole to. Clearly state that you want to make a claim for pothole compensation and provide a detailed description of the incident, including when and where it happened, and what actions you have taken since to address the damage to your car.
It is crucial to include supporting documents such as copies of photos, witness details, confirmation of pothole damage from the mechanic, quotes, repairs for damage, and any other details that could assist your claim.
There are limits to your right to compensation, it's not a done deal. To be eligible, you must prove that the local authority failed to meet its obligation to maintain the road under Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980.
What happens next?
The local authority is obligated to respond to complaints within 30 days. If they don’t, contact them again via the complaints department. It's likely they will get back to you with one of the following responses:
- They accept your claim and cover all your repair expenses.
- They offer a partial settlement.
- They reject your claim in its entirety.
What if your claim is denied?
If your claim is denied you have the option to escalate the matter by submitting a formal complaint. The complaint should be in writing and include all the evidence you have collected, such as photographs and the quote for repairing your garage. It's also important to include any correspondence that you have had with the council regarding the issue.
If the complaint still doesn't resolve the issue, taking legal action against the local authority is another option. However, this can be a lengthy and costly process, so not to be entered into lightly, and seeking legal advice before pursuing this route is advisable.
If there's major damage to your car, then you may wish to go through your insurance for repairs.
Hope this is useful! It would be great to avoid damage in the first place and for roads to be taken care of properly, so if you do see a bad pothole, please report it using the "Report a pothole" tool on the government website .
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191 Comments
sorted byIt makes reporting potholes and other things like flytipping really easy. Just takes a minute or so.
Every time I’ve reported something it has been addressed and fixed with a followup email from our local council pretty quickly.
The government do keep a record of road traffic statistics
gov.uk/gov…ics
To get an idea of how much extra traffic is on the roads now, when the pandemic was in full force the road traffic levels fell to 1970s average levels >
citymonitor.ai/tra…047
So with a traffic increasing year on and inflation removing council spending power, it is no wonder that the roads are in the state they are >
countycouncilsnetwork.org.uk/cou…ts/ (edited)
Why not ask Netherlands for help? I've never seen a pothole on any of their roads. Then again, we didn't ask the French or Japanese for help with oir crumbling railway. (edited)
But those yellow poles with cameras on top? See a new one every week.
I won as they never responded to the claim.
They never paid up even after this so I hit them with a lovely CCJ.
This did the trick and they paid up immediately including all court costs.
What do we pay our council tax for? I begin to wonder.
Report damage due to a pothole and the council will reject it, and the cost and hassle of taking it further isn't worth it.
Hooray.
Just typical of the uk government they out the blame on everyone but themselves. It’s ran by the worst type of people
Gang turn up, sweep some loose tarmac to the gutter, throw in some cold tarmac and pat it down with the back of a shovel.
The other problem is when they resurface Residential roads, spray on some wet tarmac adhesive, spread loose chippings unevenly over the road and leave us drivers to bed it all in whilst suffering chipped windscreens and paintwork.
Over the years this builds up the road surface but not the manholes and drains which become a sort of pothole.
I really wouldn't want to be a cyclist round our neck of the woods 😵💫
"Be grateful" lol. We pay council tax. We pay road tax. If services aren't being provided, and damage is being caused to our assets, we can and should complain. Being grateful is how we ended up being the worst performing economy in the G7.
Having closed the road and done all that work, from the first day as soon as it rained, there's just been a large puddle covering half the road with every car spraying pedestrians.
Why do they bother spending the resources fixing it and not bother confirming the contractor has done a good job? Infuriating. Have reported it but expect no solution.
This exact thing happened to me. Hit a pothole, destroyed my front wheel. The pothole was RINGED IN PAINT, so they absolutely knew about it, but just told me they had no idea of the issue and basically told me to Foxtrot Oscar. Whole thing is a massive scam.
You have 6 years to claim in the court . Providing you have photos of the pot hole with a ruler, and from memory the depth is over 3 inches, you have a case.
Under court procedure, you have disclosure, which the council would also have to disclose everything.
It is slightly different in London as if the pothole is on a red bus route they are covered (you have to sue) TFL and not the Council.
BTW like all insurance claims they always like to fob people off and find any excuse not to pay out hoping people go away or settle for less.
If you are a pedestrian or on a bike and are injured then yes claim yourself. If your car is damaged then claim under your car insurance and let them fight the Council. (edited)
If i fail to do so, i will be fined and have penalty points applied to my license.
The councils do not have similar endorsements or obligations. They do not get fined or punished if they fail to keep the road in a "roadworthy" state.
Similarly i pay thousands in Road tax, Fuel Duty and VAT to run my car each year to the government, yet the government is not responsible for maintaining the roads - so why are they getting all the money?
I put in a claim with Staffordshire County Council, which was easy enough to do via their website uploading all the relevant evidence. Their insurance company got in touch and offered me £270, they knocked £15 off the claim for general wear and tear of the parts (which was fine because I'd had the car 15 years). So it all worked out in the end and I got two new front springs paid for by the council.
The potholes, which had been there for years, had multiple claims made on them it seems and shortly after I made my claim they came and filled them in. Only issue now is that they do such a poor job of filling them in you can see them starting to go again and pretty soon we'll be back to square one.
I’ve now realised that those councillors are only good at pointing, and that there is no point to them, and their political party, existing.
Pointing, but pointless. (edited)
As for more locally, the surrounding roads are terrible right now, multiple small and large potholes on every road, it's not like they've just appeared either, it's been a good few months and AFAIK the council haven't even acknowledged them.
Will definitely be keeping this info handy!
Has to have been there for so long which you have to prove then you have to go and measure it width depth and length and then they decide if it’s big enough , this pothole ripped the fog lights out of the bumper and never got any money
Photos provided. Quote to repair. Statement from mechanic showing car was MOTd just 2 weeks before with no issues.
All dismissed as the council said ‘we have inspected 3 weeks prior and you have to allow reasonable time to repair’!
But the hole persists during the 3 weeks on an A road and multiple cars being impacted.
Our road has multiple pot holes with the substrate being kicked out every time a vehicle drives through it. What if a stone is kicked up and smashes a car window or injuries a pedestrian?
But guess we have had a ‘bad winter’ and no one could have foreseen this. (edited)
I first reported it on their website and got a pretty much instant reply saying they were already aware of this particular pothole. I then received a standard response to the actual claim a few weeks later stating it could take up to 9 months to investigate, but less than two months later it had been declined.
They claim the road was inspected at least 12 times a year and on the last inspection (Dec 2022 apparently) there was no defect present, therefore they were not negligent in their duty to keep the road in a reasonable and safe state of repair.
All rather convenient - especially as the pothole is shown on Google Streetview in the same state of disrepair consistently from as far back as 2012. (edited)
They don’t have repeated below 0 temperatures followed by melting aka freeze thaw weathering (edited)
Me: This pothole has done my tyre and rim in and cost £xyz
Council: We did a check x months ago and fixed all issue so we don't owe you anything
Me: The hole shows on Google maps before this date of check!..
Council: We did a check x months ago and fixed all issue so we don't owe you anything
Me: The hole shows on Google maps before this date of check!..
Council: We did a check x months ago and fixed all issue so we don't owe you anything
Me: The hole shows on Google maps before this date of check!..
Council: We did a check x months ago and fixed all issue so we don't owe you anything
...
...
Gave up in the end...