I am going through this now hence how I have stumbled across this video. I hit two major pot holes like you in January 2023. Split my rear wheel and blew the tyre on the A217. I wrote to Surrey Council and coukd see the pot holes had already been reported on their website. They wrote back and said give them 3 months to investigate and they will come back to me. 3 Months later and nothing they have however since repaired every single pot hole. I have written to them again and its been almost a month and still no reply so I will write them a 3rd and final letter and then begin legal action. I have pictures of my damaged alloy and pictures with a tape measure of the road but it is a busy dual carriage way so I had to hurry in-between cars speeding past so some measurements may not be as clear. Very informative video thank you.
Absolutely spot on. Our roads are a prime example of how we are being gradually conned into accepting poorer and poorer services whilst all the time being charged more for their ‘upkeep’. I had a similar wriggle from the council over a motorcycle spill I had in 2018, and did not have the emotional energy to pursue it. In spite of Google Street View images clearly showing the deterioration of this part of the road over a 2 year period, their flimsy inspection reports got them ‘off the hook’ in their opinion. Don’t even get me started on this new phenomenon of ‘surface dressing’ and how lethal it is to motorcyclists, even before we consider the damage it does to vehicles and the surface water drains, all of which the hapless motorist has to pay for.
Thanks so much for this video Tim. Hit a pothole heading home from work on my honda vision yesterday. On google maps you can clearly see it visible in MARCH of this year. In early september someone also reported it - citing the particular danger to motorbikes because of its length and position! It was deemed NOT to be unsafe by the council. Had to go to hospital. About to start the claims process and get this bike repaired.
Hey Tim, I had a very similar experience also in Jan this year with thousands of pounds worth of damage caused. They presented me with the 3 things that I needed to prove and I decided against wasting my time with pursuing it as I could see it being a foregone conclusion in their favour. Frustrating as anything - not to mention expensive!
And there lies the problem! It is impossible for them to monitor every inch of every road, every minute of everyday but as I've found, the 'monitoring' is pretty poor and geared more to covering their liabilities than the holes in the road.
We are we putting up with this, it’s time to band together take this country back by force, refuse to pay road tax/ Council tax until you have redeemed the cost of repair to your car and let them take us all to court, enough is enough !
Good advice in there. I see you have a suitable bike to deal with the shocking state of the roads. I've had a couple of GS's and currently a KTM1090. I actually don't use my car that much as the roads on my regular commute are terrible. On the KTM I can avoid the holes better and being off-road capable, it can handle them.
I hit a hole yesterday that popped a tire and has messed my tracking. The road was covered by flooding and I couldn’t see the holes. What do you think my chances are of compensation?
Depends on the size of the hole and all of the factors discussed in this video. If you can prove negligence, you might - might - have a chance. But don’t hold your breath
@@OurTim Exactly. No one expects miracles but they need to be taking reasonable care and get their systems and processes right. Ant im dreading taking our classic Coopers out this summer, those little wheels :(
It is outsourced to another company - I suspect (but can’t prove) there is a minimum SLA and this basic type of report meets it… as I said in the video, anyone could have made that form/report using basic software. There are no hard evidence points in it and it would appear there is no requirement for either, given the council have said this is evidence enough to deny my claim.
"Once a hole is reported & the repair work is scheduled, you can't claim" - Challenge this as this would only work if council have then provided warning road sign of defective road ahead. You should then be driving to the road conditions, ie slower & with due diligence
Totally agree. 100%. But from what I understand, once reported, they have the benefit of time to respond. So if they had a report at 11am and you hit it at 11:30am, they couldn’t have done anything in that time but as it’s been reported, they are aware so you can’t claim. From what I’ve seen, there is so much covering up going on that this really is the tip of the iceberg
@@OurTim b I won my case 😁 a got £369 just to add with me .when I got my inspection report in was in grid reference form. So I found a website called grid reference finder which helps plot all the potholes .so for me they never even checked my side of the road I was driving on. once I proved this the council passed my case to the contractor lol that took I while ,chasing them for a bit. then the council made me offer even tho a had the original invoice for my wheels the offer was low because they take wear and tear into consideration the cheek of it....I accepted as I had other things going on, but I think It should have been about 560
By chance, I had a second response from them an hour after publishing this video! Another rejected claim! They are adamant the road was inspected and there was no defected, despite the photo evidence (provided to them and included in this video) that the inspection report is not accurate! Honestly, that report couldn't be more flimsy if it was printed on wet tissue paper!
I’ve changed down to 18s for that reason but regardless of wheel size, the road clearly had defects which are not being managed or repaired properly. The same hole caused the same damage to a Focus on 16” wheels the day after
exactly why I love driving a truck with basic offroad tires, tires have a taller sidewall than basically any curb, too much tread to puncture easily, and potholes rarely ever matter. the only real limitation is "compact car" parking spots I just have to avoid in the city The wife's prius meanwhile, keeps getting punctures and flats in front, aside from always dragging the underside/exhaust over speed humps
Ridiculous that you need so much proof. The hole itself should be enough evidence of negligence. If the roads were being looked after correctly then the holes wouldn't be there. All the loopholes and regulations don't change this basic fact.
Doesn't excuse the roads, but the fashion for very low profile tyres doesn't help. A standard tyre would have driven over that road without damage. Like i say, not condoning the roads though.
I agree, the very low profile wheel and tyre setups are not well suited to our roads, however... The hole in question also damaged several other cars, most with higher profiles - so yes, some would make it over but others wouldn't, but all would suffer from increased wear and tear on the vehicle. Since filming this, I went back and measured several holes over a 500m distance on the road and found 19 met the criteria to require repair. A further subsequent visit increased the number to 25 however when I gained the inspection reports from the council, the number of defects recorded was zero. IMO, the system is designed more to protect the authorities than it is members of the public. I still fully believe if I'd been on two wheels, I might not be here to write this comment now.
I feel like someone who can afford so many motor vehicles can afford to absorb the cost of running said motor vehicles. Why would eveyone elses counsil tax go up because you cant drive carefully.
Hey Adam, I wanted to respond to this. I do have a few cars yes and work damn hard to afford them - full time and freelance. I am a very careful driver. 15 years of driving, I’ve never had a crash, points or convictions, nor have I ever had damage like this caused to any of my cars. In this case, I was driving under the speed limit and actively looking/avoiding holes. As stated in the video, there was no option but to hit this hole, it was too big. The same hole caused damage to other people’s cars who’ve since contacted me about it. Some are not as fortunate as me. But regardless of situation, the council should be maintaining the roads in the first place. As you can see in the video, that is one of many holes that are not being repaired. The council also has insurances in place for things like this - or should any other type of claim be made against them. Am I asking for everyone’s council tax to go up to pay for my cars? No, absolutely not. What I am asking for the council to take responsibility for their road network, maintain it and have process in place that protect the public from damage and danger like this, rather than themselves. Had I been on the bike behind me in shot, I honestly believe that hole would have thrown me off and the outcome could have been much much worse.
How is this kind of damage something you see as "running cost". The council is already taking money to repair the roads, and not doing the job we employ them to do.
where the fck does my council and road tax go if they can’t fix potholes??? wtf are you speaking adam??? looks like you probably an illiterate, junkie on council benefits leaving in a council estate…
I am going through this now hence how I have stumbled across this video. I hit two major pot holes like you in January 2023. Split my rear wheel and blew the tyre on the A217. I wrote to Surrey Council and coukd see the pot holes had already been reported on their website. They wrote back and said give them 3 months to investigate and they will come back to me. 3 Months later and nothing they have however since repaired every single pot hole. I have written to them again and its been almost a month and still no reply so I will write them a 3rd and final letter and then begin legal action. I have pictures of my damaged alloy and pictures with a tape measure of the road but it is a busy dual carriage way so I had to hurry in-between cars speeding past so some measurements may not be as clear. Very informative video thank you.
Absolutely spot on. Our roads are a prime example of how we are being gradually conned into accepting poorer and poorer services whilst all the time being charged more for their ‘upkeep’.
I had a similar wriggle from the council over a motorcycle spill I had in 2018, and did not have the emotional energy to pursue it. In spite of Google Street View images clearly showing the deterioration of this part of the road over a 2 year period, their flimsy inspection reports got them ‘off the hook’ in their opinion.
Don’t even get me started on this new phenomenon of ‘surface dressing’ and how lethal it is to motorcyclists, even before we consider the damage it does to vehicles and the surface water drains, all of which the hapless motorist has to pay for.
Thanks so much for this video Tim. Hit a pothole heading home from work on my honda vision yesterday. On google maps you can clearly see it visible in MARCH of this year. In early september someone also reported it - citing the particular danger to motorbikes because of its length and position! It was deemed NOT to be unsafe by the council. Had to go to hospital. About to start the claims process and get this bike repaired.
Oh my gosh. I am so sorry to hear of your news. That is truly awful. How are you getting on now? Are you OK? And how is the claim going?
Hey Tim, I had a very similar experience also in Jan this year with thousands of pounds worth of damage caused. They presented me with the 3 things that I needed to prove and I decided against wasting my time with pursuing it as I could see it being a foregone conclusion in their favour. Frustrating as anything - not to mention expensive!
And there lies the problem! It is impossible for them to monitor every inch of every road, every minute of everyday but as I've found, the 'monitoring' is pretty poor and geared more to covering their liabilities than the holes in the road.
I had exactly the same thing on the A20 near Newingreen. The hole was in a bad repair.
We are we putting up with this, it’s time to band together take this country back by force, refuse to pay road tax/ Council tax until you have redeemed the cost of repair to your car and let them take us all to court, enough is enough !
Good luck with that. Let us know how much the roads improve when your fines and court summons comes in.
@@noggintube or you could just give . . . .
Good advice in there. I see you have a suitable bike to deal with the shocking state of the roads. I've had a couple of GS's and currently a KTM1090. I actually don't use my car that much as the roads on my regular commute are terrible. On the KTM I can avoid the holes better and being off-road capable, it can handle them.
And if super heavy cars with wide low profile tires.
We wouldn’t have most of the potholes in the first place.
Great video, thanks. If we could only withhold road tax payments until they fix the roads we pay for!
I hit a hole yesterday that popped a tire and has messed my tracking. The road was covered by flooding and I couldn’t see the holes. What do you think my chances are of compensation?
Depends on the size of the hole and all of the factors discussed in this video. If you can prove negligence, you might - might - have a chance. But don’t hold your breath
@@OurTim thank you it’s worth a shot. Size of the hole filled with water you would’ve had to hold your breath, practically a swimming pool😂
@@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm3937 🤣
Hopefully this video helps - and please let me know how you get on!
Councils also have a duty of care under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974!
Interesting video. It highlights the process - I wish you all the luck. thanks for sharing.
Thanks. Next stage is court... stay tuned for that
Great report
Interesting, well reported Tim, That's terrible :( Your poor car and bank balance. I don't know why we pay road tax nowadays
Cars have to be fit for the roads... but are the roads fit for the cars?
@@OurTim Exactly. No one expects miracles but they need to be taking reasonable care and get their systems and processes right. Ant im dreading taking our classic Coopers out this summer, those little wheels :(
makes me wonder if the inspector is getting some 'benefits' from the council for marking the reported bad roads as 'just fine'
It is outsourced to another company - I suspect (but can’t prove) there is a minimum SLA and this basic type of report meets it… as I said in the video, anyone could have made that form/report using basic software. There are no hard evidence points in it and it would appear there is no requirement for either, given the council have said this is evidence enough to deny my claim.
"Once a hole is reported & the repair work is scheduled, you can't claim" - Challenge this as this would only work if council have then provided warning road sign of defective road ahead. You should then be driving to the road conditions, ie slower & with due diligence
Totally agree. 100%. But from what I understand, once reported, they have the benefit of time to respond. So if they had a report at 11am and you hit it at 11:30am, they couldn’t have done anything in that time but as it’s been reported, they are aware so you can’t claim.
From what I’ve seen, there is so much covering up going on that this really is the tip of the iceberg
iv just received my reply from the council which was rejected....iv now requested the high way inspection report ...nothing so far
How have you got on?
@@OurTim b I won my case 😁 a got £369 just to add with me .when I got my inspection report in was in grid reference form. So I found a website called grid reference finder which helps plot all the potholes .so for me they never even checked my side of the road I was driving on. once I proved this the council passed my case to the contractor lol
that took I while ,chasing them for a bit.
then the council made me offer even tho a had the original invoice for my wheels the offer was low
because they take wear and tear into consideration
the cheek of it....I accepted as I had other things going on, but I think It should have been about 560
@@wrighty6595 bloody excellent! Well done. I’ll share more on my situation over the coming weeks when I can speak more freely…
when they do the report, do a call for citizen dashcams footage out on the roads to show the fraud!
By chance, I had a second response from them an hour after publishing this video! Another rejected claim! They are adamant the road was inspected and there was no defected, despite the photo evidence (provided to them and included in this video) that the inspection report is not accurate! Honestly, that report couldn't be more flimsy if it was printed on wet tissue paper!
Welcome to broken Britain. Is anything actually working and functional? It seems to be a battle to get anything done these days
It does indeed. That said, I am still battling this one... stay tuned for an update soon...
Great Britain eh....Pay more, get less, no wonder everyones depressed.
dont get shitty tires with one inch of sidewall. Sidewalls are there for a reason
I’ve changed down to 18s for that reason but regardless of wheel size, the road clearly had defects which are not being managed or repaired properly. The same hole caused the same damage to a Focus on 16” wheels the day after
exactly why I love driving a truck with basic offroad tires, tires have a taller sidewall than basically any curb, too much tread to puncture easily, and potholes rarely ever matter. the only real limitation is "compact car" parking spots I just have to avoid in the city
The wife's prius meanwhile, keeps getting punctures and flats in front, aside from always dragging the underside/exhaust over speed humps
@@OurTim tire diameter has nothing at all to do if the tire Is low profile.
@@fastinradfordableno shit? Pretty obvious he went down in radius and up in sidewall thickness
Ridiculous that you need so much proof. The hole itself should be enough evidence of negligence. If the roads were being looked after correctly then the holes wouldn't be there. All the loopholes and regulations don't change this basic fact.
Doesn't excuse the roads, but the fashion for very low profile tyres doesn't help. A standard tyre would have driven over that road without damage. Like i say, not condoning the roads though.
I agree, the very low profile wheel and tyre setups are not well suited to our roads, however...
The hole in question also damaged several other cars, most with higher profiles - so yes, some would make it over but others wouldn't, but all would suffer from increased wear and tear on the vehicle.
Since filming this, I went back and measured several holes over a 500m distance on the road and found 19 met the criteria to require repair. A further subsequent visit increased the number to 25 however when I gained the inspection reports from the council, the number of defects recorded was zero.
IMO, the system is designed more to protect the authorities than it is members of the public. I still fully believe if I'd been on two wheels, I might not be here to write this comment now.
I feel like someone who can afford so many motor vehicles can afford to absorb the cost of running said motor vehicles. Why would eveyone elses counsil tax go up because you cant drive carefully.
Hey Adam, I wanted to respond to this.
I do have a few cars yes and work damn hard to afford them - full time and freelance.
I am a very careful driver. 15 years of driving, I’ve never had a crash, points or convictions, nor have I ever had damage like this caused to any of my cars.
In this case, I was driving under the speed limit and actively looking/avoiding holes. As stated in the video, there was no option but to hit this hole, it was too big. The same hole caused damage to other people’s cars who’ve since contacted me about it. Some are not as fortunate as me.
But regardless of situation, the council should be maintaining the roads in the first place. As you can see in the video, that is one of many holes that are not being repaired.
The council also has insurances in place for things like this - or should any other type of claim be made against them.
Am I asking for everyone’s council tax to go up to pay for my cars? No, absolutely not. What I am asking for the council to take responsibility for their road network, maintain it and have process in place that protect the public from damage and danger like this, rather than themselves.
Had I been on the bike behind me in shot, I honestly believe that hole would have thrown me off and the outcome could have been much much worse.
How is this kind of damage something you see as "running cost". The council is already taking money to repair the roads, and not doing the job we employ them to do.
where the fck does my council and road tax go if they can’t fix potholes??? wtf are you speaking adam??? looks like you probably an illiterate, junkie on council benefits leaving in a council estate…