insurance company mumbo jumbo!!! what can I do??

18th August 2011

My mum hit a pothole on the 8th April 2010 and after looking onto this site I went back to take pictures of the pothole(measuring it)and then sent the relevant questions to the freedom of information service. I received answers back and thought it would be quite straightforward - how wrong I was! The car was taken to a garage which changed the damaged tyre.
Firstly apologies for the lengthy post!.
I found out that a member of the public reported a pothole at that section of the road on the 2nd March 2010 and stated that it could cause damage to a pedestrian or vehicle with the hole and the loose stones cast over the road. The council visited the site on the 4th April and gave that pothole a 14 day repair line. The other pothole that my mum hit was bigger in size and given a 7 day repair.
Neither pothole was rectified until the 22nd April 2010.
Zurich insurance sent a letter to say that I had to prove negligence on the part of their customer.
My action has been to point out that it was negligent not to visit a site until 4 weeks after it has been reported and that the council did not adhere to their own repair deadlines.
The insurance company keep stating the same line 'having considered all the evidence before us, we find it difficult to envisage a situation whereby liability could be attached to our client'. They do not address the points that I am putting forward.
In one letter they stated that their client had visited the site after the enquiry from the member of the public and found no actionable defect. They then visited again on the 31 March and once again on the 4th April where an actionable hazard was present and a repair order submitted.
I have questioned this as in the councils own site history reports there is no record of any visit to that site between their routine inspection on the 2nd February and the ad hoc inspection on the 4th April. This has been ignored and the same line as I previously quoted has come again in a standard letter. Every time it also states I am entitled to seek legal advice in this matter should I wish to do so.
Can I do anything else or will I be permanently be hitting my head against a brick wall. The tyre only cost app £70 but I feel out of principle I should not drop it.
Any advice would be much appreciated

Replies (2)

shaz4473     posted : 17/09/11 at 12:02 pm

I appreciate your reply and will be doing as you suggest

Potholes.co.uk Expert     posted : 31/08/11 at 4:12 pm

I would be writing one last letter to them, detailing with reference numbers each of the issues that I had raised previously. I would highlight instances where their own policy has not been adhered to or where the National code of practice has not been followed.

I would ask them to respond in turn to each issue and I would advise them that I required these response to enable me to consider my position. I would also be advising them that if they fail again to respond to the issues I have raised, the Court will be advised that I had afforded them several opportunities to respond to my questions.

Good luck.