Am i wasting my time claiming for damage

by soozypoo

26 Aug 2010

I was driving my car during a rainy evening 26th March around 8.30pm,as i rounded a slight bend in the road i felt my wheel smack down hard upon something,which i hadnt seen.
My steering started to feel strange and by the time i had reached home which was only 2mins up the road my tyre was flat.
Next morning i checked and there was a split in the side wall of the tyre which i had only replaced at a cost of £100 approx 7weeks beforehand.Needless to say i was not happy.

I went back to the section of road and seen that the inspection cover was sunken quite below the surface of the road a good 2-3 cms.
I reported this immediately to the council who sent out a claim form.
After waiting with my car off road for 3months i got a reply saying they were not liable and that the cover is property of the water company.
And that other motorists had also put in complaints.But on the last inspection 8th March 2010 there was no defect present.
I tried claiming from Severn Trent who advised me they were not liable and they informed Leicester City Council of their obligation to reset the road surface and they hadnt done so.

I went back to the council who have replied today saying they still are not liable i feel so angry,its as though they think we get out and literally dig the holes ourselves to make a damages claim!

I have sent off for FOI for that area of road as stated in your info so will see if they send me that.

What I dont understand is that matter of months prior the council altered the layout of the section of road and made the central reservation bigger,which meant they also resurfaced the road at that time(late 2009) yet they then resurfaced the same section 2 days after my incident.(when the inspection cover was also raised and repaired)

Surely if it was done properly the 1st time why would they have needed to resurface it again so soon after.I pose this question.Makes me believe there was a defect present but that they refuse to admit,also after taking my vehicle for mot yesterday there are lots of faults regarding the suspension and tracking on the side that hit the sunken cover,so im assuming it was not just my tyre that got damaged.
Im so annoyed with my local council
people tell me it not worth the hassle for just £100 and just wanted others opinions,would you continue to persue or think im wasting my time and energy.