CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help

How to report roadwork-induced damage to bike?

(20 posts)
  • Started 8 years ago by ivangrozni
  • Latest reply from ivangrozni
  • This topic is not resolved

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  1. ivangrozni
    Member

    Hi all,

    Hoping to tap some of the collective wisdom and experience of fellow CCEers. This evening's cycle down the Lanark Road into Edinburgh - I was travelling quite fast ~25mph and hit a rather large metal cover used to cover road-work-related holes in Juniper Green. The impact resulted in a generous amount of cursing, two punctured tubes, a ripped rear tyre, and both wheels badly dented such that the rims were flared outwards. Note the cover is not signposted and there are no warning signs about it!

    Luckily for me it happened directly outside Just Bike Repairs - so got pretty good help in a warm space! I didn't catch the guy's name that runs it but he was fantastic in helping me out. I was able to get home but I don't entirely trust the wheels anymore and for sure have to replace the tyre and tubes now. So an expensive exercise with potentially brand new wheels in the equation too.

    Now what I need advice with is how I can report it to the council and/or make a claim.

    Can anyone advise or help? Thanks in advance!

    Posted 8 years ago #

  2. Edinburgh Cycle Training
    Member

    I hit a big pothole last year. Tweeted the council. They tweeted back a link to report the incident on.

    Long story short, I claimed, I was reimbursed the cost of a new wheel, tyre and tube.

    Took about 3 months all in, maybe a wee bit less.

    I did try claiming for a pair of wheels, as I didn;t want odd wheels on my bike. The councils insurers wouldn't buy that. So don't be reasonable. If you have only damanged one wheel, claim for an expensive wheel, an expensive tyre and an expensive tube.

    Photos will help your claim.

    Oh, and they WILL try to reduce your claim for wear and tear, so I'm guessing your bike/wheels etc were fairly new.

    I never had to produce receipts btw.

    I did supply web links to the components I was buying - but the insurers said they were not allowed to click on links!

    Good luck

    Posted 8 years ago #

  3. ivangrozni
    Member

    Thanks bikeability - have tweeted. Let's see what comes of it!

    Posted 8 years ago #

  4. gembo
    Member

    @ivangrozni, that metal sheet is bad, they are digging up the roads in Juni green something awful at the moment. Hope you get a claim. Think it might be BT openreAch or sub contractor thereof rather than council but worth pursuing. Matt is open all hours at just bike repairs just now, but very cheerful with it.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  5. chdot
    Admin

    http://streetrepairs.co.uk/pothole-claim

    http://www.theaa.com/breakdown-cover/pothole-damage-how-to-claim.html

    Posted 8 years ago #

  6. ivangrozni
    Member

    Matt took a few photos for me this morning - pretty shocking! There is a gap between the two metal plates ~4 inches wide that leads directly into the hole they were digging. If I had been in primary position I would have my front wheel drop right into the hole! Square edge, no non-slip surface on the plate!

    Posted 8 years ago #

  7. Murun Buchstansangur
    Member

    I know it's against the council for unrepaired potholes, but is it against the council or the roadwork contractor that the claim needs to be against in this case though?

    Posted 8 years ago #

  8. ivangrozni
    Member

    I suspect the claim needs to be against the contractor. As it is a public road I'm routing through the council initially.

    Does anyone know who the contractor is - or how to find out?

    Posted 8 years ago #

  9. Edinburgh Cycle Training
    Member

    Its possibly an issue of several liabilities, if so try them all!

    If you buy a dodgy vacuum you can claim off the retailer, the manufacturer and your credit card company!

    Posted 8 years ago #

  10. paddyirish
    Member

    @ivangrozni

    IMO, as a council tax payer, your relationship is with the council and tehy have ultimate responsibility for the roads. If they subcontract out I think that it is up to them to settle with you and then seek redress from the subcontractor. You have no relationship with the subcontractor.

    Have you looked on Fill that hole, Clarence or similar to see if it has been reported? If so I like your chances. If not, suggest you do so immediately - corroberates your case, and obliges them to fix it.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  11. Murun Buchstansangur
    Member

    ivan

    gembo seemed to reckon above that it was BT Openreach who was responsible for the roadworks. Maybe worth contacting them and determining if they have workers or subbies working/having worked at the location?

    Posted 8 years ago #

  12. ivangrozni
    Member

    Thanks everybody for the responses- defo appreciated!

    Reported through Clarence first thing this morning. I also reported through the council "report" website last night so yes I reported through several media (facebook and twitter too). They have posted out the paper work required to make a claim - so will hopefully get that ball rolling soon.

    Cycled home that route today on the MTB - hole has already been filled! No sign of any metal sheets having ever been there!

    @paddyirish I tend to agree with you about routing through the council - but I would like to spread the risk bit and try the contractor route as Bikeability suggested too!

    @Murun - I'll drop BT Openreach a mail!

    Posted 8 years ago #

  13. chdot
    Admin

    "No sign of any metal sheets having ever been there!"

    As well as the damage claim I hope you'll keep pointing out the 'no warning', 'big gap' and 'no non-slip surface'

    This may have been an emergency repair, but...

    Posted 8 years ago #

  14. gembo
    Member

    @chdot, not sure any emergency? Ongoing broadband Upgrade?

    Posted 8 years ago #

  15. chdot
    Admin

    OK

    All the more reason to get 'something done'!

    Posted 8 years ago #

  16. slowcoach
    Member

    all roadworks should be listed on the Scottish Roadworks Register so you might be able to find which utility it was or if it was road services.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  17. gembo
    Member

    @slowcoach, that website reveals two road works at the same spot, actually happening at roughly the same time. The older one has the council as the contact, I think this was for broadband? The newer one has Scottish power.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  18. ivangrozni
    Member

    @slowcoach and @gembo - fantastic work- thanks! Need to start writing a carefully worded email to Scottish Power.

    In other news - the paperwork for making a claim arrived today from the council!

    Posted 8 years ago #

  19. ivangrozni
    Member

    An update:

    Got a call from the council's claims-handler today to state that a third party contractor was responsible for the work and that when any third party gets approval to perform road works they take on liability. Therefore my claim is not with the council but with the contractor.

    They asked me if I wanted to take the claim up independently or if I would sign a third party mandate for them to pass the claim on to the contractors (I went for the latter).

    Starting to delve even further into the unknown here for me! Any help, advice or pointers would be good!

    The metal sheet was deemed defective because it was not sufficiently pinned. 4cm square edge is legal however because it was not pinned it had lifted - hence I hit it with 4cm++!

    Also the contractors were none of the ones mentioned further up the thread - the roadworks were related to a drainage ditch being dug for a new development.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  20. ivangrozni
    Member

    The 4cm edge goes for potholes and other road defects too by the way!

    Posted 8 years ago #

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