Alvaston driver 'frustrated' by delays in compensating for holes in the road surface

The pothole in Littlewell Lane, Stanton, which damaged John Tagg’s Mercedes in March

John Tagg A person wearing wellies stands in a hole at the side of a road in Derbyshire in March. The water is gray and the surrounding road is black and the water level covers the top of the foot part of the boots. — The pothole in Littlewell Lane, Stanton, which damaged John Tagg’s Mercedes in March

A man who damaged his car by driving into a pothole says he is still waiting for compensation from the council six months later.

John Tagg, 54, from Alvaston in Derby, hit a pothole filled with water in Littlewell Lane, Stanton by Dale, Derbyshire, on March 28.

Almost £600 worth of damage was caused to his Mercedes C220 AMG Sport Plus, requiring both the front tires and most of the exhaust to be replaced, he said.

Derbyshire County Council apologized for not acting on Mr Tagg’s claim earlier and a spokesperson said they were facing a backlog of compensation claims due to a “particularly wet winter and spring”.

The damage to the Mercedes’ exhaust caused by the pothole, Mr Tagg said

John Tagg The exhaust pipe of a car with part of it detached and showing a gap between the parts underneath the car. — The damage to the Mercedes’ exhaust caused by the pothole, Mr Tagg said

The meter wide and 20cm deep hole was repaired in May, but Mr Tagg said he had still not received a response to his claim by April.

More than six months since the claim, Mr Tagg told the Local Democracy Reporting Service of his “frustration and annoyance”.

“I feel like the city is just taking away their freedom in terms of the payout,” he said.

“If they had done their job and maintained the public highway, I wouldn’t still be waiting for reimbursement for my repairs.

“Now I can’t even contact them (the council) directly because they seem to have put the highway claims department in a protective bubble. It’s a farce.”

As council staff tried to clear the backlog of claims, they were not returning calls seeking updates because it could delay their work, a county council spokesperson said.

“We realize this is frustrating, but stopping taking calls means we can ultimately access all applications more quickly,” she added.

“The application submission process is online, so once someone submits an application, they can rest assured that we have it and will process it in a timely manner.”