My car hit a pothole, which shredded two tyres. I paid £197 for replacements and sent the receipt to Reading borough council. It admitted breach of duty but has deducted 30% from my claim to reflect wear and tear. The affected tyres were relatively new and in good condition, but, since I don’t have receipts from when I bought them, the council refuses to refund the full cost. I’ve argued in vain that I should not be left out of pocket by its negligence.
PJ, Reading
Drivers up and down the potholed country will be making the same unhappy discovery. Council insurance does not include “betterment”. That is to say, it doesn’t cover replacing old items with new. So unless you can produce receipts showing that the damaged tyres had been bought very recently, the council will deduct a sum from a claim. A 30% deduction strikes me as arbitrary and unreasonable. Mileage and driving conditions, more than age, determine condition.
According to consumer lawyer Gary Rycroft of Joseph A Jones solicitors, a victim of council negligence should be put back in the position they were in before the incident. “The inability to produce a receipt is a red herring if the damaged tyres can have the tread examined for wear and tear,” he explains. “It is correct to apply the concept of betterment, but not fair to apply it in an arbitrary manner.”
Reading council says it could not comment on individual cases but claimed its approach was in line with most public authorities. It may be too late to photograph the tread on the bust tyres, but other drivers take note – keep receipts for repairs and replacements.
And when kindness is on a driver’s delivery list
My Waitrose order arrived late. The delivery driver explained that he had seen an injured dog beside the road and had stopped to catch it. He took it to a nearby house, whose owner promised to get it to a vet. As he described the dog, I realised it belonged to a friend. I texted her and, through the driver, was able to reunite her and her whippet. This young man went out of his way to do the right thing. If Waitrose operated the punitive measures of other delivery firms, would he have made the same choice?
FS, Exeter
You wrote in response to a story last month about a Waitrose employee who gave complimentary flowers to an elderly customer who had had a fall. The two stories show what a vital role delivery drivers, like postal workers, have to play in maintaining the wellbeing of communities. Some cheap courier services pile so much pressure on their drivers they have no time for loo breaks, let alone animal welfare.
Waitrose is trying to identify your driver so your praise can be relayed. “We know our drivers are always looking for ways to make customers feel appreciated, and we therefore factor in a little extra time for each delivery,” it says.
Email your.problems@observer.co.uk. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions
