Make a claim for damage or loss

We are sorry to hear of the damage or loss you have sustained. The council adheres to strict protocol procedures when dealing with compensation claims and before any investigation commences and a decision on liability is made, we will require a claim form be completed.

Claims are processed in order of date submitted with full information. 

What type of claim do you need to make?

Damage or loss (not related to highways)  

Investigation into your claim

The completion of a claim form is the initial step in the liability and investigation process and does not indicate acceptance of liability; or that an offer of compensation will be made by Salford City Council.

On receipt of your completed claim, it will be allocated to a claims handler who will correspond with you in due course. In the event of a denial of liability, all relevant documentation will be forwarded to you. Please be aware that deciding on the outcome of your claim may take up to three months as the information needed will have to be requested from several service teams.

Your insurance

You are duty-bound to contact your insurer regarding any insurable incidents, and it is recommended that you claim your own policy first. If your insurers are acting on your behalf and seeking to recover losses from the council, we will be happy to deal with them directly.

Alternatively if you wish to deal with this matter independently we will require a letter from your insurers confirming that they are not dealing with your claim. A letter from your insurers is a mandatory requirement set by the council to detect and prevent fraud. Please note the council and your insurer will also require that you have taken the appropriate steps to mitigate your loss. In this respect, the authority can only offer compensation on an indemnity basis that brings you back to the position you were in prior to your loss.

Contractor works (including the supply of water, gas, electricity and broadband etc)

The authority cannot be held liable for the independent action of others. When a contractor or any third party construction work is involved, they are required to have public liability cover and are solely responsible for any works that take place. If after an investigation into a claim a third party company is found to be responsible, you will be supplied with a denial letter from the authority and the name and address of the company of which to redirect your claim.

The authority will not pay any form of compensation automatically to you and then recover the costs from the contractor or the third party construction company. The onus will be on you to submit a new claim to the third party company.

Spillage/debris on the road

The council cannot be held liable for the actions of others if spillages or debris is left on the road. The authority has a road cleaning service, which can be contacted via the customer contact centre.

Criminal acts of a third party

The council cannot be held liable for the criminal actions of others if damage is caused to your property. It is advised that you contact your insurer in this matter.

Photographs are required for damage claims

Photographic evidence of the damage is required to validate your claim. If photographs are not supplied, then your claim will be automatically rejected and returned to you, informing that your claim will not be investigated, as it has no merit (no proof of damage).

A repair purchase receipt or garage bill on its own does not validate your claim, as this can be classed as general maintenance. Wear and tear damage will also be taken into account, and these factors may reduce any offer of compensation. To protect public funds, all claims are routinely investigated for fraudulent activity.

Salford City Council can only offer you a settlement on an indemnity basis if found at fault.

Please note in cases that the authority is found liable and you have however failed to produce evidence of your last receipt of purchase (must be purchased within a reasonable time period up until your incident date) or proof of maintenance for the damaged property prior to your replacement part, then the authority will consider that wear and tear is a contributory factor to your claim, and the offer of reimbursement will be reduced by 50%.

It is also the authorities strict protocol that when damage or loss claims are paid out, that payment is only made for the repair of the damaged/replacement item on a like for like basis. The authority cannot pay out for additional costs, longstanding needed maintenance, outstanding documentation copies, loss of time, photograph fees, or any other out of pocket expenses.

The authority will be unable to process your claim until such time we have received all the requested documents and confirmation from your home or motor insurers confirming your policy/claim number and their interest in your claim.

If you decide that you wish to go through your car insurer or legal representative, we will still require this form to be completed and all requested documentation provided, to ensure that your claim has merit and that no fraudulent activity is involved.

Your supplied documents

Please note that all documentation we receive is scanned for our records and unless specifically requested at the time of the submission for said documents to be returned to you, the documents will be securely destroyed.

What happens next?

On receipt of your information, we will undertake a preliminary investigation and endeavour to write to you to:

  • Advise you that your claim should be directed elsewhere.
  • Request additional information. It is important you provide the information quickly and completely, as the investigation into your claim is put on hold until we have the full details.
  • Inform you that we are preparing a full report for a decision on liability to be made.
  • Deny your claim, if possible fraudulent activity is involved.

Complete the damage or loss claim form

Personal injury claim

Please note the city council's liability insurers are QBE, however as the city council carries a substantial deductible, it is unlikely that the insurers themselves will be involved in this matter.

Before you start

If the claim is as a result of, for example a defect on the public highway, the completed claim form must include photographs of the defect in situ; otherwise, the form will be rejected, and this will delay the processing of your claim.

Investigation into your claim

Your claim will be allocated to senior claims handler who will be handling your claim and will correspond with you in due course. In the event of a denial of liability, all relevant documentation will be forwarded to you.

As part of our claims process, our claims investigator may request to take a statement from you and any witnesses and will arrange a visitation in due course.

For third party solicitors

Please note to protect public funds, the information you provide in respect of your client may be used to prevent and detect fraud. This information may also be shared, for the same purpose, with other organisations that handle public funds.

Complete the personal injury claim form

Damage due to a road defect, pothole, grid or road furniture

Before you start your claim, please ensure that you attach the following mandatory criteria to your claim. Your claim cannot be processed, until all the criteria has been met.

  • You must upload photographic evidence of the damage (no photos and the claim will be rejected; your claim must have merit). Please supply photographs of the defect in situ (close ups not accepted), that has caused the damage.
  • You must attach/upload the V5 document at the end of this form, if this is not available you will not be able to make a claim.
  • You must upload your insurance certificate
  • You must upload you letter of interest from your insurer.
  • You must upload two quotations or one invoice and one quotation (proof of mitigation of loss)
  • You must upload your MOT certificate (if your vehicle is three years or over)

The total size of all files must be less than 20mb.

Investigation into your claim

The completion of a claim form is the initial step in the liability and investigation process and does not indicate acceptance of liability; or that an offer of compensation will be made by Salford City Council.

On receipt of your completed claim, it will be allocated to a claims handler who will correspond with you in due course. In the event of a denial of liability, all relevant documentation will be forwarded to you. Please be aware that reaching a decision on the outcome of your claim may take up to three months as the information needed will have to be requested from several service teams.

Your insurance

You are duty-bound to contact your insurer regarding any insurable incidents, and it is recommended that you claim on this policy first. If your insurers are acting on your behalf and seeking to recover losses from the council, we will be happy to deal with them directly.

Alternatively, if you wish to deal with this matter independently, we will require a letter from your insurers confirming that they are not dealing with your claim. A letter from your insurers is a mandatory requirement set by the council to detect and prevent fraud.

Please note the council and your insurer will also require that you have taken the appropriate steps to mitigate your loss. In this respect, the authority can only offer compensation on an indemnity basis that brings you back to the position you were in prior to your loss.

Section 58 Highways Act – Defence against claims

The councils have a regular inspection regime for all adopted roads, (unadopted roads or land not owned by either council is not inspected by the local authority) with intervals between inspections determined by the volume of traffic on the specific stretch of highway and type of road.

Section 58 of the Highways Act provides Salford City Council with a defence against claims made against the authority. It allows for the period between inspections to be reasonable and for repairs to be undertaken once defects have been found.

Salford City Council may be able to rely upon the Section 58 defence to defend a claim by a person who has damaged any vehicle/ property even if at the time the defect was dangerous. If the authority can show from its documented records that at the time of its last inspection, i.e. before the incident- that the trip was not present or not considered to be dangerous the Section 58 defence is likely to succeed.

If the authority has a defence, records of the inspection regime and Street History Report recording complaints (personal information redacted) will be submitted to you with a denial letter.

Contractor works (including water, gas, electricity and broadband suppliers etc)

The authorities cannot be held liable for the independent actions of others. When the council employs a contractor, they are required to have public liability cover. If after an investigation into a claim a contractor is found to be responsible, then you will be supplied with a denial letter from the authority and the name and address of the contractor, you will be asked to submit your claim to them, and the file will be closed by Salford City Council.

Spillage\debris on road

The council cannot be held liable for the actions of others if spillages or debris is left on the road. The authority has a road clean up service, which can be contacted via the customer contact centre.

Criminal acts of a third party

The council cannot be held liable for the criminal actions of others if the damage is caused to your property. It is advised that you contact your car insurer.

Hitting an unlit island or chicane

The council cannot be held liable if drivers hit, e.g. unlit traffic islands and street furniture. Street furniture is laid out in a specific place for a variety of reasons and would have sufficient road marking and reflective marking around it to indicate its presence.

It would be visible in daylight and evident to oncoming traffic that they must drive as the road allows. Street lighting would show its presence at night, and of course, road users (while driving at the correct speed) headlights would provide adequate illumination to indicate street furniture position in relation to the occupied vehicle and the island's perimeter.

Photographs are required of a defect in situ

A photograph of a pothole in the road does not indicate any form of neglect by the Highways department; instead, it merely illustrates that a pothole has appeared in that location.

Photographs are required to identify the location of the defect and produce the correct highways report in relation to your claim, even if the defect has been repaired, a photograph must be supplied; this will enable the correct report to be produced with regard to your claim.

Photographs are required of the damaged part(s)

This is to prove your claim has merit. If no photographs are supplied, then your claim will be automatically rejected, informing you that your claim will not be investigated, as it has no merit (no proof of damage). A purchase receipt or garage bill on its own does not validate your claim, as this can be classed as general maintenance. Wear and tear damage will also be considered as part of your claim. Your claim will also be investigated for fraudulent activity.

Salford City Council can only offer you an indemnity settlement if found at fault.

The authority will not pay ‘new’ for ‘old’ parts, as the authority if found liable can only offer compensation on an indemnity basis, i.e. by bringing the claimant or other entity back to the same financial condition they were in prior to a loss.

Please note in cases where the authority are found liable, and you have failed to produce evidence of your last receipt of purchase (must be purchased within a reasonable time period up until the incident date) for the damaged part prior to its replacement. Then the authority will consider that wear and tear is a contributory factor to your claim, and the offer of reimbursement will be reduced by 50%.

It is also the authorities’ strict protocol that when damaged vehicle claims are paid out, that payment is only made for the repair of the damaged/replacement part of the vehicle on a like for like basis. The authority will not pay out for additional costs, documentation copies, loss of time, photograph fees, or any other out of pocket expenses and it will not consider compensation for cosmetic reasons, i.e. a full set of alloys (where only one is damaged); as this is betterment of the pre-incident condition of the vehicle.

Under the terms of a motor insurance policy, the owner is duty-bound to inform insurers of any incidents you have been involved in. We will assume you have notified your insurers and request you pass a copy of our correspondence onto them for their records. We will also require a letter of interest from your insurers to confirm that no claim or settlement has been made by them. The onus is on you to obtain this letter, not the authority.

The authority is unable to process your claim until we have received all the requested documents and confirmation from your motor insurers confirming your policy/claim number and their interest in your claim.

If you decide that you wish to go through your car insurer or legal representative, we will still require this road incident report form to be completed and all requested documentation to be supplied.

MOT failure parts

If the damaged part claimed is an MOT failure and recommended repair, then the authority will see this as attempted fraud and may take legal action against you.

Complete the road defects claim form

Tree root damage

Investigation into your claim

The completion of a claim form is the initial step in the investigation process and does not indicate acceptance of liability; or that an offer of compensation will be made by Salford City Council.

On receipt of your completed claim, it will be allocated to a claims handler who will correspond with you. In the event of a denial of liability, all relevant documentation will be forwarded to you. Please be aware that deciding on the outcome of your claim may take up to three months as the information needed will have to be requested from several service teams.

Your insurance

You are duty-bound to contact your insurer regarding any insurable incidents, and it is recommended that you claim your own policy first. If your insurers are acting on your behalf and seeking to recover losses from the council, we will be happy to deal with them directly.

Alternatively if you wish to deal with this matter independently we will require a letter from your insurers confirming that they are not dealing with your claim. A letter from your insurers is a mandatory requirement set by the council to detect and prevent fraud.

Please note the council and your insurer will also require that you take the appropriate steps to mitigate your loss. In this respect, the authority can only offer compensation on an indemnity basis that brings you back to the position you were in before your loss.

Salford City Council can only offer settlement on an indemnity if found to be at fault.

Please note in cases that either authority is found liable, they will consider that wear and tear is a contributory factor and the offer of reimbursement will be reduced up to 50% unless you can prove, e.g. your wall or other property is new.

The authority will not pay out for additional costs, documentation copies, loss of time, photograph fees, or any other out of pocket expenses.

The authority will be unable to process your claim until such time we have received all the requested documents from yourself and confirmation from your home insurer confirming your policy/ claim number and their interest in your claim.

Please note to protect the public funds the information provided in respect of your claim may be used to prevent and detect fraud. This information may also be shared, for the same purpose, with other organisations that handle public funds.

Establishing negligence

The council will not always be liable even where damage or injury has occurred. The key issue is whether the council has been negligent, i.e. if the damage was unforeseen. If for example, there is storm damage caused by falling branches from healthy trees, then this is not something that could have been predicted or prevented from happening.

Offending root exposure

In respect of tree root damage, the onus is on the claimant to provide evidence. This will involve digging a trial pit at your own expense and sending in pictures of the exposed roots.

The next step will be to complete the details on the claim form, indicating that you have exposed the tree roots and then an arboricultural officer will arrange a site meeting with you to investigate your claim.

If the authority is found liable any out of pocket expenses for root exposure costs will be settled. Unfortunately, any claims forms without any proof of exposure of the roots will be automatically rejected.

Age and maintenance of the property

The age of the property will be taken into consideration and whether you have provided any history of any maintenance on the property. Cement and bricks do deteriorate over time.

Claim payment to claimants

If the authority is found liable after the claim investigation has been completed, the supplied claim estimates will then reviewed, and an offer letter will be posted to you. This may not be the same value as, e.g. your submitted quotations due to the calculation of wear and tear (if appropriate) of the damaged item or property.

Payment will only be sent upon proof that the defect has been repaired and paid for by the third party; this is to prevent further property damage and, e.g. to stop third parties claiming for repairs that have not been carried out and to stop any future fraudulent activity of claiming further damage.

Data Protection Act

Please note under the Data Protection Act; the authority can only deal directly with the claimant unless the claimant has given written permission for another person or legal representatives to act on their behalf.

What happens next?

On receipt of your information, we will undertake a preliminary investigation and then write to you to:

  • Advise you that your claim should be directed elsewhere
  • Request additional information. It is essential you provide the information quickly and thoroughly, as the investigation into your claim will be on hold until we have the full details.
  • Inform you that we are preparing a full report for a decision on liability to be made
  • Deny your claim, if possible fraudulent activity is involved.

If you do not complete the form in full and we subsequently contact you, your claim will re-join the queue based on the date you provided all the required information. To avoid a further delay, please take extra care to ensure you have completed the form in full and supplied all relevant supporting documentation.

Complete the tree root damage claim form

What happens if there is a debt owed to the authority

Any successful claim settlement may be offset against any debt owed to Salford City Council in whatsoever capacity, including, but not restricted to council tax and rent arrears.

This page was last updated on 10 January 2023

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