If you’ve had your car damaged by a pothole in Fife, you might want to look away now.
Because fighting for pothole justice was just too much for even tireless consumer champion Scott Dixon.
Scott, 52, has won claims amounting to thousands for disgruntled consumers.
But a prolonged court wrangle with Fife Council over an £890 pothole claim finally left him scunnered.
We chatted to Scott about what made him take up the fight for consumer rights and why potholes finally did him in.
Catalyst was ‘filthy dispute’
Having worked on the Isle of Man in financial services, Scott has now lived in Scotland for eight years.
His campaign for consumer rights was sparked when he bought a dodgy second hand car for £2,000.
“It lasted 11 weeks,” he says.
“It was given a clean MOT. Everything on the face of it appeared to be fine.
“But it clearly wasn’t.”
What followed was “a filthy dispute, and a protracted one at that” with a major used car dealership.
“I won it.
“And it gave me the inspiration to write a book and a blog, and get involved in consumer rights to help others seek redress.”
He then set up a Facebook group for wronged motorists.
“It just took off from there.”
The pothole of doom
In 2020 the case of Fife mum Laura Niven caught his eye.
Laura hit a pothole in Dunfermline’s Pittencrieff Street in February of that year, causing about £1,000 of damage to her car.
“It just grabbed my attention,” says Scott.
“I saw it as an injustice.”
Scott helped Laura take Fife Council to court over her £890 compensation claim.
But after two years and “hundreds of hours” of his time spent on the case, the claim was rejected.
It has put him off pothole claims for life.
“Laura’s case swallowed up hundreds of hours of my time.
“I just fell into a rabbit hole fighting what was, in hindsight, a lost cause.
“It was so time consuming, I just don’t get involved with it any more.
“In reality, between the local authorities, the claims handlers and the solicitors, they’ve got it all sewn up.”
Pothole claim process a ‘scandal’
Following the case, Scott has spoken out about the amount of taxpayers’ money the council spent defending the case.
“If anybody wants to take it further there’s a bottomless pit of money to fight any claims, regardless of whether they are legitimate or not.
“It was an £890 claim. They engaged a solicitor who has an hourly rate of £300, including VAT, to deal with it.”
He believes the council’s bill for legal fees ran into “five figures”.
However, Fife Council say they cannot reveal how much was spent at this stage.
“It must have cost a five-figure sum.
“The only winner is the law firm. The only losers are the taxpayers.”
“That’s the real scandal.
“There’s never enough money to do the repairs properly, but if anybody wants to pursue a claim there’s a bottomless pit of money to fight all claims to the bitter end.”
Figures obtained through freedom of information appear to back up what Scott has to say.
Between 2018 and 2020 Fife Council pay outs for pothole claims fell from £29,000 to less than £3,000.
Clare Whyte, Fife Council’s risk management team leader, explains that claims are turned down where it cannot be shown that the council has been negligent.
She maintains the authority “always tries to reach agreement with claimants”.
“This isn’t always possible, and some will choose to ask the court to decide.
“Where this happens, we’ll always follow legal advice and defend the case if there’s no evidence that we’re legally liable to pay compensation.”
Is there hope for motorists pursuing a pothole claim?
Sadly, Scott doesn’t think so.
“I don’t know what the answer is,” he says.
“They obviously want you to claim on your insurance, but why should you?
“It is completely unfair and unjust, but that is the situation that motorists are faced with in Scotland.”
Meanwhile, Scott has no regrets about investing so much time in Laura’s case.
“I’ve learned a lot from it.
“What I’ve found has been astonishing.”
Parking tickets and apps are the big ones at the moment.”
And he plans to keep fighting for consumer rights.
His website offers advice about everything from Facebook fraud to issues with parking apps.
“I’ve branched out into different directions. Parking tickets and apps are the big ones at the moment.”
He adds: “Laura’s case just consumed my life completely and I’d never do it again because there is no point.
“What I’ve learned is, with the best will in the world, you can’t win a pothole claim in Scotland.
“I just focus my time and attention on things that I know I can make a difference on.”
Conversation