Motorist David Hallas reported the five-inch deep pothole that damaged his new car to Kirklees Council.
But workmen who attended at the junction of Wellington Street and Acre Street in Oakes, Huddersfield, ignored it and instead filled in two others.
The 53-year-old salesman is now pursuing a compensation claim but says he is exasperated at what he describes as an evasive and long-winded process that has taken him “from pillar to post”.
Mr Hallas was driving his new Ford Focus when he hit the pothole, which he says was impossible to avoid.
“There was a big, mechanically-sounding bang that rattled the suspension. I really felt it.
“At first I didn’t think there had been any major damage but five minutes later my tyre was flat. The pothole was narrow but deep, maybe five inches.”
After reporting the incident to Kirklees Council he was given a claim number.
But on delivering images to the Flint Street depot in Fartown and expecting to be dealt with he was told to go to Honley to fill out a compensation form for the £140.12 bill he received from his garage to replace his blown tyre.
“They gave me the runaround a bit. They were more interested in me reporting the pothole than sorting out my claim. They asked for pictures, which I provided, and said they would fill in the hole.
“What makes me laugh is the council came out [the following day] and fixed a couple of holes higher up and drove straight past the hole that damaged my car to reach them.
“That is just beyond belief. They should at least make it safe.”
He added: “They have been very evasive. I had to ask them for a claim form. If there is information out there then people should be made aware of it.”
A spokesman for Kirklees Council said: “Once somebody contacts us (usually through customer services) we send them a claim form which they then submit once completed.”
Kirklees Council is not duty bound to pay out if you damage a wheel. People who damage their vehicles on the public highway must have a watertight case that the fault for the incident lies with town hall officials.
Kirklees is one of the toughest councils to get compensation cash out of.
Just £10,487 was paid out in 2015/16 to 16 claimants.
Kirklees pay-out levels are below the national average of 1 in 4 cases with only 11% of claims being successful last year.
