Fife Council has been asked to review its claims procedure following a complaint about pothole damage.
A driver complained to the Scottish ombudsman that the local authority had not dealt properly with a claim for damage to her car which she believed was due to a pothole.
The woman, Ms C, also complained the council failed to deal with her subsequent complaint in line with its process.
The ombudsman found the council had followed its claims process properly, apart from a failure to provide one piece of photographic evidence submitted with the claim to its claim handlers.
This was later provided and the claim handlers were asked by the council to reassess the case.
“Having done so, they did not admit liability because the council had met their responsibilities in terms of road inspections,” the report found.
But as the council had failed to pass on the photo, and this resulted in an increase in the time taken to fully assess the claim, the ombudsman upheld this part of the complaint.
The ombudsman recommended the council review its procedure to ensure all evidence is provided to claim handlers and when photos cannot be accessed it asks the claimant to provide copies in another format.
“We found that, with the exception of a delay in acknowledging the complaint, the council dealt with the complaint in line with their complaints procedure.”
The council solicitor Susan MacKessack said: “We welcome the overall findings from the ombudsman and the conclusion that the council dealt with the claim properly.”