A woman seeking compensation from her local council after her car was damaged by a pothole faced an unexpected hurdle—a ‘lie detector’ test.

Carolyn Hornblow, who filed a claim with Dumfries and Galloway Council, reported receiving an automated phone call that utilized voice-analyzing software to ask her a series of questions.

This technology, which incorporates artificial intelligence, is designed to detect fraudulent claims and is employed by the council’s insurers as part of their verification process.

The 73-year-old retired nurse expressed her surprise, saying she was not informed beforehand that the call would function as a lie detection measure, nor did she consent to participate in such a test.

In an interview with the Mail, Ms. Hornblow recounted the incident, explaining that she was driving her Toyota Corolla on a rural road near Dalbeattie on the night of December 11 when she hit a pothole.

Subsequently, her car displayed a warning light. When examined by a mechanic, it was discovered that a tyre was severely damaged, potentially due to the pothole, necessitating a replacement that cost her £87.

Ms Hornblow said: ‘I put in a claim to Dumfries and Galloway Council at the end of December and received a questionnaire from their insurer – they were looking for a range of documents including the MoT and insurance papers.

‘They also wanted dashcam footage which I didn’t have and a picture of the tyre – which by this stage was in the bin as it had been replaced.

Motorists claiming pothole damage face a lie detector test

Carolyn Hornblow, who was subjected to a test by AI technology after she put in a claim

‘I wrote to the council and said if they need this extra information – which I don’t believe they do – it should be more open about it earlier on in the process so people know what is needed.’

A second questionnaire was later issued and Ms Hornblow was told about the need for the automated call – which should happen in a quiet place and would take about five minutes.

Ms Hornblow, who lives near Dalbeattie, said: ‘The call was made using Clearspeed technology which I later learned supposedly has an accuracy rate of more than 90 per cent.

‘I was asked a number of questions – the first one was, “Is this 1995?” which seemed an odd question; I didn’t know why that was being asked.

‘It then asked if I had an email address, and it asked if I had claimed for something that did not occur, and there was another query to do with the claim.

‘After the call, I realised this had been a lie detector and I thought, “How dare you?” I was very cross as I hadn’t consented to this.’

A Facebook group for the area suggests pothole compensation claims can take up to nine months to resolve, and Ms Hornblow believes that when wear and tear are taken into account she may receive only around £40.

She said: ‘They are asking for a lot of information for the amount of money involved and subjecting people to lie detector tests – and it may be several months before the claim is completed.’

A Dumfries and Galloway Council finance officer looked into the case after Ms Hornblow’s local councillor contacted the local authority to raise her concern about the Clearspeed call.

The officer sent an email to the councillor on February 4 which said: ‘As for the worrying automated voice, this is a new tool that [insurer] Zurich are using which is aimed at rooting out fraudulent claims and is as Ms Hornblow suggests a sort of lie detector.

‘This is called Clearspeed. No one is suggesting Ms Hornblow’s claim is fraudulent and as long as any claim is an honest one the claimant has nothing to worry about.

‘We are told it is highly effective in rooting out fraudulent claims and is more than 90 per cent accurate just by asking a few simple questions.

‘Obviously, we are sorry for any distress this may have caused Ms Hornblow or any other genuine claimant.

‘Clearspeed is supposed to speed up the process of settling claims as well as reducing fraud.’

Dumfries and Galloway Council has the worst potholes situation in the whole of the UK, with a total of 16,819 waiting to be filled in November 2025.

The region is followed by Dundee, Stirling, East Renfrewshire and East Lothian.

Asked if other local authorities were using Clearspeed, a spokesman for council umbrella body Cosla said: ‘We don’t comment on what individual councils do or don’t do.’

A Dumfries and Galloway Council spokesman said: ‘Our understanding on the use of Clearspeed technology is that this system is used by our insurers, Zurich, primarily to support the processing of small claims.’

A spokesman for Zurich said: ‘Clearspeed is one of several validation tools we use. It works alongside other systems and means genuine claimants benefit from quicker settlements. Final decisions are always made by a claims expert.’