The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s building control services. His main concern relates to the information provided about its costs and we cannot decide between the conflicting statements of his agent and the Council’s officers on this point. It was Mr X’s choice, or that of his agent, to instruct the Council’s service without first obtaining an estimate of its charges.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains about the service he received from the Council’s building control department. He says the Council failed to provide a quote prior to carrying out any work or any invoices during the work. As a result he did not know how much he would have to pay and could not budget for it.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council acknowledges delay in responding to Mr X’s correspondence and it has apologised, but it says it discussed the cost of its involvement with his agent and expected them to pass this on to Mr X. Mr X says his agent disputes this.
The Council was clearly instructed to act in this matter and it was the responsibility of the person instructing them to enquire about the amount of its charges for doing so. The Council publishes information about its building control fees on its website and neither Mr X nor his agent could expect the Council to carry out its work for free. If they were concerned about the possible cost and wished to have a written estimate for budgeting purposes it was for them to request it.
It is normal practice to discuss work and costs with an agent or project manager and to expect them to pass on any important information to their clients. In this case there is no evidence to confirm what was discussed between the officers and Mr X’s agent and we cannot decide between their conflicting statements on this point.
We could not therefore say, on balance, that the Council failed to provide any information about its fees or that it was entirely its responsibility to provide an estimate before it started in any event. And now that it has carried out its work we could not reasonably say it must waive some or part of its fees for doing so.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we could not decide between the conflicting statements of Mr X’s agent and the council’s officers. It was the responsibility of Mr X or his agent to enquire about the Council’s fees prior to instructing its building control services in any event.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman