The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s response to her reports of nuisance caused by vibrations coming from a neighbour’s home. We will not investigate the complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, complains about the Council’s failure to take enforcement action against a nuisance caused by vibrations coming from a neighbour’s home which badly affect her health and well-being. She says it should use specialist equipment to gather evidence.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’ which we call ‘fault’. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X, including the Council’s response to her complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
I gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.
My assessment
Ms X complained to the Council about vibrations coming from her neighbour’s home which were affecting her health.
The Council listened to numerous recordings Ms X made and its officers visited Ms X’s home on a number of occasions. Despite Ms X saying at the time officers were in her home that she could feel the vibrations and hear humming, none of the officers present were able to do so. The Council has told Ms X is has no evidence on which to base any further action and it has advised her of her right to take her case against the neighbour to the Magistrates Court under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act.
Ms X says the Council should employ specialist services to gather evidence and support her reports of vibrations. However, it has investigated her concerns and made its decision. While Ms X may not agree with it, it is not our role to act as a point of appeal. We cannot question a decision a council makes if it has followed the right steps and considered the relevant evidence and information.
Ms X says the recording app for mobile phones is insufficient to pick up the noise/vibrations she can hear and feel. However, officers have actually been in Ms X’s home when she reported hearing and feeling the noise and vibrations but none of the officers could. This is disappointing for Ms X, but I have seen no evidence to suggest fault affected the Council’s decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman