The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway maintenance. This is because the courts and insurers involved are better placed to consider this complaint.
The complaint
Mr Y complained the Council has failed to reimburse him for the full cost of repairs to his car after he drove into a pothole and failed to respond to his correspondence about the claim promptly.
Mr Y feels frustrated at the time and effort he has had to make for the claim and feels as a rate payer the Council is not acting to serve him as he says it should.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr Y drove into a pothole in the Council’s area in March 2022. Mr Y says this caused damage to one of his tyres, which then needed to be replaced the same day. Mr Y reported the pothole to the Council, who repaired it the same day.
Mr Y then submitted a claim of £135.36 to the Council for the cost of the replacement tyre, including the cost of disposing of the damaged tyre. The Council considered the claim and offered to pay £72. Mr Y does not consider this a suitable offer to settle his claim. He then approached us in July 2022.
Analysis The legislation from which the Ombudsman takes their power also places some restrictions on what we may investigate. One of these concerns negligence claims about damage to property or personal injury. We cannot determine liability claims for negligence. These are legal claims which may only be determined by insurers or the courts.
We are not able to decide liability or award damages. Consequently, any claim for damages, such as costs for repairs, which Mr Y considers the Council to be responsible for, are matters more appropriately dealt with by the insurers involved or if necessary, the courts. We will not investigate this complaint.
Mr Y has also complained about how the Council has dealt with his complaint about the damage to his vehicle. As we are not investigating the substantive issue, it is not a good use of public resources to consider the Council’s response to the complaint. We will therefore not investigate this.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because the courts and insurers involved are better placed to consider this complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman