The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s requirement that the complainant pays a bill for work which was carried out when their property was owned by someone else. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The complaint is late, and we have seen no reason to exercise discretion on this point.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council forgot to list a set of major works in its completed pack of documents. Therefore, neither his solicitors or the vendors solicitors could identify the upcoming payment. Mr X bought his flat in 2018, which was more than two years after the major work was done. He says if he knew there was an upcoming payment he would have paid less for his property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman