The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a claim for damages as this is best dealt with in court.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council has not responded to her claim for compensation after her car was damaged by a pothole. Ms X wants the Council to pay for the damage and stress she says she has been caused.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Although Ms X complains to us that she has not yet heard the outcome of her claim against the Council, at the crux of this matter is a complaint that negligence by the Council caused damage to Ms X’s car. Ms X seeks compensation for this. These are not matters that we can determine. Only a court can decide if the Council has been negligent and if it should pay compensation.
As such, and as there is a low cost procedure open to anyone to make a money claim in the courts, I would expect someone in Ms X’s position to take such action directly or through her insurers. We will not therefore investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because ultimately only a court can provide the outcome she seeks and it is reasonable to expect Ms X to therefore resort to court action.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman