The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about damage refuse collectors allegedly caused to Mr X’s property. The courts are best placed to deal with compensation claims for damage to property.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council’s refuse collectors caused damage to his property, and the Council has failed to pay him the cost of replacement despite admitting liability. He says the delay in resolution of the matter has caused him significant distress and he wants the Council’s insurers to pay for replacement of the item.
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
Where someone complains to us about damage to property, we will normally signpost them to the courts. This is because such matters are really negligence claims. It is open to Mr X to refer the case to the small claims court, should the Council decline to pay him compensation for the damage.
While we expect councils to deal with insurance claims properly, we will not normally investigate how they respond to a claim when we are not investigating the substantive matter itself. We will not investigate how the Council has handled Mr X’s claim.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman