The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council refused to remove a build-up of leaf mould from the area outside a garage he rents from the Council. There is not enough evidence of injustice for us to investigate.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council: refused to clear a build-up of leaf mould in the area outside the garage he rents from the Council; and failed to respond to his complaints within its own deadlines and provided no meaningful outcome.
Mr X says this has caused him significant stress and anxiety. He says there is a danger someone might slip. Mr X wants a partial refund of the rent he pays for his garage and a cleaning schedule putting in place.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter or is speculative.
In Mr X’s case, his views on the possibility of physical harm are speculative. This means he has not experienced any actual harm and so we will not investigate. And although he has experienced a degree of stress and frustration over this matter, this is not enough for us to investigate.
It is also not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue. Therefore, we will not investigate how the Council handled Mr X’s complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the injustice is not significant enough to warrant our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman