The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s reduction in the amount it offered for the purchase of the complainant’s property. 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 good reason why the complainant could not have complained to us much sooner.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council reduced the amount it offered to buy his property. He says the Council was dishonest and immoral. And, had the Council been transparent he would have accepted an alternative, higher offer he had received.
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 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.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The law says a complaint must be made to the Ombudsman within 12 months of the person becoming aware of the matter. Mr X was aware of the reduction on the offer price before he went ahead with the sale in March 2023. His complaint should therefore have been made to us before March 2024. His complaint is late. Also an offer to buy a property in England can be renegotiated or withdrawn up to the point of exchange of contracts. There is no reason for us to investigate this late complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman