The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his claim for compensation following damage to his vehicle which occurred when he hit a pothole in the road. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to make a claim against the Council at court.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council rejected his claim for compensation for damage resulting from him hitting a pothole on the road. He says the Council’s rejection contained lots of technicalities which he believes were designed to intimidate him and did not fully respond to the points he raised.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
It is not for us to determine the Council’s liability for the damage to Mr X’s car. If Mr X believes the Council is liable it would be reasonable for him to make a claim against it through the courts. The law provides a specific defence against such claims and it would not be appropriate for us to deny the Council the opportunity to use it.
While Mr X is also unhappy about the way the Council dealt with his claim and his concerns about it, the courts have said that where we cannot investigate a complaint about the main or underlying issue, we cannot normally investigate related issues either. We will not therefore investigate this matter separately.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to make a claim against the Council at court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman