The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a delay in replacing gully covers or her complaint that her car was damaged. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions and it is reasonable for Miss X to take a claim for damages to court.
The complaint
Miss X complains that following the theft of gully covers outside her home, the Council did not replace them for six months. She says she had to park elsewhere and her car was damaged.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) 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 and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X complains the Council delayed replacing stolen gully covers outside her home. She complains that she had to park elsewhere and her car was damaged.
The Council said many gully covers were stolen, and it did not have enough in stock to replace them all. It took temporary measures to make the roads safe and ordered more. It says the six-month delay in replacing the gully covers outside Miss X’s home was due to processing and delivery times.
The Council took measures to make the road safe as soon as possible and ordered new gully covers. The gully covers outside Miss X’s home were replaced in October. I cannot see enough evidence of fault with these actions to justify an investigation.
Miss X says she had to park elsewhere and her car was damaged. It would be reasonable to expect Miss X to take the matter to court if she believes the Council have been negligent. Only the court can decide on negligence and enforce an award of damages. I will not investigate this complaint as I would expect Miss X to seek a remedy in the courts and can see no reason why she cannot do this.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault and it is reasonable for her to take her claim for car damage to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman