London Borough of Barking & Dagenham (21 011 615)
Category : Other Categories > Commercial and contracts
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 21 Jan 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about access to a garage rented from the Council. The complaint is made late and the complainant can seek a remedy in court for any losses.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, rents a garage from the Council under a licence. He says he has been unable to access the garage since August 2018 due to a defective door. He also says some property kept in the garage was damaged as a result of the access problem.
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)
- 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. It someone has taken legal action, we cannot investigate and have no discretion in this. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr B and the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr B complained to us about the problem with the garage door over three years after it happened. If the Council had not taken action and he remained unable to access the garage, I would expect him to have complained much sooner. I do not consider there is any good reason we should not treat this complaint as late.
- Further, we usually expect someone to seek a remedy for damage to property through the courts, directly of through their insurers. Mr B has also stated in an email to the Council hat he has begun legal action.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is late. Even if this were not the case, he could seek a remedy in court if he has not already done so.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman