Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway maintenance because the matter is better dealt with by insurers and the courts and we are satisfied with the action taken by the Council in the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained about the Council’s failure to resolve his claim for compensation after he says his vehicle was damaged when he drove over a pothole.
2. Mr Y has spent time chasing his claim, causing him frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
4. 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 another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The legislation from which the Ombudsman takes their power also places some restrictions on what we may investigate. One of these concerns negligence claims about damage to property or personal injury. These are legal claims which may only be determined by insurers or the courts.
7. We are not able to decide liability or award damages. Consequently, any claim for damages, such as costs for repairs to his vehicle, including any interest for delay if the court sees fit, which Mr Y considers the Council to be responsible for, are matters more appropriately dealt with by the courts. It is therefore reasonable for Mr Y to pursue his claim through either his insurer or the courts. We will not investigate this complaint.
8. Further, the Council have acknowledged that his claim form was originally misplaced and has now passed his claim to its insurers who have expedited the claim. I am satisfied this puts Mr Y into the position he would have been in had the error have not occurred in line with our guidance on remedies. Consequently, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because the matter is better dealt with by insurers and the courts and we are satisfied with the action taken by the Council in the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman