London Borough of Bromley (19 003 874)

Statement Upheld Commercial and contracts 01-Aug-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the hiring of a room which was not honoured by the Council. This is because the Council has provided a fair response and there is not enough remaining injustice to warrant an investigation.

Coventry City Council (19 003 137)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Commercial and contracts 01-Aug-2019

Summary: Mr B complains about the Council’s handling of the procurement process his company was involved in and its award of the contract to a company which had an unfair advantage. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 apply to the process and Mr B has an alternative legal remedy which places it outside our jurisdiction.

London Borough of Lambeth (19 003 640)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Commercial and contracts 10-Jul-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council has failed to pay for services from Mr X’s legal firm incurred by a Council social service client. Mr X’s complaint is a claimed breach of a contract or agreement. This is a matter for the courts to decide. It is reasonable for Mr X and his firm to put this matter before the courts.

Rother District Council (18 016 888)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Commercial and contracts 04-Jul-2019

Summary: Mrs Y complains about unfair treatment she received from the Council when it excluded her from renewing the lease agreement for a retail unit in its area. Mrs Y also complains about the Council’s involvement in her subsequent sub-let. The Ombudsman has discontinued the investigation because the matters Mrs Y complains about are too old for us to consider and based on the evidence seen there is no good reason to exercise our discretion.

Derbyshire County Council (18 019 768)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Commercial and contracts 01-Jul-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about the resurfacing work done by the Council at the local authority school where she is the headteacher. He cannot investigate complaints from bodies constituted for public service, or from people not complaining as members of the public.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (18 015 225)

Statement Not upheld Commercial and contracts 28-Jun-2019

Summary: The complainant says the Council is overcharging her for a storage unit she rents from it. The Ombudsman found no evidence of fault by the Council and for this reason he has ended his consideration of this complaint.

Sedgemoor District Council (18 002 468)

Statement Not upheld Commercial and contracts 27-Jun-2019

Summary: Mr X complained about how the Council handled recovery of outstanding rent and the cost of dealing with dilapidations, after his business vacated a shop unit in its area. We have stopped investigating Mr X’s complaint. The central issue is one that has been to court, so we cannot look at that or the issues related to it. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider Mr X’s concerns about information sharing. Other issues we could investigate have likely not caused Mr X a significant injustice, and it is unlikely we could add to previous investigation by the Council.

Essex County Council (19 002 701)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Commercial and contracts 26-Jun-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaint that the Council has failed to comply with the terms of the contract she has with it. Ms B has a legal remedy through the courts we would reasonably expect her to use which places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.

Northamptonshire County Council (19 002 484)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Commercial and contracts 25-Jun-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to pay her £130,000 in ‘Early Years’ nursery funding. This is because it would be reasonable for Ms X to take the matter to court.

Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (19 000 951)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Commercial and contracts 20-Jun-2019

Summary: A business owner complained about the way the Council dealt with issues regarding the lease and rent for a business unit he used to occupy, and its refusal to consider his recent further concerns about this matter. But the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is mainly because it has been made late.