Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has not taken action over reports of abandoned cars and other antisocial behaviour by his neighbour. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and it would be reasonable for the complainant to use the community trigger process.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains that the Council has failed to act against his neighbour who has several abandoned vehicles on private land. Mr X also complains that the Council has failed to act against the neighbour who has threatened him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for an organisation review or appeal.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X complained to the Council about vehicles he says were abandoned on private land close to his home. The Council visited the site and inspected six vehicles. It found that five did not meet the criteria to be considered abandoned, so no further action was taken. The Council did make further enquiries with the DVLA about one vehicle, but after the owner contacted the Council, it concluded this also did not meet the criteria to be considered abandoned.
6. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with the issue of abandoned cars near his home. The Council assessed each car, making further enquiries, when necessary, before concluding that they do not meet the criterial to be classified as abandoned. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how it reached its decision, so I will not investigate this element of Mr X’s complaint.
7. Mr X says he has reported that the neighbour has made threats against him to the police on three separate occasions. We cannot consider complaints about the police. In this case it is reasonable to expect Mr B to use the community trigger process if he is dissatisfied with how the police and Council has dealt with his concerns. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council did not address this when responding to his complaint. This is because Mr X did not raise the matter until after the Council had issued its final response.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault and it would be reasonable for Mr X to use the community trigger process.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman