Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not acting in a drainage issue. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for us to investigate it now.

The complaint

1. Mrs Y complains the Council failed to act on her report about a drainage issue in 2018. She also complains the Council delayed in responding to her complaint.
2. Mrs Y says her home was flooded in autumn 2018, causing damage to her property and distress to her and her family.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
6. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered the information provided by Mrs Y and the Council. Mrs Y had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. Mrs Y contacted the Council about drainage issues in August 2018, as she was concerned the problems may lead to her property flooding. She says the Council agreed to investigate her concerns within two months, but this did not happen. Her home then flooded in November 2018.
9. Mrs Y says the Council did not attend her property until April 2019 and took longer after this to investigate the drainage problem or repair any drains. She says she was consequently flooded several times during 2018 and 2019. Mrs Y feels that if the Council had acted earlier, she may not have experienced the flooding. Mrs Y has said the insurers have paid out on her claim for damage to the inside of her property, but not the outside.
10. The Council gave its final response to Mrs Y in December 2019, denying any liability for the costs of repairs. Mrs Y approached the Ombudsman in September 2020.

Analysis

11. Mrs Y was aware the Council had not acted following her complaint about drainage issues once the two-month period, in which the Council said it would investigate, had passed. This would have been in October 2018. The 12 months for Mrs Y to have brought her complaint to the Ombudsman would have ended in October 2019. As Mrs Y did not contact the Ombudsman until September 2020, her complaint is late.
12. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. While Mrs Y experienced flooding in 2018 and 2019, it would be reasonable to have expected her to have contacted the Ombudsman earlier than September 2020 as she was able to complain to and correspond with the Council during this time.
13. Mrs Y’s injustice largely relates to the damage to the outside of her property, which her insurance company said is not covered under her policy. If Mrs Y disagrees, she can challenge this with her insurer. Any claim for damages, such as costs for repairs, which Mrs Y considers the Council to be responsible for, are matters more appropriately dealt with by the courts. It is therefore reasonable for Mrs Y to pursue her claim through either the insurer or the courts.
14. Consequently, there are no good reasons for the Ombudsman to consider this late complaint now.
15. As we are unable to investigate the substantive issue, we will not investigate her complaint about the Council’s delay in responding to her complaint.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late, with no good reasons for the Ombudsman to investigate it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman