Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about private hire vehicle licensing because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, we cannot achieve the outcome Mr Y is seeking and it is reasonable for Mr Y to use his right of appeal to go to court.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Authority took from August 2023 to February 2025 to decide his application for a private hire vehicle license.
2. Mr Y says he was unable to pay bills and he feels this has affected his mental health

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

4. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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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. Mr Y made his application at the end of August 2023. The Authority’s website says applications are decided normally in about four months. Mr Y approached us in January 2025 to complain about the time the Authority was taking to decide his application. He also contacted his MP.
7. In March 2025, the Authority wrote to Mr Y’s MP confirming that it had told Mr Y in February 2025 that it had rejected his application and told him if he wished he could appeal to the Magistrates Court.
8. Mr Y told us in January 2025, that he was seeking a decision on his application and compensation for loss of earnings as his desired outcome from our process. As a decision has now been made by the Authority, further investigation by us could not add to this. We cannot award compensation for loss of earnings as this would be a claim for damages, for which liability where disputed can only be decided by a court. As we cannot achieve the outcome Mr Y is seeking, we will not investigate.
9. Mr Y has also been told he has a right to appeal the Authority’s decision about his private hire vehicle license application in the Magistrates Court. The outcome Mr X is seeking could only be provided by the court via appeal. It cannot be achieved through further investigation by us.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, we cannot achieve the outcome Mr Y is seeking and it is reasonable for Mr Y to use his right of appeal to go to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman