Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about damage caused to his fence in early 2024. The complaint is late and there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains his fence was damaged in early 2024 due to negligence by the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
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 provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. In early 2024, Mr X found his fence was damaged. He submitted a claim to the Council’s insurers. He said the fence was damaged due to overgrown brambles on the adjacent, Council owned land.
8. The Council’s insurers refused Mr X’s claim in late 2024, and explained its reasons. Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision to refuse his claim and says information in the claim refusal letter indicates the Council’s negligence.
9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late. The law says a complaint should be made to us within 12 months of the person affected first becoming aware of the matter. Mr X did not complain to us until early 2026, two years after he first became aware of the matter. I see no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider this late complaint now.
10. Further to this, even if the complaint had been made to us within 12 months, it is not a complaint we would have investigated. This is because it is a complaint about negligence. This is a legal matter for the courts to consider and decide. Only a court can decide if an organisation has been negligent and so should pay damages. We also have no powers to enforce an award of damages. We would usually expect someone in Mr X’s position to seek a remedy in the courts, directly or through his insurers.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman