Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a claim for damage to Mr X’s property. Mr X can pursue a claim of negligence through the courts. It is reasonable for Mr X to use this route because only the courts can decide whether the Council was negligent.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained he suffered damage to his clothing while he used Council owned toilets. Mr X said the damage was caused by cleaning chemicals.
2. Mr X also complained about how the Council communicated with him and handled his complaint.
3. Mr X said the matter caused him frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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)
5. Negligence claims and interpreting the law around civil liability are generally best decided by a court where the Council does not accept insurance liability. Only a court can decide whether the problem should have been dealt with by the Council before it caused damage to a person’s property, or if it is liable to pay damages for a person’s loss.
6. We will not usually investigate complaint handling if we are not investigating the rest of the complaint. This is because there is not usually enough injustice to justify us doing so. We collect information about particularly poor complaint handling practice and report this back to organisations. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34B(8))

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it would be reasonable for him to pursue the issue in court. Only the courts can decide whether the Council should pay damages.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman