Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that a Council refuse vehicle caused damage to his car. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr X to resort to court action for the compensation he seeks.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has refused to pay for repairs to his car which were needed after he says it was damaged by a Council refuse vehicle.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint and the comments he has made in response to my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Mr X says his car was damaged by a Council refuse vehicle. Mr X complains about how the Council dealt with his claim. He says it took too long and the CCTV recording of the incident was destroyed.
6. The Council has rejected Mr X’s claim saying there is no evidence that one of its vehicles damaged Mr X’s car. The Council has confirmed there were three refuse vehicles in the area but only one had working CCTV and it did not record any incident of damage.

Assessment

7. The Ombudsman cannot determine if the Council is legally liable to pay compensation to Mr X. Only the courts can do this and there is a low cost procedure open to anyone to make a money claim through the courts. It is reasonable therefore to expect Mr X to resort to court action for the compensation he seeks.
8. If Mr X considers the Council did not respond to his request for information in the form of CCTV recordings or destroyed the recordings, this would be best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office. It is the UK’s independent authority set up to deal with complaints about data handling and to uphold information rights.

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Final decision

9. My decision is that the Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr X to resort to court action for the compensation he seeks. The complaint is therefore outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman