Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s refuse collection crews parking on her land. Her main injustice lies in the damage she says this has caused and if she believes the Council is liable for this it would be reasonable for her to take the matter to court. We will not look separately at the Council’s handling of her complaint about the matter as it has not caused her significant injustice separate from the claimed damage.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council’s refuse collection crews have parked their vehicles on her land. She says this has caused damage to her property.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I reviewed Mrs X’s complaint and the Council’s response to her claim for compensation. I shared my draft decision with Mrs X and considered her response.

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What I found

4. Mrs X has reported several instances of the Council’s refuse collection crews parking their vehicles on her land over many years. The Council accepts it should not park on her land but occasionally the crew does. Mrs X confirms the crews have again stopped parking on her land but she says the weight of the vehicle has caused damage to her property. She made a claim to the Council’s insurers but it declined to pay her compensation. She is not happy with the Council’s response.
5. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. Mrs X’s main injustice lies in the damage to her property and whether she is entitled to compensation for this is a legal issue. If she is not happy with the insurer’s response it would be reasonable for her to make a claim against the Council through the courts. It is not for the Ombudsman to decide disputes over liability for property damage.
6. Mrs X confirms the collection crew no longer park on her property and the Council has previously agreed it would not. We cannot physically stop the crew from parking on Mrs X’s property in the future and if it does, her remedy lies in a claim for damages as set out above.
7. Mrs X is also unhappy with the way the Council has dealt with her complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mrs X to take the matter to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman