Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (23 006 735)
Category : Environment and regulation > Trading standards
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 10 Sep 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to take action against an online retailer under its Trading Standards function for an alleged breach of contract. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or to show its actions caused Ms X significant injustice.
The complaint
- The complainant, Ms X, complains the Council’s Trading Standards team have failed to take action against an online retailer who refused to honour a 25-year guarantee on a bath she purchased through eBay.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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:
- there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
- any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Ms X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We are not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
- The Council has explained the reasons it will not continue its investigation into the retailer and it is not for us to question its decision.
- In any event, Ms X’s injustice stems from an alleged breach of contract by the retailer and her remedy for this lies in making a claim against the retailer through the courts. It is not the role of Trading Standards to adjudicate these issues or to provide personal remedies for members of the public.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or to show its actions caused Ms X significant injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman