Lincolnshire County Council (24 023 361)
Category : Environment and regulation > Trading standards
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 01 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint the Council’s Trading Standards Service did not investigate a property scam. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council’s Trading Standards Service would not investigate after a company mis-sold him a lodge. He said the company threatened him. He said he had lost his life savings. He wants the Council to investigate the company.
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.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- After Mr X contacted the Council, it referred him to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service. This service is responsible for passing information onto the relevant trading standards service where further investigation is needed. This body is not within our jurisdiction.
- In the Council’s response to Mr X’s MP, it said the misrepresentation by the company occurred in a different authority area. It said that area may investigate, but that would not result in a refund for Mr X. It said Mr X had been advised he would need to take legal action if he wanted to recover his money.
- Although Mr X is unhappy the Council has not investigated his concerns, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement. It has not had a referral from the Citizens Advice Consumer Service, and its MP response explains that any investigation would be the responsibility of a different area. Any recovery of money lost would need to be through the courts.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman