Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council handled a trading standards complaint. This is because we have decided any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. M X complains the Council’s Trading Standards failed properly to investigate his concerns about a property developer from whom he bought a plot. The Council investigated Mr X’s complaint but decided not to take formal enforcement action against the developer. Mr X says the Council did not correctly consider the evidence he provided. Mr X says this has caused him injustice because he has spent time and trouble challenging the Council’s decision and wants the Council to reassess the complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. People may complain to us about injustice caused by:
• ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’ by a public organisation we could investigate; or
• the actions of an organisation in connection with privately arranged adult social care.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1) or section 34C(1)(a)).

3. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), or section 34B(8)).
4. We will not normally 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), or section 34B(8)).

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The law means we can choose only to investigate a complaint where the person has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by the body complained about. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
8. Trading Standards investigates allegations of unlawful trader activity and decides whether, and if so what, legal action is suitable. Trading Standards does not normally award redress for the individual complainant. If M X seeks compensation or personal redress, this would be matter for the courts. So even if trading standards had come to a different decision, it is unlikely this would have led to a different outcome for Mr X. I recognise the frustration Mr X has claimed in disputing the Council’s decision, but this does not amount to a significant personal injustice that warrants investigation.
9. We will not investigate the way the Council handled the complaint and correspondence here because we are satisfied it did not cause enough separate injustice to warrant it.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman