Newcastle upon Tyne City Council (25 028 527)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to compensate him for fence repairs. There is not enough evidence the Council caused damage to his fence.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council carried out repairs on a public fence next to his private fence, which caused damage to his fence. He complains the Council has refused to compensate him for the costs of repairing the damage to his fence.
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
- we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
- there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council says its repairs to the public fence did not require any attachment to, or contact with, Mr X’s fence and therefore could not have caused the damage. The photographs I have seen are consistent with the Council’s explanation. There is therefore not enough evidence to show the Council’s repairs caused damage to Mr X’s fence.
- In any event, Mr X is seeking compensation for the Council’s alleged negligence. I cannot decide whether an organisation has been negligent or award damages. The courts are better placed to determine whether a Council is legally responsible for damage, and if appropriate, award damages. As the courts are better placed to decide this issue, and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants, I will not investigate his complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence to show the Council’s repairs caused the damage to his fence. In addition, the courts are better placed to determine whether the Council is legally responsible for the damage, and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman