Essex County Council (19 002 701)
Category : Other Categories > Commercial and contracts
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 26 Jun 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaint that the Council has failed to comply with the terms of the contract she has with it. Ms B has a legal remedy through the courts we would reasonably expect her to use which places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to as Ms B, says the Council has failed to comply with the terms of the contract she has with it and has failed to properly follow the dispute resolution process set out within it. She has lost many thousands of pounds of income as a result of the Council’s actions and seeks appropriate compensation for the loss of business.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- In considering the complaint I spoke to Ms B and reviewed the information she and the Council provided.
What I found
- Ms B has a contract with the Council which relates to a business she owns.
- The two parties are in dispute and Ms B says she has been seeking to follow the mediation route set out in the contract but that the Council has not properly engaged. She says she has lost many thousands of pounds worth of business and seeks compensation from the Council for this. The Council has offered her an amount which she says is nowhere near enough.
Assessment
- Ms B says the Council has failed to comply with its contractual obligations. Given this is a legal dispute, and the amount of compensation Ms B seeks is significant, this is a matter to be determined by the courts and not the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaint as she has a legal remedy through the courts we would reasonably expect her to use which places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.
Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman