Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council has failed to pay for services his company has provided for it. It reasonable to expect Mr X to resort to court action for the money owed, and other resultant expenses, and so the complaint is outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to pay for services his company has provided for it. This has meant his company has had to take out loans and has incurred interest charges.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint.

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What I found

4. Mr X complains the Council has not paid for services his healthcare company has provided to clients referred to them by the Council. This has meant the company has had to take out loans and has incurred interest charges.

Assessment

5. Mr X’s complaint is about breach of contract. The Ombudsman cannot determine such cases as these are matters for the courts. It is reasonable to expect a business to resort to court action for money owed and costs incurred. The complaint is therefore outside our legal remit and we will not investigate.

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Final decision

6. My decision is that the Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because it is reasonable to expect him to resort to court action for money owed and costs incurred. The complaint is therefore outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman