Birmingham City Council (19 017 412)

Category : Other Categories > Commercial and contracts

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 14 Feb 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to pay his company’s invoices. This is because it would be reasonable for him to take the matter to court.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council owes his company over £1million in unpaid invoices.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
  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

  1. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint, shared my draft decision with him and invited his comments.

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What I found

  1. Mr X’s company provides services to the Council. He says the Council has failed to pay the company’s invoices totalling more than £1million and that this is causing cashflow issues. He wants the Council to pay all outstanding invoices.
  2. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. If Mr X wishes to recover outstanding amounts owed by the Council under contracts for services it would be reasonable for him to take the matter to court. The amount involved in this case is large and the court can order the Council to pay; it is therefore better placed to consider the matter.

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Final decision

  1. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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