Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a breach of contract. Mr X has an alternative legal remedy and given the circumstances of his complaint, it is reasonable to expect Mr X to take court action to resolve his dispute.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council created an expectation that it would provide him a contract for his services but, after he provided his services unpaid for a year, the contract was never offered. He says this cost him financially and reputationally. Mr X also complains the Council has discriminated against him. He wants the council to pay him back for his losses.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. We cannot decide if an organisation has breached the Equality Act as this can only be done by the courts. But we can make decisions about whether an organisation has properly taken account of an individual’s rights in its treatment of them.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X’s complaint is about breaches of contract under commercial law. Commercial law is complex and arguments about its interpretation are for the courts, where both parties can access the courts process. As the law expressly provides this route for resolving such disputes, we normally expect applicants to use it, with legal advice if necessary. There might be some cost to court action, but that does not automatically make taking court action unreasonable.
8. We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X has an alternative legal remedy through the courts. Only the courts can decide if the Council is in breach of a contract and make an award for Mr X’s losses; we cannot. Therefore, for these reasons it is reasonable to expect Mr X to use the right to go to court.
9. It is not proportionate for us to investigate Mr X’s complaint about discrimination by the Council. This is because we cannot decide whether the Council has breached the Equality Act 2010, and we are not investigating the substantive issue. I see no reason, in this case, why it would be unreasonable to expect Mr X to take court action if he wants a definitive ruling on this point.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has an alternative legal remedy and it is reasonable to expect him to take court action.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman