Westminster City Council (26 011 705)
Category : Other Categories > Commercial and contracts
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 29 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate X’s complaint that the Council failed to pay invoices. This is because it is reasonable for X to take the matter to court.
The complaint
- X complains that the Council has failed to pay invoices for services provided by their 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
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I will not investigate X’s complaint. It is not for us to decide whether the Council has breached the contractual arrangements in place with X’s business and we cannot force the Council to pay. These are matters for the courts.
Final decision
- We will not investigate X’s complaint because it is reasonable for X to take the matter to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman