Summary: Mr X complains the Council would not allow him access to his kayak during Covid-19 lockdown and seeks a partial refund for the storage fee he has paid to it. We will not investigate as it is unlikely we can add to what the Council has said or achieve the outcome Mr X seeks.

The complaint

1. Mr X seeks a partial refund of the fees he pays to the Council to store his kayak as he says the Council would not let him have access to it during lockdown. Mr X also seeks compensation for his time spent pursuing his complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint and the comments he made in response to my draft decision on it.

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What I found

5. Mr X pays the Council to store his kayak and complains the Council, in a verbal conversation, refused him access to it during lockdown. The Council disputes this and says that access would have been allowed in certain circumstances. The Council says at the time, the stretch of water was closed due to lockdown measures and only essential travel allowed.
6. Mr X feels the Council is questioning his integrity. Mr X seeks a partial refund of the fees he has paid and compensation for the time he has spent pursuing his complaint. Mr X also wants an apology from the Council officer he spoke to about his kayak.

Analysis

7. It is unlikely we can clarify what was said to Mr X verbally, about him having access to his kayak, without corroborating evidence.
8. Mr X effectively complains about a breach of contract in that he says he has not received a service he has paid the Council for. Ultimately, whether the Council should provide a refund is only something that could be decided in the courts.
9. This is not a complaint that we would consider warrants a payment from the Council in respect of the time Mr X has spent on it. It is normal to have to spend time pursuing a complaint and we would only recommend a payment for exceptional time and trouble.
10. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

11. My decision is we will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we can add to what the Council has said or achieve the outcome Mr X seeks.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman