Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about damage caused to Mr X’s car when a window fell on it. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr X to take his claim for damages to court.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about what happened when a window from a council property fell on to his car.
2. Mr X says the Council then removed and sold his car. He would like the Council to pay for his total financial loss as well as his time and trouble taken to complain.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X made a claim on the Council’s insurance and the Council’s insurers rejected his claim.

Assessment

9. I will not exercise discretion to investigate because the matter of liability for damages is usually between the Council’s insurers and the courts.
10. In 2020 Mr X had his insurance claim rejected. It is reasonable for him to take the matter to court to decide the Council’s liability and if Mr X is entitled to damages.
11. There is a simple procedure in the county court for dealing with small claims. Usually, solicitors are not required so the only costs will be the court fees.
12. I also note the incident happened back in 2018 and the insurance claim was refused in 2020. So, Mr X’s complaint is late and caught by another legal restriction on us investigating. I see no good reasons why he could not have complained to us earlier than he has.

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Final decision

13. I will not exercise discretion to investigate. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr X to go to court to decide the Council’s liability.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman