Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the Council disposing of her umbrella, which she left at a Council theatre. This is because the injustice Mrs B has suffered is not serious enough to justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs B, complains the Council wrongly disposed of her expensive umbrella which she left at a Council theatre. Mrs B says when the Council confirmed it had her umbrella it did not mention that it would only be kept for six weeks. Mrs B would like the Council to pay for a new umbrella.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs B.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
6. The injustice Mrs B has suffered is not serious enough to justify public money being spent on an investigation by the Ombudsman. So, we will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because she has not suffered a significant injustice as a result of the alleged fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman