Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to restrict products which Mr X can sell on his market stall. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council preventing him from selling certain items on his market stall. He says he has done so in the past and it has only placed the restriction on him since a nearby stall set up and started selling similar products near his. He believes the Council should reconsider its decision and allow him to continue selling the items.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mr X has a licence to operate a market stall to sell particular items which are listed under the licence terms. He says another stall was moved opposite his pitch a few years ago and it sells some items which could be described as similar. Recently the Council’s market management have told Mr X that he cannot sell these items on his stall. He says this will have an effect on his income and that previous managers did not find there was a problem.
6. Mr X says the other stall should not have been allowed to trade near his if there is a conflict over the product lines. The Council says that Mr X cannot sell these items because they are not compliant with the terms of his licence. He may apply to have his licence terms amended or extended if he wants to trade these items.
7. Mr X has an agreement for his licence terms and he is required to adhere to this. It is reasonable for him to apply for an amendment to his licence. Mr X has made a similar complaint to us previously about licence terms and he is aware of how to apply for a change to his product range from that complaint outcome.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to restrict products which Mr X can sell on his market stall. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman