Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to a video footage request. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council did not provide her insurance company video footage of a collision she had in one of its car parks. She said because of this she had to pay for repairs to her car. She wants the Council to reimburse her these expenses.

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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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(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 the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In the Council’s complaint response, it accepted it had incorrectly directed Miss X’s insurance company to the Police after it was contacted for video footage from the car park. It said that by the time Miss X complained it had deleted the video footage; therefore, it did not know whether this would have recorded the collision or not.
6. The Council apologised to Miss X for the poor service she received. It said it had completed further training with its Customer Contact Advisers around video footage requests.
7. Although Miss X is unhappy with the Council’s response, we will not investigate this complaint. We cannot say what the video footage would have shown, or whether the insurance company’s decision on her claim would have been different if it had received the video footage. The Council’s apology is in line with our Guidance on Remedies. Further investigation by us would not lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman