Summary: Mrs X complains about damage caused to her car by a pothole. She says the Council has not reimbursed her for the cost of her repairs and it refuses to accept liability for the damage caused. She wants it to compensate her for the cost she incurred to repair the damage. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to use her right of redress in the courts to seek compensation to recover the cost of her repairs.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall refer to as Mrs X, complains about damage caused to her car by a pothole. She says the Council has not reimbursed her for the cost of her repairs and it refuses to accept liability for the damage caused. She wants it to compensate her for the cost she incurred to repair the damage.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 considered the information submitted by Mrs X in support of her complaint and provided her with an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Mrs X hit a pothole in her car whilst driving to work. She says the damage this caused meant she had to have the vehicle towed to a garage to be repaired.
6. She says she subsequently contacted the Council about the matter but it refused to accept liability for the damage caused.

Analysis

7. The Ombudsman cannot investigate claims about damage to property. These are legal claims of negligence which insurers deal with. In this case, the Council has refused to accept liability for the damage caused to Mrs X’s car.
8. I cannot say whether the Council is liable to pay compensation to Mrs X; only the courts can make this decision. Therefore, she should submit a claim to the small claims court if she wants to pursue this matter.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to use her right of redress in the courts to seek compensation to recover the cost of her repairs.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman