Epsom & Ewell Borough Council (19 012 433)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Nov 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about damage to his car as it is reasonable to expect Mr X to seek a resolution through the courts.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains the Council will not pay for damage caused to his car by a Council grass cutter.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint.
What I found
- We cannot determine whether the Council is legally liable for the damage to Mr X’s car and if it should pay compensation. Only the courts can do this. There is a simple low cost procedure open to anyone to make a money claim in the courts or Mr X could consider using a ‘no win no fee’ solicitor.
- For these reasons, we consider it is reasonable to expect Mr X to seek a remedy through the courts. The complaint is therefore outside our legal remit.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to take legal action for the compensation he seeks and the complaint is therefore outside our legal remit.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman