Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council damaged his property while cleaning drains in the road outside. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains he suffered damage to his property from sludge and debris left on his driveway after the Council cleaned the drains outside his property.

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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 reviewed Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s response. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and considered his comments.

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What I found

5. The Council cleaned the drains outside Mr X’s property in November 2019. Mr X says the Council’s operatives left sludge and debris from the drains on his driveway and suggests this was walked into his house and has left dark patches on his carpet. He contacted the Council to ask it to clean the driveway and to cover the costs of cleaning his carpet. He later suggested the sludge and debris had been washed into his private drain causing a blockage.
6. The Council visited Mr X’s property three times but found no evidence of the sludge and debris complained about. It invited Mr X to submit a claim for damages to its insurers but declined to offer him compensation directly.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. Claims for property damage are quite rightly a matter for the Council’s insurers and, ultimately, the courts. The Council has explained the reasons it does not accept responsibility for the damage to Mr X’s property and if Mr X disputes this he should make a claim to the Council’s insurers. If he is not happy with the insurers’ decision it would be reasonable for him to go to court.

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Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman