Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council will not pay for damage caused to her car by a broken wall owned by the Council. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to resort to court action for the compensation she seeks. The complaint is therefore outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council will not pay for damage caused to her car by a broken wall owned by the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I have considered what Miss X said in her complaint.

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What I found

4. Miss X complains that the Council has refused to pay for repairs to her car after it was damaged by a broken wall, which is Council owned.

Analysis

5. We cannot determine if the Council is legally liable for the damage caused to Miss X’s car or whether it should pay for the repairs. Only the courts can do this. There is a low-cost procedure open to anyone to make a money claim in the courts or Miss X could consider asking a ‘no win no fee’ solicitor to take on her case.
6. We will not therefore investigate.

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Final decision

7. My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is reasonable to expect Miss X to resort to court action for the compensation she seeks and the complaint is therefore outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman