Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about damage to a car while travelling on the public highway. This is because the courts are best placed to consider the complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, says his car was damaged due to a poorly placed bollard on the public highway. Mr X wants the Council or its contractor to pay for the damage.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
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 information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. We will not start an investigation into Mr X’s complaint.
7. The issue at the heart of Mr X’s complaint is that the Council, via its contractor, has been negligent due to the positioning of the bollard. Mr X says this negligence caused the damage to his car.
8. Complaints about negligence and damage to property are not for the Ombudsman. They are instead matters for insurers, and then the courts. If the Council rejects a formal claim for damages from Mr X, it is open to him to pursue the matter in court. The Court can decide if the Council has been negligent and what damages, if any, it should pay. These are not decisions we can take and there is no reason Mr X should not use the legal remedy available to him. It can give Mr X the outcome he wants. An investigation by the Ombudsman cannot.
9. Mr X is also unhappy with the way his complaint has been dealt with. But we will not look at complaint handling as a standalone issue if we are not going to investigate the issue which led to the original complaint This applies here.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to pursue the matter in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman