Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about damage to a car as it is reasonable to expect the complainant to resort to court action for the compensation she seeks.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains her car was damaged in some road works. Mrs X considers the Council is responsible for this and as such should pay for her repairs.

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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 information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. We cannot determine damage claims; we are not empowered to decide if the Council is legally liable for the damage or whether it should pay compensation to Mrs X. Only the courts can do this and there is a low-cost, simple procedure open to anyone to make a money claim in the courts. Given this, and as we cannot achieve the outcome Mrs X seeks, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to take court action for the compensation she seeks.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman