Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council's handling of Mr X's claim for compensation after his car was damaged by a pothole. This is because ultimately this matter can only be determined in court, and it is reasonable to expect Mr X to resort to such action for the compensation he seeks. Mr X is not caused a sufficient level of injustice from the delay he reports to warrant our further involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about delay by the Council in deciding his claim for compensation for pothole damage to his car. The Council acknowledged Mr X’s claim at the beginning of February 2025 but as of mid-May, when Mr X complained to us, he had not received a response.

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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. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. 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

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

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My assessment

7. The Council advised Mr X at the beginning of February 2025 that it would respond within 90 days to his claim. When Mr X complained to us, this time frame had passed by around two weeks.
8. I recognise Mr X’s frustration from waiting for a response to his claim, but this does not represent a level of injustice serious enough to warrant our further involvement. In addition, we are unable to determine if the Council is legally liable for the damage caused to Mr X's car. This is ultimately a matter for the courts and there is a relatively simple, low cost procedure open to Mr X to take such action. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to resort to legal action for the compensation he seeks.
9. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he is not caused sufficient injustice from his complaint about delay and as Mr X can achieve the outcome he seeks, that is compensation for damage, by taking court action.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman