Summary: We will not investigate Ms Y’s complaint that her car was damaged by a pothole. This is because it is reasonable for Ms Y to pursue her compensation claim by taking the Council to court.

The complaint

1. Ms Y complains her car was damaged by a large pothole, which the Council had failed to repair. Ms Y complains about the Council’s handling of her compensation claim. She would like the Council to reimburse the money she spent on repairs to her car.

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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 do not normally investigate complaints about property damage. This is because, in effect, such complaints are that an organisation has been negligent.
7. The Council has considered Ms Y’s claim for compensation, but it did not accept the Council was liable for the damage to her car. It said its contractors were liable and the contractors should carry out their own investigation to decide their position on liability. The Council sent its contractors information about Ms Y’s claim and provided Ms Y with their contact details.
8. Deciding whether an organisation has been negligent usually involves looking rigorously, and in a structured way at evidence as only the court can to make its findings. In addition, only a court can decide if an organisation has been negligent and so should pay damages.
9. I cannot decide whether the Council has been negligent and have no powers to enforce an award of damages. So, I would usually expect someone in Ms Y’s position to seek a remedy in the courts. The Council has reached a decision about Ms Y’s claim and referred her to its contractors based on its decision. Any dispute about liability is for the courts. Ms Y may pursue her claim by taking the Council to court. I consider it reasonable for Ms Y to do this. For these reasons, we will not investigate Ms Y’s complaint.
10. Ms Y complains she has not heard from the contractors about her claim. She says the Council should resolve the matter given how much time has passed. But, it is not normally a good use of our limited resources to investigate an organisation’s handling of a compensation claim alone, if we are not investigating the substantive matter. We will not investigate this part of the complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms Y’s complaint because it is reasonable for Ms Y to pursue her compensation claim by taking the Council to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman