Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that his car was damaged by a poorly repaired section of a road. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains his car was damaged on a section of a road that was poorly repaired by the Council. Mr X complains about the handling of his compensation claim by the organisation that manages claims on behalf of the Council. He complains about the Council’s refusal to address his complaint about this.
2. Mr X would like the Council to reimburse the £300 he spent on repairs to his car and review the handling of his claim and complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Our role is to consider complaints of administrative fault. We cannot decide liability in complaints about damage to property. Mr X contacted the Council’s claims handler and received a decision about his claim. We cannot intervene in that process. Mr X may start legal action for any continuing dispute about liability and a claim for compensation. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to do this because the courts are the appropriate body to decide if the Council was responsible for the accident and, if so, what level of compensation should be made. These are judgements that only insurers or the courts can make.
8. Mr X complains about the handling of his claim and complaint. But, it is not normally a good use of our limited resources to investigate an organisation’s handling of a compensation claim or complaint alone, if we are not investigating the substantive matter. We will not investigate this part of the complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that his car was damaged by a poorly repaired section of a road. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman