Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that his car was damaged by a pothole. This is because it is reasonable for Mr X to pursue the matter through the courts.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to properly maintain a road which resulted in his vehicle being damaged by a pothole. He wants the Council to reimburse the repair costs. He is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with the complaint.

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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 Act 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 Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 places a duty on highway authorities to maintain public highways. Highway authorities are expected to routinely monitor the state of highways for which they are responsible and to carry out repairs where necessary.
7. Mr X complains his car was damaged by a pothole because the Council failed to maintain the road. He complained to the Council and submitted a claim in January 2024. The Council asked him for further information, and Mr X contacted it again several times.
8. The Council refused Mr X’s claim in November 2025 and said it did not consider that it was liable for the damage to his car.
9. I understand Mr X is frustrated about the Council’s delay in responding to him, but the injustice he claims stems from the damage to his car, and we cannot decide whether the Council is liable for this; we also have no powers to enforce an award of damages. Mr X may pursue this claim by taking the Council to court and I have seen nothing to show it would be unreasonable to expect him to do so.
10. For these reasons, we will not investigate this complaint. Mr X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with his complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to pursue her expenses claim by taking the Council to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman