Summary: We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint that her car was damaged when Council workers were cutting vegetation in a Council car park. This is because it is reasonable for Ms B to pursue her compensation claim at court.

The complaint

1. Ms B complains her car window was smashed when Council workers were using strimmers to cut vegetation in a Council owned car park. Ms B says the Council has wrongly refused her claim for compensation for her repair costs and she has been put to a lot of time and trouble pursuing her claim and chasing the Council for responses.
2. Miss B would like the Council to pay her compensation for her repair costs and the distress and disruption she suffered because of the incident. Miss B would also like the Council to apologise and admit fault and liability for the damage.

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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 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

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

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My assessment

7. We do not normally investigate complaints about damage to property. This is because in effect such complaints are that an organisation has been negligent. Our role is to consider complaints of administrative fault. Negligence claims are best decided by an organisation’s insurers, and if needed, the courts.
8. Ms B has received the Council’s decision on her compensation claim. Ms B may now pursue her claim by taking the Council to court.
9. Only a court can decide if the Council was negligent, and if so, enforce an award of damages. We cannot recommend actions or payments that ‘punish’ an organisation.
10. I find it is reasonable for Ms B to do this and the initial fee for making a claim is relatively modest. Ms B may also seek legal advice about taking the Council to court if needed.
11. So, we will not investigate Ms B’s complaint about the damage to her vehicle.
12. I find an investigation solely into the Council’s handling of Ms B’s correspondence is not justified. Importantly, Ms B has received the Council’s decision on her claim and may pursue a claim for damages at court. An investigation by the Ombudsman now is unlikely to be a good use of our limited resources or achieve a meaningful outcome.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because it is reasonable for her to take the Council to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman