London Borough of Bexley (19 005 816)
Category : Transport and highways > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 05 Sep 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint a council gritter damaged his car. This is because it is reasonable for Mr X to use the legal remedy available to him.
The complaint
- Mr X complains a council gritter sprayed his car with grit causing damage to the braking system, The Council has arranged for Mr X’s car to be cleaned, but has denied it is responsible for the damage. Mr X wants the Council to pay for his car to be repaired.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information he provided. I also gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before issuing a final decision on his complaint.
What I found
- The role of the Ombudsman is to consider complaints about administrative fault. We cannot establish liability in complaints involving damage to property. Claims for damage to property are a matter for the Council’s insurers and, ultimately, for the courts.
- Now the Council has rejected Mr X’s claim, it is open to him to make a claim in court. I consider it would be reasonable for him to do so. This is because only the court can decide if the Council has been negligent. The court can decide what damages, if any, the Council should pay Mr X. These are not decisions the Ombudsman can make, and so an investigation is not appropriate.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because it is reasonable for Mr X to use the legal remedy available to him.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman