Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about how the Council responded to the issues she raised about local rail travel. This is because Ms X is not caused significant injustice from her complaint and it is unlikely the Ombudsman can achieve any meaningful outcome for her, were he to investigate.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Ms X, complains about the Council’s response after she complained about the way a travel ticket is sold and various problems with rail ticket vending machines in her area.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or we can achieve no meaningful outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Ms X said in her complaint and her comments made in response to the draft decision I sent to her.

Back to top

What I found

4. The Council is involved in a community partnership with local rail providers, with the aim of working together to improve rail services.
5. Ms X complained to the Council about problems with rail ticket vending machines in her area. Ms X complains they are difficult to use and put rail users at risk of missing their trains.
6. Ms X also complains that the Council’s ‘Wayfarer’ ticket, which allows unlimited bus and rail travel for a whole day, is not sold on trains. Ms X says this restricts the spontaneity of her travel and means she must sometimes buy an individual ticket which is less value for money.
7. Ms X also complains about how the Council responded to these issues when she raised them with it. Ms X says the Council failed to explain its role within the partnership to her or fully respond to her queries.

Assessment

8. We have no legal remit to investigate issues with train travel as we have no jurisdiction over the companies involved. While the Council has a partnership role, it is difficult to see what meaningful outcome we could obtain for Ms X, in terms of achieving an improvement in rail services, if we were to investigate.
9. I also do not consider Ms X is caused a significant level of injustice from her complaint.
10. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

Back to top

Final decision

11. My decision is that the Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because he can achieve no meaningful outcome for Ms X and the injustice caused to her is not so significant as to warrant his involvement.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman