Surrey County Council (20 005 260)
Category : Transport and highways > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 Oct 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council will not pay for repairs to his car after it was damaged by a pot hole. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr X to take court action for the compensation he seeks.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council has refused to pay for repairs to his car, needed after it was damaged by a pothole.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 have considered what Mr X said in his complaint and sent him my draft findings on it for comment. Mr X made no further comment.
What I found
- Mr X complains the Council will not pay for repairs to his car which were needed after it was damaged by a pothole.
Analysis
- We cannot determine if the Council is legally liable for the damage to Mr X’s car or if compensation should be paid. Only the courts can do this and there is a simple, low-cost procedure open to anyone to make a money claim through the courts. Alternatively, Mr X could consider using a ‘no win no fee’ solicitor.
- For these reasons, it is reasonable to expect Mr X to resort to court action for the compensation he seeks and we will not investigate.
Final decision
- My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as it is reasonable to expect Mr X to take court action for the compensation he seeks. The complaint is therefore outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman