King's Lynn & West Norfolk Council (25 003 090)
Category : Transport and highways > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the settlement offered by the Council’s insurers for damage to his vehicle caused by one of its contractors. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council’s contractor crashed into his car, writing it off. The Council’s insurers have settled Mr X’s claim but Mr X says this falls short of the valuation of his car. He therefore claims he has lost more than £4,000.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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 information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- If Mr X was unhappy with the amount offered by the Council’s insurers he could have asked for more. If the insurers refused, it would have been reasonable for him to make a claim at court for the additional amount.
- It is not for us to determine claims for damages or to decide if the amount offered by the Council’s insurers is sufficient. Insurance payouts often fall below the cost of replacing a vehicle and motorists may take out further insurance, known as ‘GAP insurance’, to protect against this.
- The Council has also advised Mr X he may complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service about its insurer’s handling of his claim.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman