Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about public transport because it is late without good reasons to investigate it now and there is not significant enough injustice to warrant investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Authority has placed a bus stop, where bus drivers change over and stop, on the opposite side of the road, near to his house. Mr Y says this leads to buses idling, causing pollution, hindering traffic and making noise as well as invading his privacy. Mr Y says this causes him distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information Mr Y and the Authority provided and Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The law says people should normally complain to us within 12 months of becoming aware of an issue. Complaints brought to the Ombudsman more than 12 months after someone becomes aware of something a council has done are considered late. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons.
7. Mr Y’s was aware of his reason to complain about the Authority’s actions when he first complained to it in 2022, more than 12 months ago. Consequently, his complaint is now late.
8. We have discretion to disapply the rule outlined in paragraph three where we decide there are good reasons. The time for receiving complaints is from when a person became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when a person complained or a body issued its final response. We would expect someone to complaint to us within the 12-month period, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure, or complaint handling was taking. In this case, Mr Y was able to continue to complain to the Authority, and so he was not prevented from coming to us. It is reasonable to have approached us sooner than he did in March 2024.
9. Consequently, as there are not good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate this late complaint, we will not investigate.
10. Further, our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation.
11. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered a serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss of injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
12. In this case, while Mr Y clearly feels very strongly about the matter, we would not consider there to have been a serious loss, harm or distress caused. Therefore we will not investigate this complaint, as referred to in paragraph four.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because it is late without good reasons to investigate it now and there is not significant enough injustice to warrant investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman