The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about defects in a title deed plan or the Council’s highways plan. This is because Mr X has not been caused an injustice as a result of the actions of the Council.
The complaint
Mr X says he incurred costs when selling land he owned because the Council made an error on title deeds when it sold the land in 1990s. Mr X says the Council’s Highway Department has also provided incorrect information about parts of the highway it is responsible for maintaining.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The issues Mr X complains of would have been apparent when he purchased the property in 2019. It was open to Mr X and his solicitor to check the title deeds and any other relevant plans were accurate before completing the purchase and take any necessary action to correct these or protect Mr X’s position in future. Therefore Mr X has not been caused an injustice as a result of the actions of the Council.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has not been caused an injustice as a result of the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman