The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions concerning the complainant’s property. Further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
The complainant, I shall call Mrs X, says the Council allowed people to trespass on her property. She says this caused her stress and she wants the Council to fix broken items on her property and clean up after its tradespeople.
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: we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has apologised for its security contractors shining a torch into Mrs X’s property. It explained the contractors mistook Mrs X’s home for a property belonging to the Council. They have now been told this is not the case and Mrs X has confirmed the incident has not been repeated. I am satisfied this is a suitable remedy for this part of the complaint.
The Council told Mrs X the contractors who trespassed in her garden knocked on her door but did not get a response. However, they accessed the manhole in Mrs X’s garden to try and resolve the emergency problem of effluent running through the ceilings of a neighbouring property due to problems with a sewer. Work was undertaken to prevent damage to nearby properties, including Mrs X’s home.
The Council confirms the responsibility to fix external damage lays with the owner of the nearby property – the Church. It has offered to pursue Mrs X’s complaint with the Church on her behalf.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. Nor would further investigation lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman