The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the costs the Council charged when Mr X sold his beach-hut. That is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the amount the Council charged when he sold his beach-hut. He said its fees were excessive and disproportionate to the work completed. Mr X wants the Council to part reimburse what he has paid.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (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
Mr X owned a beach-hut situated on Council land. He had a lease agreement with the Council, to lease the piece of land. The Council charges beach-hut owners a fee of £500 when they sell their beach hut. This to cover its costs in transferring the lease.
In response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council said Mr X’s Solicitor agreed to the £500 cost before the sale of the beach-hut. It said it appointed a Legal Service Officer with an hourly rate of £65 to complete the work. It broke that hourly rate into 6-minute units, each chargeable at £6.50 per unit. It said it allocated each task completed on Mr X’s sale a unit and there were 86 different tasks completed. That resulted in a charge over £500, however the Council charged the standard fee initially agreed.
Although Mr X disagrees with the amount the Council charged, we will not investigate this complaint further. The Council set-out the potential costs before sale and has explained how the costs were arrived at. There is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman