The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council removing his possessions from a garage he leased from the Council. This is because it is reasonable for Mr B to pursue his compensation claim at court.
The complaint
Mr B complains that Council officers wrongly entered his garage, which he had leased from the Council, and removed all his possessions. Mr B says the loss of these items and the Council’s mishandling of this matter has caused him significant distress. Mr B also says the Council’s insurers are taking too long to consider his compensation claim which is over £40,000.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The Act 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 B.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Our role is to consider complaints of administrative fault. We take the view complaints about property loss or damage are best decided by an organisation’s insurers, and if needed, the courts. The courts are in the best position to decide such disputes and only the courts can enforce an award of damages.
If the Council’s insurers do not provide an outcome Mr B is satisfied with, I find it is reasonable for Mr B to pursue his claim at court. Such action is proportionate to the claimed losses.
We would not normally start an investigation into the handling of a compensation claim if, as with this complaint, we are not investigating the substantive matter.
Such claims can take some time to be decided and the involvement of the Ombudsman would not be a good use of our limited resources or achieve a meaningful outcome for Mr B.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to take the Council to court if needed.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman