Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to concerns raised by Mr X about parking restrictions and dropped kerbs. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Mr X to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complains about the Council’s response to concerns he raised about parking restrictions and dropped kerbs and to its decision to invoke its unreasonable and vexatious customer behaviour policy with regard to Mr X.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X complained to the Council about its response to matters relating to parking restrictions and dropped kerbs in his locale. Having considered Mr X’s contact about these and others matters to have been unreasonably persistent, the Council decided to invoke its customer behaviour policy and to give Mr X a single point of contact with which to raise any further complaints or service requests.
6. We do not investigate every complaint we receive. We are a publicly funded body and have a duty to use the funds allocated to us in an effective, efficient and economic manner. While I understand Mr X is not satisfied with the Council’s responses to his concerns, and its actions in invoking its customer behaviour policy against him, these are not matters we will investigate as there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Mr X to warrant an investigation.
7. Mr X previously complained to us about matters relating to anti-social behaviour in his road. We will not revisit these matters.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Mr X to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman