Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about property disposed of during a clearance of his property. This is because the complaint is made late.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about how the Council carried out a clearance of his garden. Mr X seeks compensation for items of his property that were removed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The law 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because it is about things that happened more that 12 months ago and I see no good reason why he could not have complained sooner. Furthermore, Mr X seeks compensation for lost items. This is a matter best dealt with by the courts as only they can decide if a public body should pay compensation.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman