Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about charges the Council invoiced Ms X for to cover her share of works to a hardstanding area around her garage. This is because the complaint is a late complaint and so falls outside our jurisdiction due to the passage of time and because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation of its current handling of matters.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council sent her an invoice for repair works to a hardstanding area around her garage. She says she asked the Council for a breakdown of the costs charged but the Council has told her it cannot provide it.

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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. 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant, including the Council’s response to the complaint.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council provided details to Ms X of her share of the costs for planned works back in 2021and did not increase the amount due when it recently completed them. The time restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies to the complaint. As we would reasonably have expected Ms X to have complained to us sooner, the complaint is a late complaint and so falls outside our jurisdiction to investigate.
8. Ms X says the Council has now refused to provide a breakdown for the costs. The Council has confirmed the costs have been fairly shared between all garage owners, including the ones it owns, but that it cannot provide the tendered schedule of rates as this is protected by commercial confidentiality. It directed her to a website for further details on this matter. If Ms X does not accept this explanation, it is open to her to pursue matters via the Information Commissioner’s Office which deals with Freedom of Information issues.
9. Ms X says she was upset because the Council had initially referred to her as Mr X. The Council apologised for any upset caused to her and explained how the error had occurred. There is insufficient evidence of fault or injustice caused to Ms X to warrant an investigation of this matter.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the complaint is a late complaint and so falls outside our jurisdiction due to the passage of time and because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation of its current handling of matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman