Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s delay painting an H bar road marking outside Miss B’s home. This is because the claimed injustice is not a direct result of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss B paid the Council to install a dropped kerb and H bar road marking outside her home. Miss B complains that after completing the dropped kerb the Council took six months to paint the H bar road marking. Miss B says this caused her considerable inconvenience, particularly as she has a bad back, because her driveway was often blocked by motorists who ignored the dropped kerb. Miss B says since the H bar was painted her driveway has not been blocked. Miss B would like the Council to pay her compensation for the inconvenience she suffered.

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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:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by an organisation.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Miss B.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council has apologised to Miss B for the delay painting the H bar outside her home. This was a suitable response. An investigation or the pursuit of a financial remedy by the Ombudsman is not justified.
7. This is because the injustice Miss B suffered was not a direct result of fault by the Council. Rather, it was the result of motorists parking illegally by blocking her driveway. It is an offence to block a driveway by parking across a dropped kerb without permission, whether there is an H bar marking or not. An H bar marking may help draw attention to a dropped kerb, but it is not enforceable and Miss B may still be affected by illegal parking during busy periods in future.
8. So, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because the claimed injustice is not a direct result of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman