Overview
Ms C said that she had to replace the shock absorbers on her car following a journey around Edinburgh when she had to negotiate a number of bumps and potholes. She raised a claim for compensation with The City of Edinburgh Council (the Council) and also raised the general issue of the condition of the city's roads with them. Ms C was unhappy that her claim was refused and with the response she had received to her concerns about road maintenance.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that the Council:
- (a) did not correctly handle Ms C's claim for compensation (upheld); and
- (b) did not respond appropriately to her concerns (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) pass a copy of this report and the information provided by them relating to location X and location Y to their Claims Handlers for re-consideration of the claim;
- (ii) apologise to Ms C for the delays in processing her claim;
- (iii) ensure that all organisations working on their behalf are aware of the Council's complaints procedure, and the Ombudsman's role within this, and are given guidance on how to respond if complaints are made relating to work undertaken for the Council;
- (iv) review actions taken in response to previous reports and ensure that these would also remedy the problems identified in this report or undertake appropriate action to do so; and
- (v) apologise to Ms C for the faults in the complaint handling identified in this report.
The Council have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly. The Ombudsman asks that the Council notify her when the recommendations have been implemented.