Isle of Wight Council (20 006 705)

Statement Upheld Other 26-Feb-2021

Summary: Mrs B complained the Council’s Contractor wrongly cut a large hole in her hedge without following the legal process required. She experienced distress from the damage caused and she had costs to repair the hedge. The Council was at fault because its Contractor failed to follow the legal process available. It has agreed to make payment to acknowledge the distress and damage caused. It also agreed to ensure its Contractor reminds its workers of the process it must follow before it takes action to cut overgrown vegetation.

London Tribunals (20 007 224)

Statement Not upheld Parking and other penalties 26-Feb-2021

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate the Tribunals’ decision on Mr X’s appeal against penalty charge notices. This is because the Ombudsman cannot question the Tribunals’ appeal decisions.

Leicestershire County Council (20 008 944)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 25-Feb-2021

Summary: The complainant says the Council refuses to repair highway defects he reports and refuses to step up his complaints. We will not investigate this complaint as we are unlikely to find fault in the way the Council deals with reported defects. And it is unlikely that further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

Westminster City Council (20 010 811)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 25-Feb-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would achieve a different outcome for Mr B on the scaffolding issue and it is not unreasonable to expect him to raise the data protection issue with the Information Commissioner.

London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (20 010 193)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Parking and other penalties 25-Feb-2021

Summary: Ms X complains about the Council asking her to pay an increased amount for a parking penalty when she says she has not heard the outcome of her appeal. We will not investigate as Ms X can ask the court to decide how her case should proceed and it is reasonable to expect her to do so.

London Borough of Lambeth (19 004 471)

Statement Upheld Other 24-Feb-2021

Summary: Miss D complains the Council delayed processing her application to remove a disabled parking bay so she could have a dropped kerb installed. The Ombudsman has found evidence of fault by the Council. He has upheld the complaint and completed the investigation because the Council agrees to the recommended actions including a time and trouble payment.

London Borough of Sutton (20 003 952)

Statement Not upheld Parking and other penalties 24-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr C complained the Council unreasonably refused his request for a dropped kerb at the front of his property which meant he could not park off-road or have an electric car. We have found no fault by the Council.

Staffordshire County Council (20 012 641)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Rights of way 24-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complains the Council is failing to uphold legal rights of way for pedestrian use only over a footpath by his property. We will not investigate the complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

Hertfordshire County Council (20 010 647)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 24-Feb-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that a contractor working for the Council tried to run him over. This is because the actions he complains about relate to a possible criminal matter which has been reported to the Police.

South Lakeland District Council (20 007 197)

Statement Not upheld Other 23-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complained the Council charged him an added fee to pay for parking using his bank card. He said this was an unlawful surcharge. The Ombudsman has discontinued his investigation. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault, the injustice to Mr X is not significant, and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.