London Borough of Lewisham (15 019 725)
Summary
Complaint from a woman that a council failed to take action to put matters right after she previously complained to us in January 2016.
The complaint
Between November 2015 and January 2016 we investigated and upheld the woman's previous complaint. You can read the statement describing that investigation and decision here. The complaint was that the council had not dealt properly with the woman's requests to appeal against its decision that it had paid her too much benefit and that she should repay some money. The council agreed to our recommendations to put things right, including apologising, paying £150, dealing with the appeals and reviewing its procedures.
On 9 March 2016 the woman made a new complaint to us, saying the council had not carried out the agreement.
Finding
The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.
Recommendations
To remedy the injustice caused, the council should:
- send the woman a written apology for its faults and the resulting injustice in respect of the current and previous complaints to us;
- pay the woman £250 to recognise the injustice caused by the council's faults since 15 January 2016;
- introduce a procedure for ensuring the council completes actions it has agreed with the Ombudsman; and
- review its procedure for debt recovery to miminise the chances of the faults in this case recurring.
The council should send the apology and payment within one month of the date of the report and complete the other points of the remedy within three months of the date of the report.