Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Trading Standards. The complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. It is late and there is no good reason to investigate it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Council delayed in investigating his complaint about a foreign body he found in a ready meal.

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

5. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he first raised the matter with the Council in November 2019. It says its records show an Officer contacted Mr X in March 2020 with a detailed update on her findings. I understand the manufacturer recalled the product and changed the production process.
6. The law says a complaint must be made to the Ombudsman within 12 months of the complainant being aware of the matter. In this case the event occurred 2 years ago. He received an update 20 months ago. His complaint is therefore late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion in this case.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman