Leeds City Council (19 014 796)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: There was fault by the Council when it made a mistake and paid money into Mr B’s account by accident. The Council’s apology, which is has already made, is a satisfactory remedy of Mr B’s time and trouble in sorting the repayment out.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I shall call Mr B, complains the Council paid extra money into his bank account and then made mistakes when trying to rectify the problem. Mr B says that he lost earnings as he had to sort the repayment out.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
- If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I read the papers put in by Mr B.
- Mr B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
- In an email dated 5 November 2019 the Council accepted it was at fault in paying £575 into Mr B’s bank account by error. The Council apologised for its error and said it had spoken to the member of staff involved and given extra training to ensure they do not make the same mistake again. The Council said it would correct the problem by offsetting against a payment due to Mr B, so he would pay back the difference of £239.
- Mr B said that when he called his bank, it told him the Council had applied for the £575 twice, totalling £1150, which he would have lost from his account. These payments were not recovered by the Council and Mr B paid the Council the £239.
Mr B said that while this was happening the Council told him to pay the £239 and keep the rest in lieu of a payment he was owed.
- Mr B complained to the Council that he had to spend time sorting the matter out and wanted compensation for his time and trouble. Mr B says that he had to take time out from freelance projects to deal with the matters and this caused him loss of earnings. The Council replied with an apology. The Council said it had investigated the matter, explained what happened and offered Mr B an appropriate remedy by way of a sincere apology for its mistake. The Council had also suggested it issue an invoice to conclude the matter.
- Mr B complained to the Ombudsman. He said that he wanted financial compensation for the stress caused and the time it had taken him to sort it out. The Ombudsman does not award compensation, we remedy financial injustice and would aim to put Mr B back into the situation he would have been in, if the mistake had not occurred.
- The financial matter is resolved and the Council has apologised. While I appreciate Mr B was put to some time and trouble, he was not financially disadvantaged. I consider the Council’s apology which it has already made a satisfactory remedy of this complaint and so do not intend to investigate further.
Final decision
- I have completed my investigation of this complaint. I uphold Mr B's complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice to Mr B. I am satisfied the Council has taken action to remedy that injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman