Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Councils handling of her direct payments. Any injustice is not significant enough to warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council is wrongly requesting payment for support she did not receive and has failed to act following her request to close her account with a direct payment support service.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. Our legislation allows us to decide which complaints we want to pursue. Our Assessment Code explains in more detail how we decide which complaints we will investigate.
6. The Code states we will normally only investigate a complaint where there is good reason to believe that the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by the service provider.
7. In this case, the invoice amount that Ms X disputes is not significant enough to warrant our involvement. In addition, although Ms X says the Council has not acted to close her account with the direct payment support service, there is insufficient evidence that this has caused a significant injustice.

Back to top

Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman