Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a holiday arranged by the Council. This is because the Council has already provided a fair remedy and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains about a holiday arranged by the Council. She is dissatisfied with the amount of compensation offered by the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe:

• the Council has provided a fair remedy;
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I looked at photographs provided by Mrs X and the Council. I invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Holidays

4. The Council offers holidays, to carers, at a discounted rate. It has arrangements for people to stay at a caravan park. The price includes the use of leisure facilities in the holiday park.

What happened

5. Mrs X paid £430 for a one week holiday.
6. Mrs X complained to the Council about the state of the facilities. For example, she complained the beech was not wheelchair accessible as had been described. She said the decking was in a very poor state, that the van was not accessible and that the fixtures and fittings in the van were in a very poor state.
7. In response the Council explained that it had used the van for three years and had never received any complaints about accessibility. It noted that Mrs X did not make any complaints during the stay apart from an initial complaint about the water not having been switched on. An officer inspected the van and found no issues of concern. The Council accepted the decking gave a poor impression when Mrs X arrived. The Council explained that the van was cleaned before Mrs X arrived. The Council offered a 50% refund due to the condition of the decking and the initial lack of water.
8. Mrs X was dissatisfied with the offer. She contacted her MP. The Council repeated its offer of a 50% refund and said it would give her an additional £100. Mrs X accepted this offer which equates to £315. The Council is processing the payment which it will pay into her bank account.
9. The Council told me the van has been fully booked since July and it has not received any complaints about it. The Council has, instead, received two compliments from other people following their holidays at the park.

Assessment

10. I will not start an investigation because the Council has offered a fair remedy. It responded appropriately by inspecting the van, checking if other families had made similar complaints and accepting there were a couple of defects. In recognition of these errors it offered £315 which is a fair and proportionate remedy given that it did not uphold all the complaints. And, having considered all the photographs, and the feedback from other people, it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

11. I will not start an investigation because the Council has offered a fair and proportionate remedy and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman