Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council illegally going through Mr X’s accounts without proper consent or authorisation. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for why Mr X could not have complained earlier.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council illegally went through his accounts without proper consent or authorisation. He says he complained about this in 2017 and the Council never closed the matter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained about the issue of the Council accessing his accounts and passing information to other services without his consent, in 2016/2017. Mr X confirmed to us this complaint is about what he complained about in 2016/2017.
7. Mr X said the Council did not close the case and that it has been ongoing since 2017. However, the Council has provided evidence it sent Mr X a final response on the matter in March 2017. This response detailed the Council’s final position and signposted Mr X to the Ombudsman.
8. Mr X has not provided any good reason for why it has taken him almost five years to complain to us about the matter.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for why Mr X could not have complained earlier. Therefore, we will not exercise discretion to consider the late complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman