Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how long the Council took to resolve Mr X’s query over the phone. This is because it is unlikely we would be able to add to the Council’s investigation into the matter, or find that Mr X was caused significant injustice due to Council fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained that the Council took too long to answer his telephone call relating to a Council Tax query and then ended the call in error. Mr X stated that this has caused him frustration and additional time to resolve the matter. Mr X would like financial compensation for his time and trouble.

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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, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or

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

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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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My assessment

5. Mr X called the Council in with a question relating to his Council Tax. He said he waited for nearly an hour to speak to an advisor. The advisor could not answer his question and prematurely ended the call.
6. Mr X complained to the Council about the interaction. The Council said that a manager called Mr X the following week to resolve his Council Tax question.
7. The Council stated that they listened to a recording of Mr X’s call as part of their investigation. The Council said that the call was not conducted in the professional manner they strive for and apologised to Mr X for his experience. The Council said further training would be provided to staff on call handling. The Council apologised for the long call wait time and noted that there were higher call volumes at that time due to the annual bill process.
8. Mr X asked the Council for compensation for his time and trouble, the Council said that they would not provide compensation.
9. The Council agreed Mr X’s call fell below their desired service standards. The Council apologised for this and provided an explanation for the call wait time. This does not represent a degree of injustice which requires an investigation.
10. The Council conducted an investigation into Mr X’s complaint by reviewing the recording of his call. They agreed that the service he received was not to the level they would expect and offered an apology. The Council have also said that they will put training in place to prevent a similar event recurring. We would not be able to add to the Council’s investigation.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely that we would be able to add to the Council’s investigation into the matter, or find that Mr X was caused significant injustice due to Council fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman