Summary: Mr X complained the Council gave him poor debt advice. He says this caused him an injustice because he accrued debt of over £9,000. I do not have enough evidence to continue my investigation of this complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X says a Council representative gave him poor debt advice, advising him to obtain credit cards that led to a large debt.
2. He says he recorded a meeting he had with the representative but the Council refused to discuss this with him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the complaint file and made enquiries with the Council.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

7. Mr X is autistic, which is relevant to this complaint. A Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN) made a referral to the Council’s Floating Support Service in February 2019.
8. The outcomes Mr X requested were for the Council to “…support me to establish and maintain a successful tenancy due to homelessness” and “…to support me with my physical and mental wellbeing to prevent my condition deteriorating and the impact this may have.”
9. The Council notes the referral form did not ask for any specific help with Mr X’s finances.
10. An assessment was carried out on 13 March 2019. Mr X says that at that meeting the officer, Officer P, advised Mr X to apply for more credit cards and move his debt to those cards. Officer P denies this happened.
11. Officer P says that if Mr X had asked for debt advice she would have signposted him to a specialist organisation such as the Citizens Advice Bureau.
12. The case notes of the meeting record that Mr X said he was managing his bills. He said a Debt Recovery Order was in place, which would soon be completed. It also recorded that he had a debt of £600 and would be applying for an interest free credit card. Mr X says the debt was actually £900.
13. Mr X says the support worker failed to try and deter Mr X from obtaining a credit card even though she would have been aware that he found it difficult not to impulse spend.
14. Mr X says he has a recording of the conversation he had with Officer P. The Council says it asked Mr X to share this recording in March 2020. It says Mr X said that he had shared the conversation with us instead.
15. We have asked for a copy of that recording in June 2020 and September 2020. Mr X has not provided the recording. I cannot make any judgment on a conversation that I was not present at. On that basis, I am discontinuing investigating this complaint as I do not have enough evidence to make a finding about the conversation Mr X says led him to accrue debt.

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Final decision

16. I have now completed my investigation of this complaint. I have not found the Council at fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman