Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to make a payment to Mrs X after a previous complaint. The Council has acknowledged fault, apologised and agreed to pay an increased amount to Mrs X. I am satisfied with the action the Council intends to take.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to pay her a remedy of £250 it agreed in 2023 as a result of a complaint. She said she was chasing the Council for more than two years. Mrs X said this caused her further distress and inconvenience. She wanted the Council to apologise and send the £250 as well as an additional payment to recognise the further impact of its delay. She also wanted it to make service improvements relating to complaint-handling.

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
3. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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. We previously considered a complaint from Mrs X. The Council agreed to make a payment of £250 to her to recognise the injustice caused to her by its fault.
7. Mrs X complained to us after two years as she says, despite having chased the Council several times, she had not received the payment.
8. During its consideration of Mrs X’s more recent complaint, the Council acknowledged it had not made the payment. It apologised to Mrs X and increased the amount it would pay to £500 to recognise the additional injustice this caused.
9. If we investigated this complaint, we would not achieve anything different or more meaningful. The apology and increased payment offered by the Council is a suitable remedy in line with our guidance. It would not be proportionate in this case for us to investigate the matter solely to recommend service improvements, in the absence of any further personal remedy being required for Mrs X.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because I am satisfied the Council has offered a suitable remedy to recognise the injustice its delay caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman