Summary: Ms X complains that the Council failed to provide her with a financial payment and apology as recommended by the Ombudsman. Based on the evidence seen, the Ombudsman finds fault by the Council, but this did not cause Ms X significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council has failed to apologise and make an agreed payment of £644, within the agreed timescales set out by the Ombudsman.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the information provided by Ms X and the Council’s response to our enquiries.
5. I provided Ms X and the Council with a copy of my draft decision and invited their comments. I considered the comments I received.

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What I found

6. The Ombudsman previously investigated a complaint made by Ms X and found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Ms X. The Ombudsman recommended that the Council should apologise to Ms X and make a payment of £644, by 29 May 2019. This allowed the Council two months in which to complete the remedy.
7. On 10 April 2019, the Council sent an email to Ms X and said it would send her a cheque for the payment. It asked her to confirm the name that the cheque should be made out to and her postal address. The Council was aware that Ms X was residing at Hotel A, where she had lived since her eviction last year.
8. On 24 April 2019, the Council sent another email to Ms X and said that it could not issue a cheque as the sum was too large but would arrange a bank transfer. It asked Ms X to provide her bank account details. The letter said if Ms X preferred, she could provide the details by telephone rather than email. The Council did not say that it would not accept the information by email and did not say it needed any evidence.
9. On 25 April 2019, Ms X left Hotel A. Ms X said the Council was aware that she had left the hotel.
10. The Council says that it received Ms X’s bank details on 16 May 2019. On the same day Ms X sent an email to the Council stating that it already had copies of her bank statements. In her email Ms X requested payment by bank transfer if possible and said otherwise the Council would have to wait until she had a permanent address before it could send a cheque.
11. The Council told the Ombudsman that it could not accept the details by email and needed a copy of bank statement as evidence. The Council then said that the address on the bank statements was not where Ms X was living at the time and without a fixed address if could not issue a cheque or make a bank transfer.
12. The Council has provided a copy of a letter dated 23 May 2019 where it apologised to Ms X for the faults previously identified by the Ombudsman. The letter stated that a pre-paid card was enclosed which had been credited with £644. It said instructions on how to use the card were also enclosed. There is no evidence that this letter was sent to Ms X. On the same day the Council confirmed by email to Ms X that it would make payment by a pre-paid card. The email stated, “I have the card ready so I will ask the social worker team to bring it with them when someone next meets with you”. The next day Ms X sent an email to the Council requesting payment by bank transfer.
13. On 30 May 2019, the Council met with Ms X about another matter. The officer that spoke to Ms X and handed her a letter of apology and pre-paid card. Ms X refused to accept the letter and the card and said she wanted to payment by bank transfer. The officer explained that this would involve waiting until Ms X had a fixed address. On the same day Ms X contacted the Ombudsman and said that the Council had failed to make a payment of £644 and had not apologised. Ms X said she did not accept the payment because she considered it unsafe and because the timescales within which the Council should have made the payment had passed.
14. On 6 June 2019, the Council sent an email to Ms X which confirmed the outcome of the discussion held on 30 May 2019. The Council acknowledged that there had been some confusion about the way it could pay Ms X the money and apologised for this. The Council said “As you continued to decline to accept the card, I assume that you are satisfied to wait until you have an address so that you can have the money via a bank transfer, even if this is not for some time. Therefore, we will wait for you to contact us to confirm that you are in a fixed address, and then I can ask the Finance Team to arrange a payment”. The Council attached a copy of the letter dated 23 May 2019 that accompanied the pre-paid card and included an apology.
15. On 1 August 2019, the Council sent a further email to Ms X and asked her to confirm if she was prepared to accept the pre-paid card or provide evidence of a new fixed address so that it could arrange payment by bank transfer. Ms X responded to the email but did not confirm details about the payment or her address.
16. In response to my enquiries the Council said that “without a recent bank statement showing both the bank account details and address, we are unable to make payment to this customer via BACS or cheque” It said it cannot deviate from this process. Furthermore, it said that it has “offered a legitimate and reasonable method of payment by issuing a pre-paid card to the full amount outstanding of £644.  This is a method used on a daily basis to pay or reimburse many of our clients across the service.”

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Analysis

17. There has been some initial confusion by the Council about how to make the payment to Ms X. The Council has acknowledged this and already apologised to Ms X. I am satisfied with this.
18. I find that the Council offered to make payment by a pre-paid card on 23 May 2019 which was within the agreed timescales. A Council officer then attempted to give Ms X the pre-paid card and letter of apology on 30 May 2019, but Ms X refused to accept this. This was one day outside the agreed timescale and I do not find fault by the Council with regards to the delay in making payment at this point. Ms X explained that she refused the pre-paid debit card on the basis that she felt it was not a safe or secure method of payment. Ms X told the Council that she preferred payment by bank transfer or by cheque.
19. The Council explained that for audit purposes it cannot make a bank transfer to Ms X without proof of a fixed address. The Council has now agreed to issue a cheque to Ms X. The Council will contact Ms X to arrange collection of the cheque from one of its offices. It is not clear why the Council did not arrange this sooner, however I am satisfied that Ms X now has the option to collect the cheque or the pre-paid debit card.
20. The delay in making a payment of £644 to Ms X is fault. However, I do not consider this caused Ms X significant injustice.
21. On 6 June 2019 the Council sent an email to Ms X enclosing a letter apologising for the faults previously identified by the Ombudsman. It is not clear why the Council did not issue the apology sooner and within the agreed timescales, seeing that it had already communicated with Ms X about this matter by email. This is fault, but I do not consider this caused Ms X significant injustice.

Final decision

22. The Council failed to provide Ms X with an apology and financial payment as recommended by the Ombudsman. The Council has already apologised to Ms X and has now arranged payment by cheque. I am satisfied with this and have completed my investigation on this basis.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman