Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s request to repay the costs of a wheelchair damaged on home to school transport. There is insufficient evidence of a significant personal injustice to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complain the Council has failed to pay for the repairs to their son’s wheelchair which broke while he was using home to school transport.
2. They say this has left them financially out of pocket,

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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.

(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.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr and Mrs X’s son was using home to school transport when his wheelchair broke. They arranged a call out to fix the wheelchair the same day. Mr and Mrs X asked the Council to pay the invoice. It paid the invoice directly to the company that carried the work after Mr and Mrs X brought his complaint to the Ombudsman.
7. While I understand Mr and Mrs X’s frustration, we will not start an investigation into their complaint. They have not suffered a personal injustice because of any potential fault by the Council in making payment for the repairs.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint because there has not been a significant personal injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman