Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s delay in providing Mr X with a letter he requested. This is because we would be unlikely to provide a worthwhile outcome for him.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained that the Council delayed sending him a letter the Ombudsman instructed it to send as part of his previous complaint about anti-social behaviour.
2. Mr X advised that he has been caused stress and inconvenience by the Council’s actions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• 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 Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X has complained to us previously regarding anti-social behaviour. We found the Council at fault for several reasons and in March 2023 we instructed it to contact Mr X within three months and enquire how it could assist him with the anti-social behaviour he was experiencing.
7. In May 2023 Mr X complained to the Council because he had not received a letter. The Council told Mr X it had posted the letter to Mr X via first class. Mr X escalated his complaint because he still had not received it. In June 2023 the Council apologised and told Mr X it had sent the letter again and emailed it to him.
8. Mr X remains unhappy with the Council’s actions and wants us to find it at fault. The Council has apologised to Mr X and confirmed it has sent Mr X the letter he asked for several times. It has also sent Mr X an email. These were reasonable actions for the Council to take and an investigation would not lead to anything worthwhile here. In addition, whilst there was some delay in the Council’s actions the injustice caused to Mr X is minimal.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we would be unlikely to provide Mr X with a worthwhile outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman