London Borough of Hackney (19 018 238)

Category : Environment and regulation > Licensing

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 25 Mar 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about licensing fees he paid before 2017. The complaint is made late to the Ombudsman and there are not good reasons to investigate now.

The complaint

  1. Mr X complains he paid £800 in unnecessary trading licence renewals between 2013 and 2017.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I have considered what Mr X has said in his complaint. I have written to Mr X with my draft decision and given him the opportunity to comment.

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What I found

  1. Mr X complains that due to administrative failings on the Council’s part, he has had to pay £800 in unnecessary trading licence renewals between 2013 and 2017. Mr X seeks a refund from the Council of these fees.

Assessment

  1. We cannot investigate a complaint which is about events known to Mr X for more than 12 months without good reason. Mr X has provided no explanation as to why he did not complain to us sooner. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to have brought this complaint to us within 12 months of him knowing about it. The complaint is therefore outside our legal remit.

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Final decision

  1. My decision is that the Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is made late and there is not good reason to investigate now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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