Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Miss X’s housing register account because it is late. And we will not investigate the Council’s withdrawal of its remedy offer because any injustice is not significant enough.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council placed her on its housing register in error in 2023 and she then wasted time seeking higher banding.
2. Miss X also complains the Council delayed paying her the £500 remedy it agreed in 2024 for its error and then in 2025 withdrew this offer of payment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Miss X’s complaint about the Council re-opening her housing register account in 2023 and then closing this in June 2024 is late, because it happened more than 12 months before Miss X contacted us. Miss X could have contacted us in time if she wanted us to investigate. I see no good reason to investigate this late complaint now.
9. In June 2024 the Council apologised to Miss X and agreed to pay her £500 compensation, noting she had wasted time and effort seeking higher banding. Miss X chased payment and in June 2025 the Council said the offer had been made in error. It explained the offer was excessive given the impact of its error on Miss X and it was not in line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies.
10. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to withdraw its remedy offer. The Council was entitled to decide this in consideration of the Ombudsman’s guidance. There is not enough evidence of fault.
11. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s delay in responding to her requests for payment. Any delay has not caused Miss X a significant injustice.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is late and because any injustice is not significant enough.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman