Summary

Miss X complains that the Council made her unsuitable offers of accommodation when she was homeless; did not reimburse her within a reasonable time for storage charges she paid while she was homeless and living in temporary accommodation; took too long to consider and reply to her complaints; did not fully address her complaints that some officers made unprofessional comments in its reply to the Stage Two complaint; wrongly told her she was ranked first on the shortlist for a property which would be ready in September 2016. She therefore stopped bidding for other suitable properties advertised on the Home Move scheme for two months.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

To remedy the injustice caused, we recommend the Council should:

• apologise to Miss X;
• pay £750 to recognise the injustice caused by its decision to leave her and Z in unsuitable temporary accommodation between July and September 2016;
• pay £100 for the six months it took to reimburse storage charges;
• pay £150 to recognise the time and trouble caused by its delay and poor handling of her complaint;

Ombudsman satisfied with the Council's response: 9 August 2018

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