Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about poor customer service from a council department. The Council has admitted some fault and apologised. Further investigation by us is unlikely to achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. Mr X is concerned about the lack of insulation in his property. He complains about his time and trouble caused in trying to get a response from the housing renewal section in charge of insulation matters.
2. He says he has contacted the department over thirty times in three months, but no one has responded properly.

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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 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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council has responded to Mr X’s complaint. It found there has been some delays in responding promptly to Mr X’s calls. It also said it confirmed early on to him in writing that his case was on a waiting list and he would be contacted in due course.
6. It has apologised for the delays and asked for further information on the ‘thirty’ calls made as it says this does not match its records.
7. In these circumstances we will not investigate as we are unlikely to achieve anything more. Mr X has received an apology and received confirmation on the status of his case. This is appropriate.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot achieve anything more to add to the Council’s investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman