Reading Borough Council (23 013 481)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about money
Mr X says the Council did not send to him after an Ombudsman investigation in 2008. There is not a good reason for the delay, and we could not come to sound conclusions now due to the time that has passed.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council failed to pay him a financial remedy the Ombudsman recommended in 2008. He says the matter has caused him a financial detriment and distress. He wants the Council to pay him the £200 it promised.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complains the Council did not pay him £200 which he says it promised in 2008, when we were previously involved.
- The law says complainants should bring matters to us within 12 months of events. Mr X had the opportunity to raise the matter in 2008 and there is not a good reason for the significant delay.
- Our privacy notice explains that we destroy most casework records after 12 months of our last substantive action. We keep a record of the complaint and details of our decision, including the decision statement, on file for five years and we keep decision statements published on our website for five years.
- It would not be possible now for us to come to any sound conclusions about what happened in 2008. We have no record now of any decision we made and any contact following this relating to payment of any recommended financial remedy. There is not a good reason for us to investigate Mr X’s complaint now.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s historical complaint because there is not a good reason for the significant delay, and we could not come to sound conclusions due to the time that has passed.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman