London Borough of Croydon (23 019 545)

Statement Upheld Commercial and contracts 20-Aug-2024

Summary: Mr B complained that the Council had failed to take effective action to stop a resident blocking access to his garage. It had also failed to respond to his communications about the problems or refund the garage rent despite promising to do so. We have found fault in the Council’s actions causing Mr B an injustice. The Council has taken action to stop the anti-social behaviour, to refund the past rent to Mr B and freeze ongoing payments. It has also agreed to apologise to him, make a symbolic payment of £300 and improve its record-keeping for the future

London Borough of Bexley (24 005 138)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 20-Aug-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council sending Mr X an automatic reply to an enquiry he made. This is because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (24 005 006)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Commercial and contracts 19-Aug-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council set annual rent for a carpark. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision to justify our involvement.

Torridge District Council (24 006 035)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 19-Aug-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of matters relating to Mr X’s postal address on its Street Numbering and Naming system. This is because an investigation is unlikely to add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (24 006 117)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Councillor conduct and standards 19-Aug-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decisions on Code of Conduct complaints Mr X made against two councillors. This is because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council.

Wakefield City Council (24 004 162)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Councillor conduct and standards 18-Aug-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a councillor’s conduct in 2022. The complaint is late and there is no good reason to investigate now.

Torbay Council (24 006 435)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 15-Aug-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council disclosing the complainant’s personal information to a third party. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate as the matter is best dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (24 007 714)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 15-Aug-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about what happened during a telephone conversation where Mrs X says a Council officer put the telephone down on her abruptly. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. We are unlikely to find evidence of fault warranting an investigation.

Essex County Council (24 004 571)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 14-Aug-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a school fence. This is because the Council has no duty to pay for structures which the school owns and we do not have the power to investigate this type of complaint about what happens in schools.

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (24 004 900)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Commercial and contracts 14-Aug-2024

Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s increase of its licence fee for renting space at a business centre. This is because the issue is not subject to investigation under the Local Government Act 1974. It is in any event a dispute over whether the Council’s actions breach the licence agreement, which is a matter for the courts.