Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council passed incomplete data to a third party to verify his identity for the Electoral Register. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council passed incomplete data to a credit reference agency to verify his identity for the Electoral Register.
2. He says that the Council did not include his middle name and this omission meant he failed the verification process.
3. Mr X says he had to pay £100 to verify his identity by other means. He would like the Council to reimburse him this money.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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.(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X says the Council passed his details to a third party to verify his identity for electoral purposes. The information included his first and last name, but not his middle name.
8. Mr X says he failed the verification checks because the Council did not include his middle name in the information it sent to the third party.
9. However, I note that the Council have explained to Mr X that his middle name is not required for the Electoral Register or by the third-party company. They also confirmed that the third-party organisation already had Mr X’s middle name on its record and did not require it from the Council for electoral verification purposes.
10. Whilst I acknowledge Mr X’s frustration at having to pay £100 to complete his verification, there is not enough evidence of fault with the Council’s actions to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman