Royal Borough of Greenwich (19 008 055)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council is at fault for not registering a notice on the land registry and not communicating with him. The Council has registered the notice and apologised for its delay and inadequate communication.
The complaint
- Mr X complains on behalf of Company A that the Council has failed to register a notice on the land charges register to the possible detriment of their interest. Mr X says the Council failed to reply to his request.
- Mr X complains that the Council has failed to deal with his complaint about its inaction and again failed to reply to him.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the action taken by the Council.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered Mr X’s information and comments. I have clarified the position with the Council.
What I found
- Following contact from this office, on 3 December the Council has written to Mr X and explained the following:
- In August it registered the notice on the land charges register. It has apologised for the delay (of over 6 weeks) and not explaining the position to Mr X. It says it needed the input of the planning officer.
- The Council has apologised to Mr X for its failure to deal with his complaint which it says it failed to register or deal with (apparently until contacted by this office).
Analysis
- I will not investigate this complaint because the Council has acted appropriately to correct its errors. It has met Mr X’s request to register the notice and has apologised for its administrative fault.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to register a notice on the land registry and failed to communicate with him. The Council has registered the notice and apologised for the delay and inadequate communication.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman