Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about payments for gym membership. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is no significant injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complained he was overcharged by his local gym which is operated by the Council. Although the Council explained the charges to him after he made a complaint, Mr X believes he has paid about £21 too much. He would like a refund and an apology.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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’.
3. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault;
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained; or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and our Assessment Code.

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Final decision

5. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because, even if there was fault by the Council, any injustice to him would not justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman