Leeds City Council (21 012 575)

Category : Other Categories > Leisure and culture

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 28 Feb 2022

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mr S complains the Council did not respond to his questions about whether he could use particular facilities at a council run leisure centre. We found fault in the delay by the Council, which caused Mr S frustration. The Council has apologised for the delay and offered Mr S and his wife two months free access.

The complaint

  1. Mr S complains there has been no response from the Council to his question if he can use particular facilities at a council run leisure centre. Mr S said the Council told him he could use the centre for free when it took payment after he had cancelled his membership. Mr S wants confirmation he and his wife can use the squash court for one month.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
  2. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I have considered Mr S’s complaint and supporting information and have spoken to him about the complaint.
  2. I have considered the Council’s response to Mr S and to my enquiries.
  3. Mr S and the Council have had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

What happened

  1. Mr S had a gym membership to a council run leisure centre.
  2. Mr S cancelled his gym membership but not in time for his direct debit to be cancelled. This meant the Council took payment for another month.
  3. Mr S contacted the Council and asked for a refund. The Council told him it could not refund him as he failed to cancel in time. The Council offered him the use of the gym for the month he paid for.
  4. Mr S then asked the Council to tell him when all the gym facilities, including the squash court, would re-open as they had closed due to Covid. The Council did not respond to this query. In response to our enquiries, the Council apologised for the delay in responding to Mr S’s question. It also offered Mr S and his wife two months of access to the leisure centre, including the gym and use of squash courts, which Mr S accepts.

Analysis

  1. The evidence shows Mr S did not cancel his gym membership in time. This was not the fault of the Council and Mr S was informed of this in the Council’s complaint response.
  2. The Council has acknowledged fault in not responding to Mr S’s question about when the gym facilities and squash court would open. This caused Mr S frustration as he did not know what was happening.

Agreed action

  1. The Council has apologised for the delay and offered Mr S and his wife a further two months of access to the leisure centre.
  2. We are satisfied this is an appropriate remedy for the frustration caused to Mr S for the lack of reply.
  3. The Council should complete the above within four weeks.

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Final decision

  1. The Council is at fault for the delay in response to Mr S. It has provided an appropriate remedy and so we have completed our investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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