Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council managed his allotment payment. It is late and there are no good reasons he did not complain sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council did not tell him it was changing the way it took payment for allotments. Mr X says a debt collection agency contacted him for a late payment as a result, and this caused him inconvenience to resolve the issue.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done.

(Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mr X says in 2020 a debt collection agency got in touch with him for a late payment that was due for his allotment. Mr X says he had always made payments by direct debit banking.
6. Mr X complained to the Council and it explained it had changed the payment arrangements for that year. It also explained it had written to people who had been affected. The Council apologised for the distress it had caused Mr X.
7. Mr X made this complaint to the Council in October 2020 and the Council completed the complaints procedure in February 2021. There are no good reasons Mr X could not have complained to us within 12 months of when he first knew about the issue.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council managed his allotment payment. It is late and there are no good reasons he did not complain sooner

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman