Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the failure of the Council’s leisure service provider to warn the complainant before it resumed taking membership fee payments. The Council confirms it will review whether to remind people prior to resumption of frozen memberships that payments will be resumed. It has also offered the complainant a refund of one month membership fee in recognition of the provider’s delays in responding to her complaint. We consider that further investigation will not add to that already completed by the Council.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council’s leisure provider failed to warn her before resuming direct debit collections after she froze her leisure services membership for a short period on medical grounds.
2. She wants the Council to refund the £123 it took over the three months without telling her it had resumed taking payments.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. In June 2022 Ms X asked the Council’s leisure services provider (LL) to freeze her membership for medical reasons from July 2022 to September 2022. LL confirmed it would do so. It started collecting Ms X’s membership payments again in October 2022. Ms X says she did not notice the payments had resumed until December 2022.
7. After corresponding with LL, Ms X complained to the Council in October 2023. The Council confirmed LL will review whether to issue warnings prior to the resumption of frozen memberships. It also advised that LL had offered Ms X a refund of one month membership in recognition of the delays in its responses.
8. Ms X is not satisfied and complained to the Ombudsman. She is seeking a refund of membership payments for three months.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it appears that LL froze her membership according to her instructions. The Council has confirmed LL will review whether to remind people before payments resume when memberships have been frozen. It has also offered Ms X a refund of one month membership fee in recognition of delays in responding to her. We consider that further investigation will not add to that already carried out by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman