Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council (19 003 316)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about poor service the complainant received while waiting in a queue at the Council office. This is because the Council has provided a fair response.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains that a Council employee pushed in front of him in a queue. He also complains that the receptionist was rude 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 an investigation if the Council has provided a fair and proportionate response. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.
What I found
What happened
- Mr X joined a queue at the Council office. A Council employee pushed ahead of Mr X and was served by the receptionist. Mr X says the receptionist continued to work on the employee’s query and ignored Mr X until she had finished dealing with the employee. Mr X objected and says the receptionist then accused him of being rude. Mr X complained.
- In response the Council apologised for the poor service Mr X had received. It conveyed an apology from the receptionist who agreed the situation could have been handled differently. The Council said that if the employee had had an urgent issue then they should have explained this to Mr X and apologised. The Council said that it would monitor the staff involved and explained that the unacceptable attitude had been pointed out.
Assessment
- I will not start an investigation because the Council has provided a fair response. It has apologised, agreed that Mr X received poor service and explained that the issue had been addressed with the member of staff and that her performance would be monitored. This was a fair and proportionate response and there is no reason for the Ombudsman to start an investigation.
Final decision
- I will not start an investigation because the Council has already provided a fair response to the complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman