Summary: Mr X complained about nuisance calls from people trying to contact the Council. There was no fault in the Council’s response, and it took reasonable steps to ensure it no longer listed its old telephone number.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about nuisance telephone calls from people trying to contact the Council. He said the Council had not taken sufficient steps to remove the telephone number from its website and literature when it gave up the telephone number.

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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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. This includes correspondence exchanged between the Council and Mr X.
4. Mr X and the Council both had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision and I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

5. Mr X moved home in April 2017 and the service provider gave him a new telephone number.
6. Mr X started to receive telephone calls after May 2017 from members of the public who wanted to speak to the Council, its highways department or one of its contractors. He was told they had found Mr X’s telephone number through online searches and the Council’s website.
7. Mr X got in touch with the Council and his telephone service provider to report the problem.
8. The telephone service provider offered to issue Mr X with a new telephone number. He refused because he did not want the inconvenience of a new telephone number to remember and tell people about.
9. Mr X hoped the problem would stop but it didn’t. He was unhappy with the Council’s lack of action, so he telephoned to complain on 20 June 2018.
10. The Council told Mr X his number was an old Council number which had not been in use since 2013. It said the number was appearing on Internet searches the Council had no control over, such as out of date business directories. It said it would tell its highways team and provided a telephone number for Mr X to directly report any further calls.
11. The Council contacted Mr X again in October 2018. It said its data protection team had issued a notice to the highways and planning departments asking them to check their records to ensure they no longer listed the number. The Council apologised to Mr X for any stress or inconvenience and said it would be in touch if there were any further updates.
12. The Council wrote to Mr X in February 2019. It had located the correct team who had a document which still referred to the old Council number and told them to amend it. The Council told Mr X to report any further calls.
13. Mr X did not think the Council had done enough and asked for compensation.
14. The Council responded on 24 April 2019. It said there was nothing further it could do in the complaints department, but it had told the relevant teams. It could not offer compensation and pointed Mr X towards the Ombudsman if he was still unhappy.
15. Mr X brought his complaint to the Ombudsman as he did not think the Council took all reasonable steps to remove the old number from its records. He was also unhappy with the Council’s handling of the complaint.

Analysis

16. Mr X provided evidence of Internet searches for his telephone number which show results of different Council departments. I have checked the results and found them to be out of date webpages which cannot be accessed, or third-party websites not controlled by the Council.
17. Members of the public would not know Mr X’s telephone number; they would be searching for the Council or a department within the Council. I have carried out searches for the Council and its planning and highways departments, including a contractor mentioned by Mr X. The results did not contain any reference to Mr X’s telephone number.
18. The Council has no control over Internet search engines or third-party websites. It took the steps available to it by asking relevant departments to check their records and providing Mr X with a direct number to report further calls. That was not fault.
19. It is appreciated receiving nuisance calls is frustrating for Mr X, but the Council gave up the old number and it was redistributed by the telephone service provider. The Council does not list or advertise the old number and it has no control over old, archived information which is available online or information displayed by third party websites or search engines it is not affiliated with. The Council investigated Mr X’s complaint and took reasonable steps to ensure it no longer lists its old telephone number. The Council was not at fault.

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Final decision

20. I have completed my investigation. There was no fault in the Council’s response, and it took reasonable steps to ensure it no longer listed its old telephone number.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman