Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about problems the complainant had contacting the Council by phone. This is because the Council has provided a proportionate response and there is not enough injustice to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about the difficulty he has contacting the Council by phone. Mr X wants compensation of £1000.

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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 an investigation if we believe:

• the Council has provided an appropriate response; or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(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. I spoke to Mr X after he received a draft of this decision and considered a press article he provided as part of his complaint.

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What I found

What happened

4. Mr X waited on hold, for an hour, trying to speak to the Council. He complained about the delay.
5. In response the Council apologised. It said the wait times are higher than anticipated and officers work hard to make sure the phone lines are fully staffed and calls are answered as soon as possible. It said it encourages people to make use of the on-line services but many people prefer to use the phone. It said it is reviewing whether it can replace its system to use one that gives greater flexibility in terms of the messages played while people are on hold.
6. Mr X is dissatisfied with the reply and wants £1000 compensation. He says he has to contact the Council in writing rather than trying to use the phone. Mr X says the Council has knowingly caused him trouble for many years and has been aware of the problems with the phone for many years.

Assessment

7. The Council has apologised for the wait times and explained the action it has taken to try to reduce the time people spend on hold. The press article Mr X provided, written in October 2019, explains that the Council was taking action to try to reduce the pressure on the phones. I appreciate that waiting on hold is frustrating but the Council has provided a proportionate response and there is not enough injustice to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

8. I will not start an investigation because the Council has provided a fair response and there is not enough injustice to require an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman