Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council sending Mrs X a warning letter about the level of communication she was sending it. There is no significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mrs X was unhappy because the Council sent her a letter, warning her it would consider restricting how she could contact it. Mrs X said the letter was intended to prevent her accessing statutory provision for her child and she found it to be disproportionate.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. In November 2025, the Council wrote to Mrs X and provided her with examples of contact she had sent it in the preceding months. It said the level of her contact across several service areas was unreasonably persistent. It said if Mrs X continued to communicate in the same manner, it would consider restricting how and by what method she could contact it.
5. We will not normally investigate a complaint unless there is good reason to believe that the complainant has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the Council. To satisfy this threshold we would need to be satisfied a person has suffered serious loss, or harm, or distress directly because of the Council’s actions.
6. It is notable that in mid-October, Mrs X had also made a formal complaint to the Council about the substantive matters, that she was trying to communicate with the Council about. Mrs X has now had a response to those matters.
7. I have not considered those substantive matters, but in so far as Mrs X’s complaint about receiving a warning letter, I am not satisfied the Council’s actions here, has caused Mrs X a significant injustice to warrant an investigation into those aspects alone. Therefore, I will not investigate.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is no significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman