Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to register Mr X’s complaint about a planning matter. We have not seen enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council refuses to register his complaint about the way it dealt with a planning application.
2. He wants the Council to accept it wrongly classed him as vexatious and to accept his complaint and provide a full response. He also wants an apology and review of the Council’s complaint handling.

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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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(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 Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained to the Council about the way it dealt with a planning application.
7. The Council wrote to Mr X. It explained his complaint was similar to other correspondence it had received and which it believed were vexatious. It asked Mr X to provide his home address so it could write to him by post so that it could verify his identity.
8. Mr X asked the Council why it needed his postal address as he had provided an email address.
9. The Council advised it could not provide further background information. It also advised if he did not provide a postal address it would consider his complaint anonymous and vexatious as it could not verify his identity and because of its similarity to other correspondence it had received.
10. Mr X refused to provide his postal address. The Council therefore confirmed it would not register his complaint as it could not confirm his identity.
11. I understand Mr X says the Council refuses to register his complaint. However, the Council has explained it needs his postal address so it can verify his identity, which will enable it to register his complaint.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has explained it requires a postal address to very his identity. It needs to do this because of the similarities to other correspondence it has received which it believes is vexatious. Under the circumstances we have not seen enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman