Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council should refund mooring fees she overpaid due to a clerical error. The complaint is late, and I see no good reason why she couldn’t have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains a former harbour master recorded her boat's length as 10.5 metres instead of its actual length of 10 metres. She says this error led to her paying excess mooring fees for several years.
2. Mrs X says the marina later remeasured the boat and corrected its records. However, it refused to refund the overcharges she had paid for former years. Mrs X says this has caused her financial hardship, and she wants the marina to write off the debt.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. In 2024, Mrs X complained to the Council after she discovered that it had charged her mooring fees based on an incorrect boat length. The Council investigated the complaint and amended its records to reflect the correct length. Since then, Mrs X has paid the correct fees. Mrs X requested a refund of the fees she had overpaid.
8. The Council told Mrs X its policy is to correct vessel lengths going forward and not refund former charges. It said making an exception in her case would be inconsistent with previous decisions and therefore refused to refund the earlier charges. The Council signposted Mrs X to the Ombudsman at that time if she was dissatisfied with its decision.
9. Mrs X's complaint concerns events that occurred more than 12 months before she complained to us. Although we can exercise discretion to consider late complaints where there is a good reason to do so, I have not identified any reason why Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.
10. We will not investigate this complaint because it is late, and I see no good reason why Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs X's complaint because the complaint is late and I see no good reason why she couldn’t have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman