LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s escalation of a penalty charge notice. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court to make a late witness statement/statutory declaration.

Summary: Mr B says the Council wrongly removed and scrapped his vehicle when it was not abandoned. The Council was not at fault for removing the vehicle. However, the Council failed to follow its policy before destroying it. An apology to Mr B, payment to reflect the value of the vehicle and to address the inconvenience he was put to, along with a reminder to officers is satisfactory remedy.

Summary: Ms X complains that the Council pursued her for a council tax debt she did not owe. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because the matter has been remedied.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax fees and a failed direct debit. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax charged for a property the complainant had no access to and could not sell after her mother died. Any council tax debt falls to the personal representatives, and it would be reasonable for them to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal against the bill.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to issue a notice advising Ms X it was considering serving an Improvement Notice in connection with the property she rents out to tenants. This is because Ms X can appeal against an Improvement Notice to the First Tier Tribunal and this places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.

Summary: Ms Y complained the Council placed her in unsuitable temporary accommodation, which was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council was at fault. It was also at fault for not proactively assisting Ms Y to find accommodation between July 2020 and February 2021, and not telling her it had cancelled her housing register application when it discharged its homelessness duty in March 2021. It will apologise, make changes to its processes, and pay Ms Y £2,800 to remedy the unsuitable accommodation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the quality of care in a residential home. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The Care Provider has closed down and the Council has no record of any complaint being made to it. We are therefore unable to carry out a meaningful investigation or achieve the complainant’s desired outcome.

Summary: Miss X complains about the Council’s failure to notify her of Council Tax arrears and subsequent enforcement action. We have not found the Council to be at fault because it contacted Miss X at her last known address.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council’s Monitoring Officer dealt with a complaint about the conduct of a councillor. This is because we are unlikely to find fault.

Summary: Mrs X and her husband complained the Council did not properly pay them for missed respite service when they looked after a child as foster carers. The Council was at fault as it failed to provide a respite service to Mrs X and her husband whilst they cared for the child. However, the Council offered to pay Mrs X and her husband £25,200 for the lack of respite service. It also offered to pay them £500 for the time and trouble they went through to complain to the Council. I consider this is an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused by the fault.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about bin collections. The injustice is not significant enough to warrant our involvement and the use of public money. We will not investigate other issues which have not been put before the Council.

Summary: Miss X complains the Council failed to collect food waste on multiple occasions and reported incorrectly on its website. We find fault with the Council. It will apologise to Miss X and pay her £200 for her time and trouble reporting the issues.

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Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint the Council is pursuing a penalty charge notice debt. Ms X used her right of appeal to the County Court’s traffic enforcement centre. The Council is entitled to pursue debt recovery and we cannot achieve what Ms X wants.

Summary: Ms X complained on behalf of her son, Mr Y, about the Council’s decision not to fund a supported living placement for him. Mr Y was upset about this as he needs to increase his independence. He did not want to move to another family environment as recommended by the panel that refused funding. Ms X and Mr Y have now found a suitable placement which is not supported living. We therefore find the Council was not at fault.

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s actions undertaken to recover her Council Tax. She said she was unfairly charged recovery fees as, although with delay, she paid all her Council Tax instalments in the months they were due. We find fault in the way the Council carried out the Council Tax recovery. The Council accepted our recommendations to remedy the injustice caused to Ms X.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council delayed issuing a council tax refund. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and insufficient evidence of injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about incorrect council tax bills. This is because the problem has been resolved and there is insufficient evidence of injustice. In addition, we cannot investigate a council when it is operating as a landlord.

Miss X complained about the temporary accommodation the Council provided her family with while she is homeless and the priority it gave her for social housing.

Summary: Mr X complains the Council’s contractors, Contractor D, incorrectly removed items left in his back garden. We do not find the Council at fault.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s child protection actions. The matters complained of are not separable from matters that have been subject to court action, or that could have been raised during a court process.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about planning enforcement because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr C’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to apply a single person discount to his council tax account. This is because it is reasonable for Mr C to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council issuing moving traffic penalties by post which Miss X says she did not receive. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.