LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about deprivation of assets to avoid care charges, because there is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision making.

Summary: There was fault in the Council’s failure to communicate with Mrs B and Mrs D about a change in care provider. This caused distress to Mrs B and Mrs D. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs B and Mrs D and pay them £250.

Summary: Miss X complained about regular missed assisted bin collections over the last two years. There was fault causing injustice when the Council regularly failed to empty Miss X’s bins. The Council agreed to provide a remedy for the avoidable distress and frustration its faults caused.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because we are unlikely to find fault.

Summary: Although the Council experienced a significant number of challenges to its refuse collection service over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains at fault for failing to empty Dr X’s bins on a number of occasions over a period of more than two years. This meant she had to go to the time and trouble of repeatedly reporting missed collections, which caused her an injustice. The Council has now fixed Dr X’s collection problems; however, it has also agreed to apologise, provide a payment of £200 to recognise Dr X’s injustice, and ensure our findings are shared as part of its ongoi

Summary: Although the Council experienced a significant number of challenges to its refuse collection service over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains at fault for failing to empty Mrs B’s bins on a number of occasions over a two-year period. This meant she had to go to the time and trouble of repeatedly reporting missed collections, which caused her an injustice. The Council has now fixed Mrs B’s collection problems; however, it has also agreed to apologise and provide a payment of £100 to recognise her injustice.

Summary: Although the Council experienced a significant number of challenges to its refuse collection service over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains at fault for failing to empty Ms B’s bins on a number of occasions over a two-year period. This meant she had to go to the time and trouble of repeatedly reporting missed collections, which caused her an injustice. This injustice was compounded because the Council’s failings disproportionately affected its assisted collection service, which Ms B receives because she is disabled. The Council has now fixed Ms B’s collection problems; h

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that vibrations from large vehicles

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to tell him he had to make a financial contribution towards the cost of his care at home. He also complained about being charged for care he did not receive. We have found the Council to be at fault because it sent bills to the wrong address and overcharged him by over £1000. This caused significant distress. To remedy this injustice, the Council has agreed to apologise, cancel the outstanding invoice and carry out a review of the Care Provider’s charging practices.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to register a local land charge on the complainant’s home. This is because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s actions.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about Mr C’s direct payment account. This is because the court has decided the matters and we cannot consider any matters which have been before a court.

Summary: Miss X complained the Council regularly failed to collect her household waste and recycling. Miss X said this caused her distress and inconvenience. We found the Council is at fault. We recommended it apologise to Miss X, pay her £400 and act to prevent recurrence.

Summary: Mr B complained the Council charged his mother, Mrs C, for domiciliary care when it said it would be free. He also complained about the quality of this care. Mr B says Mrs C paid for a service she thought was going to be free and this caused her distress. We found fault with the Council for its delay completing Mrs C’s financial assessment. The Council will pay Mrs C £200 for the injustice caused by its delay.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council replacing his general waste bin with a smaller one. It was fault for the Council to initially agree Mr X was eligible to keep a larger bin. But the injustice caused to Mr X by this fault is not significant enough to warrant investigation. The Council has apologised for the fault, and an investigation would not achieve a different outcome. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council applying its bin policy to justify an investigation, and we cannot achieve the outcome he seeks.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s actions in connection with a commercial project she worked on. This is because Miss X has agreed a settlement with the Council and had she felt the settlement did not provide a suitable remedy it would have been reasonable for her to take the matter to court.

Summary: The Council is at fault for losing or failing to keep Mr X’s records from his time in care. The Council will pay Mr X £1000 in recognition of the injustice caused.

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council's response to his children’s statutory complaint. The Council was at fault in how it responded to Mr X’s concerns about the actions of its education department and health services and for a delay in arranging an educational placement for Mr X’s son, W. This caused Mr X frustration and meant W missed out on educational provision. The Council will apologise to Mr X and W and pay W £1500 to remedy that injustice. It will also carry out staff training.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the way a Council officer manoeuvred his car. This is because the matter has not caused Mr X a significant personal injustice which is serious enough to warrant an investigation.

Summary: Mrs E complained the Council refused to reduce the land charge on her late mother’s property after it awarded a Disabled Facilities Grant. We do not find the Council was at fault.

Summary: Mr Y complains about the Council’s failure to deal with problems in an alleyway by his home. We find no fault in the way the Council responded to Mr Y’s concerns. There is some fault in the Council’s handling of Mr Y’s complaint, but the apology already offered is an appropriate remedy.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s bin contractors. The complaint about the empty bins, and an incident of abusive language, do not cause such significant personal injustice to him to warrant us investigating. Any damage to Mr X’s property would be a matter for the Council’s insurers, the courts or the police, not the Ombudsman. We do not investigate complaints about council’s internal complaint processes where we are not investigating the core issue giving rise to the complaint.

Summary: The Council was at fault for delays in arranging funding for Mr B’s residential care. This meant his savings were depleted and he built up a large debt with the care home. The Council has now paid the debt and reinstated Mr B’s savings. It has also agreed that a senior manager will investigate and brief staff on the Council’s failings in this case, and it has agreed to pay Mr B’s son-in-law £250 to recognise the time he spent on the complaint.

Summary: Mrs B complained about the Council’s refusal to award her a Blue Badge. During the investigation she applied again with new evidence and her application was successful. We have discontinued the investigation as the complaint is resolved.

Mr X complains about the Council’s grant of planning permission for a nearby school extension. We will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint, that the Council lied in court proceedings leading to her grandchildren being placed for adoption, because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from considering complaints about matters that have been considered and decided in court. We have no discretion to do so.