The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to check his DBS update status, resulting in him paying £70 for a new DBS certificate. This is because his injustice is not the result of any fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council wrongly advised him about his subscription status for the DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) update service. As a result he submitted a new application for a DBS certificate and paid a £70 application fee. Mr X believes the Council could have checked his status and advised he did not need to apply for a new certificate. He also complains about the Council’s handling of his complaint.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X contacted the Council to inform it he intended to apply for a new DBS certificate on 7 June 2021. At the same time he stated he recalled having signed up for the DBS update service and asked the Council if there was any way to check this. The Council responded explaining it could only check his DBS status if Mr X provided a copy of his original DBS certificate. It agreed to carry out further checks if he could provide this information and explained he could also contact the DBS update service direct.
However, instead of carrying out any further checks with the Council or the DBS update service, Mr X proceeded with his application for a new DBS certificate and on 9 June 2021 he paid a £70 fee to submit the application through the Council. The Council says it processed his application immediately and sent it to the DBS. Therefore, when Mr X contacted the Council again on 10 June 2021 to confirm he had a valid DBS certificate and wished to stop his application and obtain a refund of his payment the Council advised it was too late.
Mr X believes the Council had the information it needed to check his DBS update status when he contacted it on 7 June 2021 and that it should have carried out further checks at that time. But the Council did not tell him that he was not registered for the update service and gave him two options to carry out further checks before completing his application. It was his choice in these circumstances to proceed with his application and pay the fee and he did so in the knowledge this was not refundable, even if the application was withdrawn or cancelled. We could not therefore say the injustice he claims is the result of any fault by the Council.
Mr X complains the Council sent further requests for details and information about his DBS certificate later in 2021 that could have led him to make a new application and pay a further £70 fee but he did not do so and we cannot recommend a remedy for an injustice that could have happened but did not. While it is clear Mr X spent time responding to the Council’s requests we do not consider his injustice from this issue is significant enough to warrant further investigation or any financial remedy.
Mr X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with his complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council’s actions did not cause Mr X significant injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman