The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with repair issues in Miss X’s temporary accommodation. This is because the Council has already offered Miss X a financial remedy and further investigation is unlikely to result in a different outcome.
The complaint
Miss X complains the Council failed to deal with repair issues when she was in temporary accommodation. Miss X says she wants the Council to give her a rent rebate as compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and Guidance on Remedies.
My assessment
Miss X complains about repair issues which occurred between 2016 and 2020. The Council has accepted some failings in how it responded to the issues Miss X raised and has offered to pay her £1600 to acknowledge the distress this caused.
It is unlikely that an investigation by the Ombudsman would result in a different outcome and so we will not investigate this complaint. The issues Miss X has raised happened some time ago which means we are unlikely to be able to carry out an effective investigation that would result in an increased financial remedy. This is because although some records may still exist people’s recollections of events at the time are unlikely to be clear or reliable. The remedy the Council has offered is in line with our Guidance on Remedies.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is nothing further we could achieve from investigating this complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman