The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council will not reimburse Miss X’s taxi fare as there is insufficient injustice to warrant our involvement.
The complaint
Miss X complains she incurred a taxi fare of £30 when she was not made aware that an appointment she had made with the Council had been cancelled. Miss X seeks a payment of £30 to remedy this.
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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
While I recognise Miss X remains unhappy about what took place, I do not consider the level of injustice in this case is sufficient to warrant our involvement, in the public interest. We will not therefore investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the claimed level of injustice is not sufficient to warrant our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman