Mr S complained that Newport City Council failed to acknowledge or provide a complaint response about a planning matter.
The Ombudsman decided that whilst the Council had initially responded to Mr S, it had failed to acknowledge or respond to his subsequent complaint. She said that this caused frustration and uncertainty to Mr S. She decided to settle the complainant without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to apologise to Mr S, provide an explanation for this failure, and issue a complaint response within 4 weeks.