The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Ms X complained the Council delayed providing her child a travel pass which she had paid for. As a result Ms X had to take her child to school and was only able to use the travel pass for one of the eight weeks it covered. We have found the Council at fault, however it agreed to reimburse Ms X for her travel costs which remedies the injustice caused.
The complaint
Ms X complains on behalf of her son, Mr Y, about the time taken for him to receive a travel pass that Ms X paid £150 for. Ms X says Mr Y was only able to use the pass for one week out of the eight weeks it covered due to the delay receiving it.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended) If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
As part of this investigation I considered the information provided by Ms X and the Council.
What I found
What happened Ms X applied to the Council for a post 16 home to school travel pass for Mr Y and paid £150. The travel pass was to cover the summer school term however this never arrived.
Ms X contacted the Council about this and after not receiving a response, made a formal complaint in May 2024. The Council said Mr Y’s ticket was uploaded onto his existing card and needed to be activated at a station.
Ms X remained dissatisfied and complained to the Ombudsman. After Ms X complained to the Ombudsman the Council decided to review the complaint and found there was a delay providing Mr Y’s travel pass. The Council said this was caused by an administrative error. The Council apologised to Ms X and offered to reimburse her for the costs she incurred taking Mr Y to school caused by the delay in receiving the travel pass.
Analysis The Council was at fault for the time taken to process the travel pass. This caused injustice to Ms X as she incurred costs taking Mr Y to school despite already having paid for a travel pass.
The Council recognised this and apologised. It agreed to pay Ms X the travel costs she incurred taking Mr Y to school for the time he was without the travel pass. I am satisfied this remedies the injustice caused.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation and found there was fault by the Council which caused injustice. The Council has already taken action to remedy the injustice caused.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman