The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s gym membership. The complaint is late and there is n o good reason why Mr X could not have contacted us sooner.
The complaint
Mr X complained about how the Council dealt with his gym membership. He said: he lost access to a UK-wide leisure facility network, and the Council’s complaint handling was poor.
Mr X said the financial remedy the Council offered was inadequate, and he wants the Council to apologise for the stress and delays he experienced.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done.
(Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of having notice of the problem complained about.
Mr X has been aware of the matters he complains about since March 2023, which was when the Council brought its leisure facility offer in-house and Mr X lost access to other facilities.
Mr X did not complain to us until July 2024. Therefore, his complaint is late and there is no evidence to suggest he could not have complained to us sooner.
But even if the complaint was not late, we would not investigate. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
The Council has already admitted its service to Mr X’s case did not meet its usual standards. It has offered Mr X an apology and a financial remedy. Further investigation would achieve nothing more.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the events he complained about are late, and we have seen no reason why Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman