The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council refused to communicate with him by phone. There is insufficient evidence of fault.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council refused to communicate with him via phone when he sought help through its customer service centre.
Mr X said the matter caused him frustration.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (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
In March 2025 the Council sent Mr X a letter restricting his contact to email only following a high volume of communications it determined were inappropriate.
Mr X phoned the Council’s customer service helpline in July 2025. Mr X said he was told by the police to seek help from the Council. When Mr X called the Council, the officer explained to Mr X his contact was restricted to email only communication.
Mr X complained to the Council that it would not speak to him by phone.
We will not investigate this complaint. The Council explained the reason it would not speak to Mr X by phone and provided Mr X with a list of email addresses he can contact relating to different elements of the Council’s functions. It is open to Mr X to contact the Council via the email addresses he has been provided.
There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman