Mr A complained that the Council had not formally responded to his complaint or further correspondence for 5 months.
The Ombudsman was concerned that Mr A had not received a response and about the Council’s failure to adhere to its complaints policy. The Council responded to the complaint and apologised to Mr A for the delay. It confirmed that additional resources had been put in place to avoid similar issues from occurring in the future.
Based on the action already taken, the Ombudsman sought and obtained the Council’s agreement to, within 1 month, provide Mr A with a time and trouble payment of £100, in recognition of the inconvenience caused. This action was accepted as an alternative to an investigation.