Mrs A said that she and her partner were homeless in2022. In March 2023 they moved into a hotel and most of their belongings were put into storage, which the Council had arranged. In May 2024, Mrs A and her partner managed to secure a property, which they moved into. At that time, she asked for their belongings to be returned. Mrs A contacted the Council numerous times about this matter, but their possessions were not returned.
Mrs A wanted her belongings to be found but recognised, at this point, that they were probably not recoverable. She said she wanted the Council to be held accountable and for it to offer compensation, not only for the lost property, but for the distress caused and for the time and trouble in attempting to resolve the matter for over a year.
The Ombudsman found that there were delays on the part of the Council in resolving the matter, which had caused a detriment to Mrs A. The Ombudsman was of the view that the Council’s handling of the matter amounted to maladministration which had caused her to suffer an injustice.
The Council informed the Ombudsman that the matter of compensation for the loss of the items had recently been passed to its external insurer to consider. Instead of investigating this complaint, the Ombudsman obtained the Council’s agreement to, within 1 month, make a time and trouble payment of £250 to Mrs A.