The Ombudsman found that the Council failed to acknowledge and respond to Mrs A’s complaint. She said this caused uncertainty and frustration to Mrs A and decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to, within 3 weeks, offer an apology and explanation to Mrs A, issue a complaint response and offer a £100 financial redress payment in recognition of the failure to respond to Mrs A’s complaint and for the time and trouble in making a complaint to the Ombudsman.