Source · SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman)

Leisure and Culture Dundee

SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Partly Upheld Reference 201502155 Sector Local Government Category hall letting, indoor facilities, libraries, museums etc Decided 01 May 2016

Full decision

Summary

Mr C raised his concerns about the handling of his wedding by Leisure and Culture Dundee. In particular, Mr C complained that when he met with an officer he was provided with inaccurate information before booking his wedding and that he planned his wedding around this inaccurate information. As a result, he had had to reduce the number of guests attending the ceremony and cancel the live music he had booked and paid for. He was also unhappy with the handling of his complaint.

During our investigation we found no objective evidence that inaccurate information had been provided verbally to Mr C prior to booking his wedding. Arrangements for the wedding had been based on the information contained within the booking form. We were also satisfied that Leisure and Culture Dundee had taken action to ensure that in future there will be a record of information given to customers; customers will be provided with an information leaflet; there will be three members of staff available to meet with customers; and customers will be provided with a named officer.

However, we were concerned about aspects of the handling of Mr C's complaint at the second stage of Leisure and Culture Dundee's complaints procedure, and we upheld this part of Mr C's complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that Leisure and Culture Dundee: apologise for their handling of Mr C's complaint; and ensure that staff adhere to the complaints process, in particular, in relation to extending timescales, updating complainants, and ensuring that complainants receive a full explanation for the decision reached on their complaint.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201502155 as a PDF (12.7 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018

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