Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council delivering a letter to Mr X late at night. This is because the Council has already apologised and said it will review.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains Council officers delivered a letter to his home late at night. Mr X says this caused him and his family great distress. He considers the officers trespassed on his land and were harassing him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

2. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
3. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Two Council officers hand delivered a letter to Mr X shortly after 11pm. The Council has apologised to Mr X and said it will issue guidance to its officers about this.
5. There is nothing further we could achieve from investigating this complaint. The Council has accepted it was at fault, issued Mr X with an apology and taken steps to ensure the fault is not repeated. Therefore we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is nothing further we could achieve.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman