London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (24 006 730)
Category : Adult care services > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 10 Feb 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about the Council’s actions when Mr X sought to move his belongings out of storage in early 2023. There is not a good reason for the delay in Mr X bringing the matter to the Ombudsman.
The complaint
- Mr X complained:
- the Council-commissioned self-storage company did not allow him to terminate the contract himself when he wanted to move his belongings out of storage, due to its agreement being with the Council;
- the Council did not support him in the process of trying to move his items to his accommodation, ignoring his requests for it to terminate the contract; and
- the Council has blocked his attempts at trying to complain about the matter, and has been dismissive and discriminatory.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X’s complaint is about his interactions with the Council in early 2023, while he was seeking to have his possessions moved out of storage and into his accommodation.
- Mr X complained to the Council and it issued a response in March 2023. The Council signposted Mr X to the Ombudsman for further escalation if he remained dissatisfied.
- Mr X contacted the Council about the matter again later in 2023, and in 2024. He brought the matter to us in August 2024.
- The law says people must bring complaints to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter. Mr X continued to communicate with the Council, and with us about separate matters, in the intervening period. There is no reason he could not have brought this matter to us in March 2023 when the Council signposted him to us. We will not now investigate this late complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in him bringing the matter to the Ombudsman.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman