Transport for London (24 016 774)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Authority’s delay in assessing his licence application. This is because the Authority has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the Authority’s delay in assessing his private hire driver licence and its incorrect decision to refuse a licence. He says the uncertainty is causing his distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate 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’. If there has been fault which caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Authority.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- If we were to investigate it is likely we would find fault causing Mr X injustice. This is because the Authority accepts it initially rejected Mr X’s application in error. And, while Mr X applied for a licence in September 2024, the Authority did not progress it to the next stage until late January 2025. A reasonable benchmark for processing licence applications is around six weeks. The error and the delay caused Mr X avoidable distress and uncertainty.
- I therefore invited the Authority to carry out the following actions within one month of a final decision:
- Provide an apology to Mr X. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making this. apology.
- Pay Mr X £150 for distress.
- To its credit, the Authority has agreed to complete the above actions within one month of the final decision statement.
Final decision
- We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about the Authority’s delay in accessing his application and its incorrect decision to refuse a licence. The Authority has agreed to resolve it by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused by the likely fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman