Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s online booking system for a leisure facility. Any injustice to Mr X is not significant enough to warrant an investigation, and, in any case, there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by us investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr X was dissatisfied with the Council’s responses and consideration of his complaint, that its online booking system for leisure classes, was frequently unreliable. Mr X said this meant he had to spend an unnecessary amount of time waiting to book classes and he was not always able to access the full membership services he believed he was entitled to under his leisure membership.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

4. Mr X said in September 2024, he first raised the issues he was experiencing in trying to book leisure classes, using the Council’s online booking system. Mr X said the Council had still not fully resolved all the issues during the time it considered his complaint about this.
5. We will not investigate this complaint because any injustice to Mr X caused by the alleged fault, is not significant enough to warrant a full Ombudsman investigation. We will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by an organisation.
6. Additionally, we could not require the Council to change its booking system or award Mr X compensation for any loss of provision he may believe is now owed. Therefore, there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by us investigating.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no significant injustice and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by us investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman