• The complaint
• The Ombudsman’s role and powers
• How I considered this complaint
• What I found
• Agreed action
• Final decision

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to properly deal with her application for a dropped kerb. We found the Council was at fault because there was significant delay and poor communication throughout the process. This caused Miss X the injustice of frustration and put her to the time and trouble of complaining. To remedy this, the Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Miss X, reduce the quotation and take immediate action to progress her application. It will also take action to improve its service to customers.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the length of time taken to process her application for a dropped kerb. She also complains about poor communication and the failure to refund the initial quotation fee within a reasonable timeframe.
2. This has caused significant frustration to Miss X who has spent unnecessary time and trouble pursuing the matter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke to Miss X and reviewed the information she provided. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its response.
6. Miss X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before I made my final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and policy

Dropped kerbs/footway crossings

7. Section 184 of the Highways Act 1980 sets out the law on vehicle crossings being built over footways, pavements and verges. Dropped kerbs are vehicle crossings in this context.
8. If the local authority approves the application, it should provide a quote to carry out the works. Once the parties agree a quote, the local authority should carry out the works “as soon as practicable”. This means as quickly as possible, considering the individual circumstances of the case.

The Council’s policy

9. The Council’s policy on dropped kerb applications is available on its website. It sets out details about how to apply, possible costs, and likely timescales. The page has been updated since Miss X first applied, but the following information was correct at the time she applied for the dropped kerb.
10. The Council charged a £95 non-refundable application fee, which includes the cost of an inspection. Typical costs to install a dropped kerb ranged between £1400 and £3500. This included a standard administration fee of £273, materials, and labour.
11. In terms of timescales, the information on the website said:

• the Council would inspect once an application fee was paid;
• after inspection, the Council would usually provide a quote within 20 working days, but this could be longer where there were added works;
• quotes were valid for six months; and
• installation of a dropped kerb usually happened within 12 weeks of full payment for an accepted quote. Non-standard works would take longer, but the Council would advise of this when providing a quote.

What happened

12. Miss X applied to the Council for a dropped kerb in October 2020, including the application fee of £95. She needed a dropped kerb because her driveway was regularly blocked by parked cars.
13. Six weeks later she was told a media chamber had been detected under the pavement. The Council contacted the media company (“the Company”) to obtain a quote for the additional work. She was told under the Council’s service level with the Company, this would take up to 25 days. It also explained the overall timeframe may take up to 18 weeks. This meant Miss X could expect the work to be completed by 16 March 2021.
14. Miss X did not receive an update from the Council. In August 2021, she wrote to the Council. It did not reply. Miss X wrote again in February and March 2022. She also left the Council several voicemails on the number she had been given. Frustrated by this lack of response, Miss X contacted her local councillor in April 2022.
15. In response, the Council said it had not received a reply from the Company and she had to pay a survey fee of £200 in order to receive a quote. Miss X paid this fee. One month later she was told the order was with the Company and it would be a further 10 to 12 weeks for a quote to be produced. The Council offered to refund the original application fee of £95 as a gesture of goodwill.
16. As 14 weeks had passed, Miss X contacted the Council and her councillor again in July 2022. She also explained she had not received the refund that had been promised. The Council said it had not received a reply from the Company.
17. Miss X is concerned that the cost of installation will have risen since she first applied. She does not think she should be penalised because of the Council’s excessive delay.

Action taken by the Council during the Ombudsman’s investigation

18. The quotation from the Company was received by the Council on 24 January 2023. Its fee was £1799.82.
19. Miss X was sent the quotation on 4 May 2023. The total payable by Miss X was £2779.70. This included the Council’s installation cost of £1279.85.
20. In response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries, the Council has accepted it has taken too long to progress Miss X’s application. This was due to what it described as “resource issues”. To remedy the injustice to Miss X, it had:

• reduced the quote to the rate that applied when Miss X made her application in 2020; and
• reduced the Company’s fee by £273 (50% of the Council’s administration fee) to offset any increase in its costs. It explained it would be difficult to ascertain an exact figure but considered this to be a reasonable reduction.

21. Miss X remained dissatisfied with this outcome. She said she was unable to accept the quotation because:

• it referred to the wrong address, although she acknowledges this may be a typographical error;
• the Council provided no evidence that she was quoted at the 2020 rate, by either the Council or the Company;
• the time-limited quotation from the Company had already expired by the time she received the quote from the Council; and
• the Council was unable to provide a date when the dropped kerb would be installed because it is dependent on the Company, over which it has no control.

Analysis

22. The chronology I have set out above clearly demonstrates there has been excessive delay in this case. In its response to Miss X’s complaint, the Council explained this was due to a lack of response from the Company. But the Council should have processes in place to ensure quotation responses are not just forgotten, as was the case here.
23. At the very least, Miss X should have received some communication from the Council about what it was doing to address this problem. Not only did the Council fail to do so, it also failed to respond to her many emails and phone calls. The Council only responded once Miss X contacted her local councillor. Even then, the ongoing customer service did not improve.
24. There was further fault when the Council failed to refund her initial application fee of £95 until nine months later.
25. In summary, it took the Council approximately two years longer than it should have done to provide a quote. Throughout this time, it failed to keep Miss X informed. For the reasons I have explained at paragraph 21 above, Miss X remained understandably dissatisfied because she still had no date for when the dropped kerb will be installed. In the meantime, her driveway continued to be blocked by parked cars.
26. The Council’s fault has caused Miss X an injustice that requires a remedy.
27. I welcome the Council’s reduction in the overall cost of the dropped kerb. This goes some way to remedy the injustice to Miss X, in terms of recognising the inflationary increase since she first applied. But in recognition of the poor administration in this case, I do not consider it reasonable for the Council to charge Miss X any administration fee.
28. I accept the Council has been unable to ascertain the exact cost that would have been charged by the Company has it been obtained at the correct time. To obtain such a figure would involve the Company’s cooperation, a matter over which the Council has no control. It would also lead to further delay. I consider £273 is an acceptable reduction of the Company’s fee.
29. However, it does not address the significant time and trouble the fault caused to her. Therefore, I have recommended a further payment (below) to address this injustice.

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Agreed action

30. The Council has agreed to take the following action within four weeks from the date of my final decision.
    • 1. Apologise in writing to Miss X;
      2. Pay Miss X £250 to acknowledge the distress and frustration caused by the excessive delay and poor customer service.
      3. Reflect on the issues raised in this decision statement and identify any areas of service improvement. The Council should prepare a short report setting out what the Council intends to do to ensure similar problems do not reoccur. This report should be sent to the Ombudsman.
31. The Council has agreed to take the following action within seven days from the date of my final decision.
    • 1. Contact the Company and provide Miss X with a definitive timeline for completion of the work.
      2. Reduce the quotation by a further £273 and issue a revised quotation to Miss X with the typographical error corrected. This means Miss X will not be charged the Council’s administration fee. This is based on an email stating that only half the administration fee had been deducted.
32. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

33. I have upheld Miss X’s complaint and the Council has agreed to action my recommendations. On this basis I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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