Miss A complained that in over 5 months, Cardiff Council failed to respond to her request for her complaint about Children’s Services to be escalated to Stage 2 of the Council’s complaints policy. She said the lack of appropriate communication and handling of her complaint, compounded her feeling that she was not being listened to, and that the Service did not care about her welfare, or meeting her ongoing needs.
The Ombudsman decided that the Council had failed to adhere to its complaints policy. She said that this caused unnecessary delays and frustration for Miss A. She decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement within 1 month, to offer Miss A an apology and £150 redress in recognition of the delays and lack of communication in the handling of her complaint, and within 2 months to provide a Stage 2 complaint response.