Mx M complained about a delay in the Student Loans Company responding to an appeal about a decision it had made.
The Ombudsman cannot consider the issues relating to the appeal itself, as those issues fall outside of her jurisdiction (section 13(1)(b) of the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2019). However, the Ombudsman found that there was a significant delay in Mx M receiving a response to the appeal (which was subsequently issued to Mx M after the complaint was submitted to the Ombudsman’s office). The Ombudsman said that the delay caused inconvenience to Mx M, and found that the appeal response offered no apology or explanation for the delay, causing further frustration to Mx M. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without a formal investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Student Loans Company’s agreement to apologise to Mx M and explain the reasons for the delay within 5 weeks.