Mrs A complained that the Council had refused to consider her complaint about a housing development near to her home. The Council had also refused to respond to any further communication about the development. Mrs A said that her right to complain had been taken away and she felt bullied by the Council.
The Ombudsman found that, in reaching its decision to restrict Mrs A’s contact, the Council had not followed its Managing Contact – Unacceptable Actions by Customers Policy (“the Policy”). Mrs A was not informed that the decision to restrict her contact had been taken under the Policy. This meant she was not informed of her right to appeal the decision. This caused Mrs A inconvenience and frustration. The Ombudsman agreed to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Council agreed to, within 4 weeks, reconsider its decision to restrict Mrs A’s contact with the Council in accordance with the Policy, to write to Mrs A notifying her of the Council’s position and to provide her with a written apology for the failure to comply with the Policy in reaching its decision.