Ombudsman criticises council for issuing apology letter referring to dead man by wrong name
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council was at fault after it delayed in complying with agreed actions following a previous investigation, and referred to the complainant’s husband, who had passed away, by the wrong name in an apology letter.
In the Ombudsman’s previous investigation, it found fault with the council’s failure to provide adequate assistance to a man (Mr Z) with making a housing application and the failure of carers to seek timely assistance when Mr Z did not answer his door. Mr Z was later found to have passed away.
Mr Z’s partner, Ms Y, brought the complaint to the Ombudsman alongside Mrs X, Mr Z’s advocate. The Ombudsman investigated and found “fault causing injustice” to Ms Y.
The Ombudsman made recommendations to Bolton to remedy the injustice caused, which included a written apology and a payment of £250 to Ms Y to acknowledge the distress and uncertainty caused.
The Ombudsman report reveals that the council was due to issue the apology and payment by 30 June 2022 to Ms Y. It sent the apology on 22 July and asked Ms Y to provide her bank details so it could make the payment.
Mrs X informed the council and the Ombudsman that the apology letter referred to Mr Z by the wrong name.
On 24 August 2022, the council reissued the apology letter correcting Mr Z’s name by post. Ms Y did not receive the letter. The council issued a further copy by email on 30 September. Mrs X informed the Ombudsman that she received a copy of the letter on 4 October 2022, the report noted.
In the meantime, the Ombudsman “chased the council on a number of occasions between 3 August and 2 September” for it to provide evidence of other agreed actions which included reviewing its procedures and staff training.
The report reveals that the council failed to provide the required evidence, so the Ombudsman notified the council that the remedy was “not satisfied and not complete”.
The Ombudsman investigated and concluded that Bolton was at fault for failing to provide the apology and payment to Ms Y within one month of its final decision.
To remedy the injustice caused, The Ombudsman has recommended that the council:
- send a further written apology to Ms Y for the distress caused by the delay in issuing the apology and payment of £250 and for wrongly naming Mr Z in the apology issued on 22 July 2022;
- ensure it asks complainants for payment details in good time to enable it to meet the agreed timescales for making payments recommended by the Ombudsman.
The council has agreed to apologise to Ms Y for the distress caused and has issued the payment agreed as a remedy for the previous complaint, the Ombudsman noted.
A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “The council has listened carefully to the Ombudsman’s findings, and we have apologised to everyone involved in this case for the distress caused.
“As an organisation, we take every opportunity to learn and improve the services we deliver for our residents.
“Appropriate steps have already been taken and measures are now in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
Lottie Winson
