Housing : Pembrokeshire County Council

Mr A complained that Pembrokeshire County Council failed to provide a response to his complaint about an ongoing damp issue in his property.

The Ombudsman found that whilst the Council had initially logged a complaint, it had not provided a substantive response to Mr A’s complaint. It had subsequently informed Mr A that his concerns could not be dealt with under its complaints procedure as it was an insurance matter, however, there was a delay in the Council informing Mr A of this. Furthermore, the Ombudsman found that the Council had not provided Mr A with an apology for the delay or for incorrectly logging his concerns as a complaint. She said that this caused frustration and uncertainty to Mr A. She decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.

The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to write to Mr A to provide the necessary apologies and explanations for the oversights and provide an update on his insurance claim within 2 weeks.