Decision Report 201303068

Summary

Mr C complained that the council did not provide him with a reasonable standard of customer service when they failed to respond to his request for a copy of his marriage certificate in a reasonable timescale or, on two separate occasions, pay the postage on mail they sent to him. Mr C told us that the outcome he was seeking from pursuing his complaint was payment of his expenses.

When we raised Mr C’s complaint with the council, they apologised for the unfortunate series of events that had resulted in Mr C’s request not being dealt with properly, and failure to pay postage. To resolve the complaint, the council told us that the mail service was being reviewed as part of their service improvement programme. They also explained that staff had been reminded of the importance of ensuring that all items were appropriately stamped. As a remedy, the council offered a payment partly to cover his expenses and partly as a goodwill gesture. Mr C was satisfied with this, and we did not issue a decision on the case as it was resolved.