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Case ref:201402575
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Date:August 2015
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Body:Angus Council
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Sector:Local Government
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Outcome:Upheld, recommendations
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Subject:complaints handling (incl social work complaints procedures)
Summary
Ms C, a solicitor, complained to the council about the provision of community care for one of her clients. As Ms C had not received a final response to her complaint, just over eight months after writing to the council, she complained to us about the delay.
We found that Ms C's complaint was acknowledged the day it was received by the council, but she did not receive a meaningful response until more than 11 weeks had passed. This was after Ms C had contacted the council twice to enquire about their response. In the council's initial response, they incorrectly told Ms C that legal advice was being sought in relation to her complaint. However, this was not requested until nine months later (during the time that we were investigating the complaint). It was clear to us, and it was accepted by the council, that there was an unreasonable delay in dealing with Ms C. We upheld Ms C's complaint.
Recommendations
We recommended that the council:
- apologise to Ms C for the unreasonable delay in dealing with her complaint; and
- provide Ms C with a response to her complaint.