Barking & Dagenham council pays out over complaints

29 July 2010

THE council threatened a woman with court action after mistakenly overpaying her £32 housing benefit, an ombudsman's report says.

And town hall fraud investigators probed the woman's finances over the sum.

The woman, who has not been named, was offered a caution by officers, which she declined. The council then threatened her with court action, but after a hearing date was set, benefit chiefs did not prosecute.

She appealed and won but the council tried to challenge the appeal but it was rejected by magistrates as "too late".

The Local Government Ombudsman told the council to pay the woman £250 compensation.

It was felt that the caution and court proceedings were inappropriate and not in line with the council's policy, the report said.

Three housing complaints investigated by the ombudsman cost the council up to £4,595 after it failed to replace a boiler for two years, ignored a resident's disability and took 18 months to repair a tenant's door.

Contractors took two years to fit the new boiler for an elderly woman as her old one would only produce hot water if the central heating was on.

The council paid £1,000.

Another complainant's medical condition, which made it difficult for them to open heavy communal doors, was overlooked after the council delayed arranging an occupational therapist's assessment.

The council agreed to pay the resident £1,350 for not suitably re-housing them, and £500 for anxiety caused.

Another case involved an 18-month delay in processing a housing repair grant and the council's failure to carry out work on the back door of a property. The council paid £1,745 for the delay.

There were also complaints about the parking ticket appeals process and the council had to remove a misleading reference on its website about appeals.

A council spokesman said: "Barking and Dagenham Council respects the decisions of the Local Government Ombudsman and will continue to implement and learn from its recommendations. The amount of compensation paid remains one of the lowest in London.

"The council takes the concerns of its residents seriously and respects their right to complain."

The full report is at www.lgo.org.uk.