open.gov.uk/lgo/

The review of the lGO is total and complete - Bias is the only description I can give to two complaints handled by the LGO - one case the licencing offical admitted being a friend of the Resteranter and failed to indicate his interest for over five years despite complaints of noise at 1 in the morning. No fault found The second more serious complaint has resulted in a pensioner of 82 being in fear for her home of 50 years being taken to court after five years and a 16 months on still unable to complete the matter, her home still under threat and the ombudsman who could have stopped the problem in its tracks in 2000 the LGO refused to actually see the paperwork ...  Read the complete review

I first used the local government ombudsman to complain about a planning decision. Although he did actually find maladminstration I was not at all impressed by the service. The decision taken by my council was totally out of line with decisions on similar issues in other local authorities and indeed with their own decisions on other similar applications. Despite that the ombudsman's office at first said there would be no investigation. I had to spend a great deal of time and effort showing how unfair the decision was and to take my complaint to the deputy ombudsman even to get it investigated. Eventually the Ombudsman did find in my favour but the amount of ...  Read the complete review

I was quite astonished to read a glowing review of the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) service by a Dooyoo member who has not had the first-hand experience of taking a complaint to this institution. I have had first-hand experience of the LGO, work closely with other people who have also had first-hand experience, and take a very close and concerned interest in the structure and activities of this institution. I am unable to provide an encouraging account of its activites. CUSTOMER DISSATISFACTION Hidden away on the LGO’s own website are the disturbing results of its own MORI polls. The1999 MORI Customer Satisfaction poll reported a 73% dissatisfaction ...  Read the complete review

When you have a problem with your local authority (council) were you totally confused as to which person/s or department/s you should complain to? Were your phone calls never returned, letters unanswered, resulting in you just simply giving up - too much bureaucracy to wade through? Pity. . .you should have referred the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman's office and then watched how quickly your issue was resolved. As the infrastructure of local Government becomes more and more bureaucratic, departments overlapping, new legislation invoked, bye-laws created and policies devised, it's no wonder that confusion and maladministration are ...  Read the complete review