The complaint concerned Renfrewshire Council's (the Council) recovery of alleged overpayment of Housing Benefit payments.
Local Government
The complainant (Mr C) alleged that South Ayrshire Council (the Council) had failed to take steps to curb anti-social behaviour emanating from youngsters congregating in a school playground next to his home or to take action in respect of specific measures he suggested.
The complaint concerned an allegation of failure by the Council to maintain a customer's request for confidentiality. The complainant was dissatisfied with the Council's handling of her representations on the matter and she claimed that they had failed to reply to her correspondence.
The complainant raised a number of concerns about the handling of his complaints regarding an alleged noise nuisance from dog kennels in the vicinity of his property.
A complaint was made on behalf of a number of council tenants that the Council had changed their housing allocation policy without proper consultation.
The complainant raised a number of concerns about the way in which her housing allocation had been handled by the Council.
The City of Edinburgh Council
The complainant (Mr C) raised a complaint that his client (Ms D) had accepted the offer of a Council house based on inaccurate information provided by the Council in respect of the central heating system. The Council had advised that the house was fitted with gas central heating when in actual fact only electric storage heaters were fitted. These storage heaters did not have the appropriate meter installed to allow for use of the cheap overnight electricity tariff. As such, Ms D's electricity costs were significantly higher than they would otherwise have been. Mr C pursued the complaint through the Council's formal complaints procedure and, as he remained dissatisfied with their response, referred the matter to the Ombudsman on 5 December 2005.
Aberdeenshire Council
The complaint concerned the Council's decision to introduce new refuse and recycling procedures. It was alleged that only two weeks notice was given of the changes and that the tone of the literature issued to members of the public was unacceptable. The complainant was also aggrieved that a new waste and recycling centre, upon which the new system depended, was not yet built.
Argyll and Bute Council
The complainant (Mrs C) complained to our office that the Council failed to respond to her complaints to them about issues concerning the education of her son. She alleged that, despite attempting to raise her concerns with the Council, they failed to consider her complaint in line with their formal complaints procedure.
Falkirk Council
The complaint concerns the way in which the Council handled a lease between themselves and the complainant.