The financial cost of poor complaint handling
The tables below show how much public bodies have spent in the last year remedying complaints to the Ombudsman – a total of £367,173.03. What those tables cannot show is the cost of lengthy and protracted complaints systems within public bodies that have failed to resolve complaints that come to the Ombudsman, and the cost to individuals’ lives of unresolved issues.
Financial remedies secured through interventions2
| Public Body | Total | Compliance items 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Child Support Agency | £7,200.65 | 6 |
| Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service | £600.00 | 3 |
| Consumer Council for Water | £200.00 | 1 |
| Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority | £1,500.00 | 1 |
| Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency | £35.60 | 1 |
| Driving Standards Agency | £50.00 | 1 |
| HM Courts Service | £5,209.22 | 22 |
| HM Revenue & Customs | £19,957.71 | 23 |
| Jobcentre Plus | £12,260.70 | 3 |
| Rural Payments Agency | £800.00 | 2 |
| The Adjudicator's Office | £50.00 | 1 |
| UK Border Agency | £2,351.43 | 13 |
| Total | £50,215.31 | 77 |
Financial remedies secured through investigations
| Public Body | Total | Recommendations3 |
|---|---|---|
| Child Support Agency | £92,213.59 | 17 |
| Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service | £2,350.00 | 6 |
| Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority | £89,087.00 | 6 |
| Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency | £450.00 | 2 |
| Equality and Human Rights Commission | £250.00 | 1 |
| General Social Care Council | £7,000.00 | 2 |
| HM Courts Service | £1,850.00 | 4 |
| HM Revenue & Customs | £3,690.00 | 6 |
| Independent Case Examiner | £500.00 | 1 |
| Jobcentre Plus | £11,578.63 | 7 |
| Land Registry | £2,500.00 | 1 |
| Legal Services Commission | £32,255.00 | 2 |
| National Offender Management Service | £100.00 | 1 |
| Rural Payments Agency | £1,000.00 | 1 |
| Skills Funding Agency | £200.00 | 1 |
| The Office of the Public Guardian | £610.00 | 4 |
| The Pension, Disability and Carers Service | £356.84 | 2 |
| UK Border Agency | £70,966.66 | 26 |
| Total | £316,957.72 | 90 |
'There is little evidence that the costs of failing to get things right first time are fully understood and quantified by public bodies. Instead the focus tends to be on budgets rather than costs. The fact that some of the costs of poor decision making fall on different government departments, tribunals and ombudsmen mean that there are often no financial incentives to ensure that decisions are right first time...'
2.There may be some financial remedies not included in this data where we have asked a public body to reimburse a cost or provide compensation on receipt of further information from the complainant once the case has been closed.
3.A remedy we have asked a government department or public body to provide to resolve a complaint and to which they have agreed.
