LG & SC Ombudsman Arvostelua 

Awful experience which gives the Local Authority carte blanche to behave unlawfully. No wonder the Local Authority ignore their statutory duty when the very organisation tasked with holding them to account sees fit to ignore their unlawful behaviour. Would be laughable if the consequences of such weren't so serious.

The LGO are just as corrupt as what the local authority are. They find the LAs at fault and then do not give a remedy that will compensate the child or the parent for their experience and lack of education so while ever the LGO back the LA...... Disabled children are going continue to be discriminated against but the LGO just do not care.

This organisation is not fit for purpose - I agree with every word of criticism stated in all the published reports about this organisation - I have suffered the same fete as all the other people who have written TP reviews about this organisation which shields behind a document called an assessment code which is a document of biblical proportions and which the ombudsman and his staff apply or not as they deem appropriate for their purposes.

I have reported my experience with this organisation to my MP and drawn his attention to the numerous reviews from people who like me have had unfair treatment from it - I have had no response from the MP to whom I have written twice and had 1 face to face meeting. The MP had failed to respond to my first letter written in early November last year and when I saw him in early March this year he said my letter had been mislaid - hence no reply from him to it. At my March meeting with him MP appeared to have some knowledge of my complaints which I made to him concerning the local government department (planning) and LG &SC ombudsman - the MP did not say he could not or was not prepared to help and indeed said he would write to the CE of the local council about my complaints- whether he did so or not I do not know as despite a further letter from me to him I have heard nothing further from him. Perhaps I should complain about him to Trustpilot.

Is there no way of taking these people/ organisations to task and make them accountable for their (illegal) actions. Does no one want to help the law abiding, taxpaying,ordinary citizen in this seemingly God forsaken country - it would appear that no one does.

Wouldn't investigate a complaint I had with the council who made a decision using made up information.
Not only was factual information changed or made up, the council also ignored some of its Local Plan Policies that were pointed out to them, whilst weaponising other policies.
LGO showed no interested.

This government body do not consider crucial facts that have been supplied to them for the situation being complained about ... absolutely clueless! Better to speak to your postman!

Absolutely no help given, i had a complaint about my local council about getting a bigger bin. I am disabled and cant go to the dump. I am now reduced to flushing rubbish down the toilet and putting whatever rubbish fits into recycling. Will not be using them again will sort my own problems out.

Please read reviews and don’t expect your complaint to be impartially dealt with. There appears to a be a common theme…councils are able to take decisions as they see fit. They’re not required to meet standards and the ombudsman will back them up. The ombudsman’s decision has actually worsened our position …. Be warned!

As the numerous negative reviews on Trustpilot, Google reviews, etc, indicate, the LGO (LG&SCO, or whatever it call itself this month) is completely rotten.

In 2014 I complained about equally rotten Haringey Council delaying my Housing Benefit, delaying my appeal, not replying to letters, etc, and the LGO fully found in my favour. It even recommended that I am paid £250, which rotten Haringey Council did. The LGO did its job properly (little I knew that what it does is doing the job properly for EXTREMELY few people, so that the LGO can proudly display these case studies as if to say to the general population "See? The LGO is reliable!".). The LGO found in my favour EVEN though, as stated in the decision letter, I had NOT been threatened with eviction.

Fast forward several years. The story with rotten Haringey Council repeats itself. It delays my Housing Benefit. It doesn't send my appeal. It keep saying : don't worry, the appeal is coming. It says the same lies to my MP. No appeal.

But this time Haringey Council not only is repeating the past faults and maladministration, it adds a LOT more faults, it's a LOT worse, and I AM getting evicted, because I am penniless and can't afford the rent.

I take months to carefully journal all the rubbish I go through. I state all the facts to the LGO. I present all the hard evidence. And what happens? Jackie Foster at the LGO is not going to investigate ANYTHING.

Anybody can see that the LGO is a sham. I am going to put this stuff on the internet, with the two decision compared side to side. This organization needs to be shut down, people are paying this foolish and useless circus act.

Such a pointless and unprofessional institution!

I would give no stars if it was possible. One of the worst public funded service I have come across, I have brought numerous complaints to this public funded service and every time they have done nothing, utter waste of publics money and don’t have the publics interest at all, just after a pay cheque at the end of the month to sit around and do nothing.

It is virtually impossible to have a complaint upheld against a Council because the LGSCO will find a way to justify the Council’s decision against common sense and fairness.
Save the taxpayers money and abolish them.

Waste of time. This organisation are simply a toothless cover for Government incompetence and underfunding for public services. LGCSO refused to even look in to a complaint that was upheld at Stage 2 by our council in to the illegal delay over issuing our child's EHCP. This inexplicably took almost 11 months, instead of the statutory five weeks.

In a much-trumpeted 'Focus Review' by the LGSCO's CEO in to SEN failings by councils, the organisation is apparently there to look in to and to hold councils to account over illegal inaction with regard to our vulnerable children. I was told by the LGCSO phone line to proceed with a complaint to them, even if the council had upheld my complaint at Stage 2. Despite our complaint meeting all the criteria for a reasonable complaint- the LGSCO classed it as 'resolved' by the council themselves- and would not even investigate. To cap it all, their case officer's response was rude and lacked any empathy or compassion for our situation and frustration.

No wonder Local Authorities keep treating children in this way. There is no accountability. We now realise from talking with other parents in similar situations around the country, as well as people who have worked in the world of SEN, that Local Authorities have a habit of delaying EHCPs expressly to deny children from the help they need for as long as possible, due to cost-cutting.

As a result of these delays, my daughter has no provision lined up for her next steps in education and we have to go to Tribunal which is now taking 12 months in waiting times, and which costs thousands of pounds in advocacy and input from private experts, since the LA refuse to update their reports.

This outcome was not what we expected after all the glossy promises from the Ombudsman. My aim was to officially call out illegal practices by our council who we pay to look after our children. A terrible disappointment.

The UK government never fails to disappoint. What a further pointless waste of tax payers hard earned money. It’s not worth wasting your time opening a case with the Ombudsman - it will not be pursued with any effect if at all. If you have been let down by the usual predictable abysmal local government services (if you can call it that), realistically there is NOTHING that can be done. This is the just world we live in thanks to the broken system that is the UK government.

Despite providing the Ombudsman with indisputable evidence that a council had deliberately lied and wasted £200,000.00 of valuable and much needed tax payers money they refused to take any action against the council. When I provided them with a document from a freedom of information request that proved that the council had lied in responses to the Ombudsman and had lied in writing to me for two years they refused to reopen their investigation. This is a typical example of their review process which is there for the sole purpose to back up the findings of the original investigator. The review is not looked at independently. Once they make their original decision they refuse to engage with you despite indisputable evidence. I asked Andrew Hobley for his chief executive details as I wanted to make a complaint re his conduct and he refused to provide the information. So here we have an organisation that is tasked with investigating complaints that will not register complaints against its own member of staff. This is a pointless process because regardless of what evidence you provide they are not prepared to take action against local authorities despite indisputable evidence of lies and waste of £200,000.00. In a cost of living crisis how can they fail to take any action?

Only open two days a week which isn't helpful

If I could the rating would be 0. i have a complaint with care home in Leeds, my father had a fall in the care 2 times and was there for 9 days, on the 8th day he had a serious fall and no care was provided, the care home seeked no medical help until the following day. THE CONSULTANT who specialises in the field called and simply told me my dad had such a serious fall he will pass. i went to leeds social care care home who were nasty made lots of errors when questioned simply said this is a learning for them. how many more people need to die!!! i then went to LGO and spoke to MRS X who was rude ignorant and shouted at me, no empathy. i was offered an apology from the parties involved & £300 as per LGO decision - i am going to paste there response as they are all into this together!!!!! i should not say but i pray they also have this experience in their life!!!! PLEASE AVOID AT ALL CISTS AS THEY WILL NOT BACK YOU THEY ONLY BACK CARE HOMES AND SOCIAL SERVICES. I WILL PUBLISH THE LAST RESPONSE WITH ALL DETAILS AS YOU NEED TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT!!!

I am just going to keep this to the point because I can barely function and have been left permanently traumatised as a vulnerable female on Severe Disability. I saw that other reviews echo my own experience. They are ALL corrupt and liars. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman are meant to be impartial but they are a joke. I have had the past 6 years of torture against my human rights and civil liberties. Both mental and physical torture as well as street homelessness for complaining about bedbugs, being attacked by convicted criminals and Staff in my shared Council home. I recorded evidence, had witnesses and neighbours and smashed bedroom window. It is a miracle I am alive. I have seen EVERYTHING! Police not only cover this up, they target the vulnerable and they did just that to me, KNOWING I have no one else to turn to in crisis. I tried everything, CFO 151 Officer notice, Corrupt lying councillors, evidence of their council meeting minutes confirming this and one of my Licensee assailants mentioned in news as mugging the elderly with her Mother TWICE. The things that happened to me you could not make up! PURE EVIL and all including the MP are complicit. I had to flee the last dangerous property and self funded Hotels for 9 months until my back Severe Disability pay ran out! I even recorded Ombudsman call handlers being rude and hanging up on me, much like the obnoxious Council call handlers and evidence of a reference from two years ago they claimed did not exist! I have slept rough and I am on my last legs now. This is a VERY short and watered down shorter version. Mr. M Hyatt and G Earles, SHAME ON YOU!

Biased towards councils. Do not investigate in depth. Constantly side with Council despite evidence/ proof. Corrupt , cover ups & pointless bringing your case to them as they will always decide in the councils favour without fully seeing your side. Absolutely futile. Not even going to bother with stress from appealing. Disgusted. No wonder the majority give such a low score. They won't acknowledge this. Completely in denial & a service that does not serve residents, only governing bodies. Don't bother ! Councils getting away with poor level of service.

In line with the other Reviews - This is yet another really crappy Ombudsman service. They serve no useful purpose other than to serve as a buffer strip and Trade Union for incompetent County Councils. This LGO needs to be scrapped immediately, and the savings made ploughed-into something useful like paying proper wages to NHS staff. As for the LGO staff they are the pits and need to be sent down there in order to understand that their "soft" jobs have no reality, or send them to Rwanda ideally !