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Case ref:201507499
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Date:March 2017
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Body:The City of Edinburgh Council
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Sector:Local Government
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Outcome:Upheld, recommendations
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Subject:cleansing/public conveniences/streets and stairs
Summary
Mr C complained that the council did not acknowledge his contact when he repeatedly reported problems with street cleanliness and the condition of on-street bins. We found evidence that the council acted reasonably in response to some, but not all, of the issues raised.
The council acknowledged they failed to consistently provide the level of customer service Mr C was entitled to under their service standards. We also found Mr C was not given good information about the council's complaints process and that his many communications to the council were not always handled in an effective way. We therefore upheld Mr C's complaint.
We noted that the council had offered to meet with Mr C on more than one occasion to get a better understanding of his complaint and that Mr C did not take up this offer. In doing so he missed an opportunity to have his outstanding concerns resolved.
Recommendations
We recommended that the council:
- apologise for the failings identified;
- offer to arrange a visit to explain the standard of street cleanliness to expect going forward; and
- carry out a review of how the council manage multiple contacts with named officers about more than one council service to identify potential improvements.