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Case summaries

These short, anonymised stories show the profound impact that failures in public services can have on the lives of individuals and their families.

Please note we have not published any new case summaries on this page since 2015. In April 2021 we began publishing our casework decision statements and investigation reports on our decisions portal. 

 

Type
Type
Health cases only
A small mistake with a costly result
Summary 272 |
Mrs N lost over three years of help with her housing costs, thanks to a mistake by the Pension Service. After an initial error and bad advice from officials, the mistake took five years to put right.
Police failed to comply with the Victims' Code
Summary 271 |
Mr G complained that his local police had not carried out the duties required by the Victims' Code when they reinvestigated his report that he was the victim of a crime.
Legal Aid Agency's information misled complainant
Summary 270 |
Mr P complained that the Legal Aid Agency (the Agency) assured him that he had to make no contribution to his defence costs. He thought the matter was closed but two years later he received a demand for the money and the Agency instructed bailiffs to recover the debt.
DVLA wrongly clamped and destroyed woman's car
Summary 266 |
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) contractors clamped Miss Y's car even though she had a Statutory Off Road Notification in place and was parked on a private road.
Cafcass failed to follow conflict of interest policy
Summary 264 |
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) appointed a family court adviser without following its conflict of interest policy, and did not investigate a complaint about this.