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.

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Child Support Agency made handling errors but put them right; ICE handled complaint reasonably

Summary 253 | July 2014

Mr P complained that the Child Support Agency (the Agency) did not accept evidence that he had made maintenance payments. He was not happy about its decision on this, or with the Independent Case Examiner's (ICE) consideration of his complaint.

Asylum seeker had to wait 18 months for routine decision on application to settle in UK

Summary 252 | July 2014

UK Visas and Immigration delayed making a decision on an application to settle in the UK from Mr D, who had already lived legally in the UK for over six years.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) agreed to reduce rate of recovery of overpayment

Summary 251 | July 2014

Debt management unit accepted our recommendation that a tax credit overpayment should be recovered at a slower pace.

Ministry of Defence (MOD) failed to adequately respond to enquiries and complaints

Summary 250 | July 2014

When Mr P asked the MOD about its objection to his planned wind turbine, there were errors in its responses. It did not respond to him after his Member of the Scottish Parliament asked it to, and it delayed sending a complaint response.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) delayed deciding young man's application for further leave to stay in UK

Summary 249 | July 2014

Mr L complained that because of a delay of more than two years in UKVI reaching a decision, he could not travel outside the UK or get the work experience he needed to qualify as an electrician.

Cafcass wrongly told court that Mr L had been charged with a crime

Summary 248 | July 2014

Mr L complained that a Cafcass officer had had a poor attitude towards him and had failed to take account of his health. Mr L also complained about the content of the Cafcass officer's report that advised the court on Mr L's contact with his child.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) delayed deciding request to stay in UK

Summary 247 | July 2014

Mr H complained that, two years after he had applied for permission to stay permanently in the UK, UKVI had still not reached a decision.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) agreed to pay additional compensation for service failures and poor complaint handling

Summary 246 | July 2014

Mr S complained that in light of HMRC's mishandling of his Self Assessment tax returns and poor complaint handling, the £45 compensation HMRC offered him, a sum agreed as reasonable by the Adjudicator, was inadequate and should instead have been in line with the £100 penalties that had wrongly been imposed on him.

Break in benefit claim due to Jobcentre Plus failings

Summary 245 | July 2014

A break in Ms K's benefit claim meant that she lost out on financial support (a job grant and in-work credit) when she returned to work.

Cafcass gave court damaging information about father in custody case

Summary 244 | June 2014

Mr H and his ex-partner split in acrimonious circumstances. Both made allegations about the other to the court. Two Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) officers gave the court incorrect information about Mr H and he had to go to some trouble to put the matter right.