Annual Report 2007-08 - the Parliamentary and Health Service ...

Parliamentary and health service ombudsman annual report 2007-0812Case StudyDelay processing applicationcaused woman to miss a funeraland weddingIn June 2004 Mrs F and her husband applied for leave for herto remain in the UK on the basis of her marriage to a UK resident.In June 2005 Mr F wrote to tell the Border and Immigration Agency(the Agency) that Mrs F needed to travel abroad as his father hadrecently died. The Agency received the letter but took no action.Nor did it respond to letters it received in February andMarch 2006 from Mrs F’s solicitors querying the delay processingthe application. Throughout July the solicitors sent furtherletters of complaint about the delay and requests for a reply.On 14 August the solicitors told the Agency that unless Mrs F’sapplication was decided by 3 September, they would refermatters to the Ombudsman.The solicitors and the Agency continued to exchangecorrespondence. In a letter dated 12 October, the solicitorscomplained that Mrs F’s application had been handled appallingly.They said she had made plans to travel to Nigeria for urgent familyreasons by 15 December and asked that her application be dealtwith immediately. On 20 December the Agency noted that itwas unable to make a decision because her application form anddocuments, including both her and her husband’s passports, werenot on the file.Mrs F complained to the Ombudsman in January 2007 that thedelays deciding her application for leave had led to her missinga funeral and her sister’s wedding. Furthermore, the Agency hadnot responded to her solicitors’ letters and had lost her passportand other documents. In June 2007 the Agency granted Mrs Ftwo years’ leave to remain as a spouse of a UK resident.We upheld Mrs F’s complaint. The Agency took no substantiveaction on her application between July 2004 and February 2007;it lost Mr and Mrs F’s passports and other documents; and did notrespond to the solicitors’ correspondence. The Agency offeredMrs F consolatory payments totalling £250 for the delay and failureto reply to her solicitors’ correspondence, and a further £1,250 forMr and Mrs F being unable to attend the funeral. The Agencyagreed to compensate them for the cost of replacing theirpassports, and to make a consolatory payment in respect ofhaving missed the wedding, on receipt of suitable supportingevidence. It agreed to apologise to Mrs F for its failings.29