Council apologises over lack of communication with flood victim

Aberdeen City Council has apologised for failing to communicate properly with a resident whose home was flooded.

The local authority investigated the source of the water coming into the man’s home, including carrying out a dowser survey.

He protested that officers did nothing to fix the problem, nor keep him informed about what action they were taking.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman ruled that the council took “reasonable steps” to check it was not responsible for the repair.

But although the watchdog dismissed the main part of the complaint, it criticised the lack of communication.

They stated: “It was unreasonable that the council did not share the results of the dowser survey … or respond to his e-mail about this.

“The council did not give clear and consistent information about what he could expect from them.”

The authority has now met all the recommendations, including that it should “consider and address relevant staff training needs”.