Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council issued a court summons for not paying council tax. The Council has offered a satisfactory remedy to the complaint. It has apologised, explained what went wrong, and offered £200.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains for Mrs X that the Council, in August 2021, sent Mrs X a summons to court for not paying council tax on a property let to new tenants. Although in late August the Council said it would withdraw the summons when they checked the position on the day of court nothing had happened. Mr X says the Council caused distress, upset and time and trouble. It delayed in dealing with their complaints and was slow to apologise. Mr X says the Council’s remedy is not adequate.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered Mr and Mrs X’s complaint and discussed with Mr X by telephone. I have considered the Council’s replies to their complaint sent in September and October 2021.

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My assessment

4. I will not investigate this complaint because the Council has accepted it was at fault and has offered a fair remedy of the injustice caused to Mr and Mrs X.
5. The Council has explained it delayed in dealing with information it received that there were new tenants in the property. The Council says it was able to update the council tax on 25 August 2021 and shortly after sent an email to Mr and Mrs X confirming the position. The Council says the customer service given was poor.
1. The Council has apologised for causing inconvenience, the poor response to telephone calls, the delay in dealing with the council tax account, and the error in issuing the summons to court. The Council has explained what went wrong and says it is reviewing the training programme for customer service staff.
2. The Council has offered £200 for the time, trouble, and distress.
6. Investigation will not provide a different outcome and would not be a good use of limited public resources.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint that the Council issued a court summons for not paying council tax. The Council has offered a satisfactory remedy to the complaint. It has apologised, explained what went wrong, and offered £200.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman