London Borough of Hounslow (21 013 394)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Ms X’s council tax liability. The Council has now resolved the complaint and Ms X no longer needs to pay backdated council tax. Our involvement would not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
- Ms X complained the Council wrongly found she had not sent it her application for Council Tax Support. It did not contact her to resolve this before applying to court for a liability order. She was denied Council Tax Support, and at the time of complaining she expected to have to pay the Council £50 per month until 2024.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X says the Council did not believe she sent it an application for Council Tax Support, and it did not contact her about this before applying to court for a liability order against her. When she complained to us, Ms X also sought help from a councillor who wrote to the Council. In December 2021, the Council reviewed events and contacted Ms X to let her know it had backdated her claim for Council Tax Support. She no longer had to make payments towards her council tax.
- The Council has resolved the matter since Ms X complained to us. It has provided the outcome that Ms X sought by complaining to us. Our involvement is unlikely to result in a different outcome.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is unlikely that our involvement would lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman