Summary: Mr X complains about the way the Council dealt with his Council tax liability. We will not investigate this complaint because the Council has remedied the matter.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the way the Council dealt with his Council tax liability.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
7. The complainant had the opportunity to comment on a draft of my decision.

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My assessment

8. Mr X moved into a property in August 2019 believing that he was not responsible for Council tax as a tenant. After he left the property in March 2020 he was sent a bill for Council tax for the period of residence.
9. The Council says that the bills were sent by email which resulted in a Liability Order being obtained in April 2021. The Council notes that the Summons and Liability Order may not have been received because they were sent by post to the property after Mr X left.
10. The Council has agreed to remove all costs associated with the debt recovery and agreed a period to pay the sum. This puts Mr X back in the position he should have been had there been no errors over the bills. I consider that this is a reasonable settlement of the complaint and so there are no grounds to investigate the matter.
11. Any dispute over the liability for the bill or any discount can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an expert body and their decisions are binding on the Council. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint because the matter has been remedied.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman