Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the administration of two Council tax accounts. Any injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr Y has two council tax accounts for property A and property B. He says the Council caused confusion by transferring Council tax funds meant for property A to property B’s account. The transfer of this money subsequently led to an unexpected demand for council tax for property A which had to be paid in two weeks.
2. Mr Y also says the Council failed to tell him if this money should have been refunded to him instead of transferring this amount to property B

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr Y and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. I appreciate the way the Council has dealt with the administration of the accounts may have been frustrating for Mr Y.
7. However, the Council apologised for what happened. It also gave Mr Y until March 2022 to settle the unexpected bill for property A.
8. Any failure by the Council to tell Mr Y whether he should have been refunded the money for property A did not change the amount he had to pay.
9. Therefore, any injustice suffered by Mr Y is not significant enough to warrant an investigation

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman