Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about issues arising from a council tax payment. Fault by the Council has not caused the complainant injustice that would justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs B, says the Council took a payment from her credit card without her consent. She intended paying a council tax instalment of £197 but the Council took £591.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs B and the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mrs B sought to pay her November 2021 instalment of council tax of £197 using the Council’s telephone system. This payment would usually have left two remaining instalments of £197 in December 2021 and January 2022. As Mrs B had not paid an instalment on time, she had lost the ability to pay by instalment and £591 was due when she sought to make the payment.
5. It is accepted that a payment of £591 was taken but Mrs B and the Council do not agree how this happened.
6. In November 2021, the Council offered to refund £394 to Mrs B but she declined.
7. Regardless of how the payment occurred, I have to consider what injustice may have been caused to Mrs B if there had been fault by the Council. She would have had to pay £591 by January 2022 so any financial loss would be limited to the interest she may have had to pay unnecessarily over two months. It is also the case that £591 was in fact due when Mrs B made the payment in November 2021. I therefore do not consider she was caused financial loss that would justify our involvement.
8. Similarly, I recognise what happened was upsetting for Mrs B. However, I do not consider she was caused other injustice we should investigate.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because it does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman