Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council considered a request for a payment arrangement to settle council tax arrears. This is because we do not consider the complainant has suffered an injustice which can be attributed to actions or inactions of the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant (Miss E) complains about the way the Council handled her request for a payment arrangement to settle outstanding council tax arrears. She explains the Council failed to consider her proposed arrangement and improperly threatened her with legal action and added enforcement costs.
2. In summary, Miss E says it was unnecessary to threaten her in this way and that the alleged fault has caused her serious distress, anxiety and uncertainty. As a desired outcome, Miss E wants the Council to be held accountable and to compensate her for the impact this had on her.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating; or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained; or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I found Miss E became liable to pay council tax at her property in November 2022. The Council was only notified that Miss E began occupying this property however in August 2023. It sent a bill for council tax due from the previous billing year (2022/23) and another for the current year (2023/24). Miss E shortly after contacted the Council to propose a payment arrangement of £150 per month as she said she could not afford to pay the amounts billed in full. At the same time, Miss E also applied for a single person discount.
6. The Council did not immediately action the payment arrangement proposed and it accepts this was fault. However, the Council did consider the repayment arrangement six weeks later and advised Miss E that monthly payments of £150 over 12 months would not clear the outstanding balance and so would not generally be accepted. It proposed a counter payment arrangement in response.
7. Before Miss E’s repayment arrangement was considered, the Council determined her eligibility for a single person discount. It then sent Miss E adjusted council tax bills which applied the discount. This triggered reminder notices being sent to Miss E by the Council which demanded payment of her arrears. The notices included warnings and standard information about the legal enforcement process should payment of the arrears not be made by a future date.
8. I recognise Miss E had proposed a payment arrangement and so may not have expected to receive letters about possible enforcement action. That said, the notices concerned non-payment of council tax by the date given in the bills. It is necessary and proportionate for the Council to give warning about possible enforcement where arrears are outstanding and there is no agreed payment arrangement in place to settle these.
9. In my view, the notices would not have been prevented had Miss E’s payment arrangement been considered sooner. This is because the Council initially considered Miss E’s proposal to be insufficient. I am unlikely to find fault with how the Council considered the arrangement as it has provided relevant and concise reasoning for its decision. I do not therefore consider that Miss E has suffered a significant injustice which is directly attributable to the fault identified (above). The reminder notices were ultimately issued due to non-payment of council tax and to properly explain the legal enforcement process.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because I do not consider that Miss E has suffered an injustice which can be attributed to fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman