Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to send Mr X council tax bills or calculate his council tax reduction correctly. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions and Mr X has right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he remains unhappy with his council tax reduction entitlement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council sent council tax bills to the incorrect address and calculated his council tax reduction incorrectly.

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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 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.

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

3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (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 Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X complained to the Council that he had not been receiving council tax bills and that when he did receive them his council tax reduction had not been calculated correctly. He also complained that the Council issued a court summons for an unpaid council tax bill before retracting the summons without informing him, causing him to attend court unnecessarily. He said the Council should waive the outstanding arrears on his council tax account due to the poor service he received.
8. The Council investigated Mr X’s complaint and found that he had contacted the Council several times to advise that he was having problems with receiving his post and this was the reason he was making late payments for his council tax. The Council’s records showed the Council held the address provided by the Valuation Tribunal but it had updated Mr X’s address whenever he asked it to, and it had sent a letter to Mr X to make him aware the summons had been cancelled. The Council applied a reduction to the arrears in recognition of Mr X’s financial difficulty but would not agree to waive the outstanding arrears on his council tax account.
9. Mr X has brought his complaint to the Ombudsman because he remains unhappy with the situation. The evidence shows the Council has sent council tax bills to the address held on its records and it has changed this when Mr X has contacted it to make it aware this address was incorrect. The Council also sent a letter to let Mr X know the summons had been cancelled. There is no evidence to suggest the Council is at fault.
10. The Ombudsman cannot calculate Mr X’s council tax reduction, this is the role of the Valuation Tribunal. It is therefore open to Mr X to pursue this part of the complaint at Tribunal if he remains unhappy.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions and Mr X has right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he remains unhappy with his council tax reduction entitlement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman