Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (24 009 847)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax support
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Nov 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax support as there is no evidence of fault by the Council and there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Ms X complains that the Council failed to tell her that might be entitled to Council tax support and she could have been entitled since 2006.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X says that the Council failed to advise her of entitlement to Council tax support from 2006. She now receives the support but the Council will only backdate the amount three months.
- The Council says that information about entitlement to Council tax support is supplied every year alongside the Council tax bill. I am satisfied that there is no evidence of fault by the Council in its provision of information about entitlement to Council tax support.
- Further, any dispute about backdating rights can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case and so the complaint is out of jurisdiction.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman