Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council did not process the complainant’s application for section 13 council tax support because he has appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. In addition, we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant wants and he could have used his appeal rights for other parts of the complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council lied to him and did not process his application for section 13 council tax relief. He wants the Council to waive his arrears from when he first asked for help.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an investigation if we decide we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal 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 appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and Mr X’s council tax support (CTS) application. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

7. Mr X says he applied for CTS in March 2020 but he does not have any proof. The application form asks people to check their junk folders for confirmation the application has been received. Mr X says he heard nothing further for over a year and assumed his application had been accepted. The Council sent council tax bills in April 2020, a reminder and then a summons in December. Mr X denies receiving a bill or reminder.
8. Mr X applied for CTS in August 2021 and asked for backdating to July 2021. The Council awarded maximum CTS in August and backdated the claim for one month. Claims can be backdated for up to one month. The Council told Mr X he could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he disagreed with the CTS decision.
9. Mr X applied for discretionary CTS in August. This can be awarded to top-up a CTS award. The Council did not award discretionary CTS because it had already awarded maximum CTS and discretionary CTS cannot be paid for any period when someone is not getting CTS. Mr X did not get CTS before July.
10. In response to his complaint the Council said it has no record of Mr X applying for CTS in 2020 and said he had applied for discretionary CTS not section 13 support. The Council then processed and refused a claim for section 13 support. Mr X appealed to the Valuation Tribunal about the section 13 decision and is waiting for an appeal date.
11. I cannot investigate the complaint about section 13 support because Mr X has appealed to the tribunal. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint if the matter is the subject of an appeal to the tribunal. The tribunal will decide if Mr X is eligible for section 13 support. We will still be unable to investigate the complaint if the tribunal decides Mr X is not eligible. Mr X says the Council lost his application and he could have appealed sooner had it not been lost. However, the Council has not record of an earlier claim and, in any case, the claim is now being considered by the tribunal.
12. We have no power to ask the Council to write off Mr X’s council tax arrears. Council tax can only be reduced if someone makes a successful claim for CTS, discretionary CTS, or section 13 support. Mr X could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal if he thought any of the CTS decisions were wrong. And, Mr X could have contacted the Council in 2020 to chase up the claim when he had not heard anything and had not received an email confirming his claim had been received. Mr X has no proof he applied and the Council has no record of receiving a claim in 2020 – we would not be able to establish Mr X claimed in 2020.
13. Mr X denies being signposted to the tribunal but this is explained on the back of the council tax bill and in the Council letter of November 2022 refusing section 13 support. Mr X also complains about the complaint handling but, while there were some delays, I have not seen anything requiring an investigation or evidence the complaint handling caused an injustice warranting an investigation.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X appealed to the tribunal, could have used his appeal rights for other issues, and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman