London Borough of Bexley (23 000 489)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about entitlement to a Council tax rebate because the matter has been remedied.
The complaint
- Mr X complains on behalf of Mr Y and says that the Council failed to properly explain the non payment of a Council tax hardship rebate which caused him time and trouble in making the complaint.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X wrote to the Council over a period of time about Mr Y’s entitlement to a Council tax hardship rebate.
- The Council says that the original decision as to why a rebate was not paid was correct but did not give an accurate explanation as to why the payment could not be made. That accurate explanation has been now made. The Council has apologised and offered to pay £32 for his time and trouble in writing letters of complaint.
- I consider that the Council’s apology and offer of compensation are a remedy to this complaint. I appreciate that Mr X considers the payment inadequate but the Council was always correct about the entitlement to the rebate; the decision to pursue the complaint was made by Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman