London Borough of Ealing (23 006 046)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax as the matter has been remedied.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that the Council failed to transfer a Direct Debit he had set up for payment of Council tax when he moved house.
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 and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says that when he moved house he advised the Council of his move and his new address but the Council failed to transfer his Direct Debit so that he ended up in debt and received a letter from bailiffs.
- The Council accepts that an error occurred and they have apologised, cancelled all charges and set up the new Direct Debit. They have also agreed to pay £75 compensation (which has been used to reduce the remaining debt) and agreed a longer payment period for the arrears.
- I am satisfied that this is a satisfactory remedy to the complaint and so there are no grounds to investigate this matter further.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman