Summary: Mr X complained the Council wrongly issued him a council tax bill and delayed responding to his complaint. The Council is at fault for not checking details before issuing Mr X with a large council tax bill.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s error in creating a £12,000 council tax bill and backdating it to 2013 without checking with him first. The Council also delayed responding to his complaint. He says its failures to deal properly with his complaint has caused him distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. As part of the investigation I have considered the following:
• The complaint and the documents provided by the complainant.
• Documents provided by the Council and its comments in response to my enquiries.
• Local Government Finance Act 1992, The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 and The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

5. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant legislation

6. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 cover both the way councils collect payments of council tax and the way councils can recover council tax debt. The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and associated regulations cover the way enforcement agents may recover debts.
7. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1 April. A council will usually collect payment through monthly instalments. If the liable person misses any instalment, the council will send them a reminder. If a payment is still not made or a further payment missed, then the entire outstanding balance will be due (that is the full amount for the rest of the year).
8. To use the various powers available to it to recover unpaid council tax, a council must apply to a magistrate’s court for a liability order against those it believes are liable. Once a council has a liability order it can take recovery action.
9. A liability order gives a council the legal power to take enforcement action to collect the council tax and court costs owed. The most commonly used powers are asking for deductions from benefits, getting an attachment of earnings (this means deductions are taken directly from earnings by an employer and passed to the council) or using enforcement agents. The council can decide which recovery method to use but it can only use one method for one liability order at one time.

The Council’s policies and procedures

10. The Council’s complaint procedure is available online. It is a two-stage process. The Council acknowledges receipt within three working days of receipt.
11. The Council aims to send a stage one response to the complaint within ten working days from receipt.
12. If a complainant is not happy with the response, they may ask the Council to consider the complaint at stage two. The Council will acknowledge receipt within two to three working days of receipt and aims to respond to the complaint within ten working days of receipt.
13. The Council will advise the complainant of their right to contact the Local Government Ombudsman if they are dissatisfied with the response.
14. The Council will keep the complainant updated and advise if it is unable to respond within the deadlines.

What happened

15. I have summarised below the key events; this is not intended to be a detailed account.
16. Mr X has a property which he rented out between 2013 and 2019. Mr X did not live at the property during this time.
17. In late 2022, Mr X said the Council accused him of using the property as his holiday home and sent him a council tax bill for £12,000 in overdue council tax. Mr X said the Council told him it had evidence to prove this (car finance paperwork and benefit claims). Mr X was concerned he had been the victim of fraud, and someone had taken these out in his name as he knew it was not him.
18. Mr X submitted evidence to the Council to show a tenant lived at the property. He also submitted a statement from a neighbour confirming this and a letter from 2013 inviting him to interview at the local job centre in the area where he lived, and not the area of the rented property.
19. Mr X complained to the Council on 17 March 2023. He told me he received an out of office email, acknowledging receipt of his complaint.
20. On 14 April 2023, a Council Tax Officer (the CTO) telephoned Mr X. The CTO said the Council accepted Mr X’s evidence, amended the account, and reduced his council tax bill. The CTO also told Mr X a tenant had paid council tax while living in the property. The Council resolved the large incorrect council tax bill.
21. Mr X complained to the Local Government Ombudsman on 19 July 2023.
22. In response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries, the Council said it treated the telephone call from the CTO to Mr X on 14 April as its stage one response. The Council said it sent a letter addressed to Mr X dated 30 August 2023 and sent the Ombudsman a copy on the same day. It said this was its final response to Mr X’s complaint. Mr X said he did not receive a copy of this letter.
23. In its complaint response, the Council explained it made Mr X liable for council tax at the property because of information from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) which suggested Mr X was claiming state benefit at that address. It also said information from the DWP is not always up-to-date or accurate and the Council should have contacted Mr X to clarify his situation. The Council apologised about the confusion with the council tax and the delay in responding to Mr X’s complaint.

Analysis

Dealing with the council tax bill

24. The Council said the information from the DWP is not always up to date and accurate and it should have contacted Mr X and invited him to clarify his situation before it issued him with the council tax bill for £12,000. It did not. This is fault.

Dealing with the complaint

25. The Council responded to Mr X’s stage one complaint on the telephone and outside the time frame. This is fault.
26. The Council sent a stage two response in writing to Mr X outside the timescales and Mr X said he never received it. The Council only responded at stage two after Mr X complained to the Ombudsman. This is fault.
27. The Council apologised for the delay in dealing with the complaint and explained it was due to a breakdown in communication between departments.

Injustice

28. I have considered the impact the Council’s faults had on Mr X.
29. The Council’s failure to clarify the information before sending Mr X a council tax bill for £12,000 caused Mr X considerable anxiety and depression. He also thought he had been the victim of fraud. The Councils delay in dealing with his complaint aggravated this. That is his injustice.
30. Mr X has been put to extra time and trouble in raising his complaint. The Council only issued a final response to Mr X when the Ombudsman contacted it.

Remedies

31. The Council has apologised for the delay in sorting the matter and the delay in responding to Mr X’s complaint.
32. The Council said it will speak to the member of staff to advise them to contact a charge payer if they are to alter a start date of liability resulting in a very large bill being created and to check if payment is owed.
33. In addition to the above, within four weeks of the final decision, the Council agreed to:
• Pay Mr X £150 for the distress caused by the Council’s faults.
• Pay Mr X £150 for his time and trouble in bringing his complaint to the Ombudsman, without which, he would not have received a response.

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Agreed action

34. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

35. I have completed my investigation. The Council wrongly issued Mr X a large council tax bill without checking the details. It also delayed responding to his complaint.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman