Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s award, and subsequent removal, of the council tax single person discount. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, says the Council awarded the council tax single person discount (SPD) even though he did not apply for it. The Council then removed the discount and took a large sum from his bank account. Mr X says the Council should waive the extra council tax because he thought his council tax was correct.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence, bills and a form completed by Mr X when he moved to the property. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. People who live alone, with no other adult, qualify for the council tax SDP.
5. Mr X moved to his property in 2021. The Council sent a ‘move-in’ form. One of the questions on the form said: please provide the full names of all adults who will be residing at the property – in response Mr X added his name. Mr X did not add the name of anyone else.
6. Following receipt of the form the Council issued a council bill. The bill showed the Council had added the SPD. The bill said Mr X should report any changes that could affect his entitlement to any discounts that had been awarded.
7. The Council issued annual bills in 2022, 2023 and 2024. All the bills showed Mr X was getting the SPD.
8. In 2024 the Council reviewed council tax accounts as part of the National Fraud Initiative. During the review the Council found out that Mr X has a partner and has not been living alone since 2021. The Council removed the SPD and issued new bills in May; the bills said the reason for the adjusted bill was due to changes in the SPD. The new bills said the arrears would be taken by direct debit on 1 June. Mr X rang and was told the Council had assumed he was the only resident and applied the discount.
9. The Council took the arrears by direct debit on 1 June. Mr X requested a refund on 6 June which the Council processed on 11 June. The Council says Mr X would have received the refund on 13 June. The Council then issued another new bill making arrangements for Mr X to pay the extra council tax by instalments. The Council has not accused Mr X of fraud and accepts he made an error.
10. Mr X says the Council should not have assumed he lived alone. He says his partner does pay council tax and is registered to vote at the address. Mr X is offended by the suggestion he has committed fraud. Mr X says the arrears are unlawful because the SPD was added without his consent or application.
11. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council asked Mr X for information and acted on the information he provided; specifically, in response to the request to list all the adults in the property he only provided his name. Mr X did not provide the name of his partner. It was not wrong for the Council to act on the information provided by Mr X. In addition, all the subsequent bills listed the SPD which gave Mr X the opportunity to correct the error. I appreciate Mr X may not have read the bills in detail but it remains the Council notified Mr X that the SPD was in place.
12. Mr X explained his partner is on the electoral roll but the council tax department would not have access to those records and is dependent on information being supplied specifically to the council tax department. For data protection reasons data cannot be shared across different council departments. Mr X’s partner may not pay the council tax but is still someone Mr X needed to disclose as an occupier.
13. I appreciate Mr X may have felt distressed by what happened, but I have not seen anything to suggest we need to start an investigation and there are no grounds to ask the Council to waive the additional council tax. The Council acted on information provided by Mr X and, in other circumstances, could have been criticised for not applying the discount in response to information provided about occupancy. Further the Council gave Mr X notice before it took the arrears, provided a prompt refund when Mr X raised concerns, and has not accused Mr X of fraud.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman