Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council closing the complainant’s council tax account in error. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, says the Council closed his council tax account in error and has not taken any responsibility. He wants the Council to admit the error and waive or reduce the council tax arrears.

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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, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(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. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. In May 2023 a property agent told the Council Mr X had left a property. The Council processed this information in September. It sent an email to Mr X saying there was a council tax bill to view on-line (closing bill) and it refunded council tax of £526 to Mr X’s bank account. The Council opened a new account in the landlord’s name. A few days later the landlord told the Council that Mr X was still the tenant and had not moved.
5. In January the Council re-opened Mr X’s account from May 2023. It issued a bill for £1090. After speaking to Mr X, the Council agreed to schedule the payments until March 2025; this meant Mr X had to pay £191 a month to cover the arrears and the current council tax. The Council says that during calls in February 2024 Mr X acknowledged being aware of the refund but said he had not known what it was for. The Council says it had acted in good faith, based on the information provided, but it awarded £50 for the delays in processing some of the information.
6. Mr X says he is not responsible for what happened and if the Council had not closed the account, he would not have to pay extra council tax each month.
7. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice. Mr X did not tell the Council he had moved and was completely unaware the agent gave the Council erroneous information. I can understand why Mr X thinks the Council is to blame but it is not unusual for councils to receive notifications from landlords, tenants and agents.
8. The Council re-opened the account in January and acted fairly by spreading the payments to the end of March 2025. I appreciate Mr X is now paying more council tax each month, but he could have returned the refund which would have reduced the arrears and meant the on-going payments would not have increased by £91. Mr X remained in the property so is liable for the council tax and continued to benefit from services which are funded through council tax.
9. I can understand why Mr X feels aggrieved, not least because he did not contribute to what happened. But, having considered all the factors, including the delays, there is not enough evidence fault causing injustice to require an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman