Summary: There was fault by the Council. The Council delayed writing off an amount of Council Tax which it said it would do. The Council has now written off the debt, but apologising and making a symbolic payment to the complainant remedies the frustration caused by the delay.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall call Mr X, complains the Council has not written off £305.93 which it said it would do.
2. Mr X says he has been put to time and trouble calling and emailing the Council to try to get his account corrected.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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

5. I read the papers put in by Mr X and discussed the complaint with him.
6. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
7. Mr X and the organisation 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

8. The Council has confirmed that it has now written off the £305.93 that it said it would. There has been delay confirming the money has been written off. This was fault.
9. Mr X has explained the frustration that was caused by the delay and that he had to telephone and email the Council. In order to remedy the distress caused to Mr X the Council should apologise to him and make a symbolic payment to him of £150.
10. I have not included service improvements in the remedy as the Council has explained that it has recently improved plans for the service to avoid delays and to also explain the timescales more clearly to customers.

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Agreed action

11. Within one month of the date of the decision on this complaint the Council should:
• Apologise to Mr X. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Pay £150 to Mr X.
12. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

13. I have completed my investigation of the complaint. This complaint is upheld as there has been fault by the Council. The actions outlined above remedy the injustice to Mr X.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman