Summary: Mr X complained the Council charged him Council Tax on a property he did not own and failed to give him an opportunity to dispute the charge before it took enforcement action against him. The Council was at fault. It accepted it billed Mr X in error. It apologised, offered Mr X a financial payment and changed its processes. We are satisfied with the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council charged him Council Tax on a property he did not own and failed to give him an opportunity to dispute the charge before it took enforcement action against him. Mr X said this caused him distress and impacted his mental health. He wanted the Council to amend its processes and compensate him for the impact of its failings.

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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. 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)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us after they are notified of something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

4. I have investigated the Council’s actions from over 12 months ago. Mr X only became aware of the issue within the last 12 months and complained immediately so his complaint is not late.

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How I considered this complain

5. I have discussed the complaint with Mr X and considered the information he provided. I have also considered information provided by the council.
6. Mr X and the Council have had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Council Tax

7. 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.
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. A liability order gives a council the legal power to take enforcement action to collect the council tax and court costs owed.
9. Government guidance ‘Guidance to local councils on good practice in the collection of council tax arrears’ says councils should remain prepared to deal directly with individuals at any point. It says councils can ‘call action back from the enforcement agents at any time and where there is a case to do so they should consider such action’.

What happened

10. Mr X moved out of a rented property several years ago. When the subsequent tenants moved out of the property, they told the Council that Mr X was the landlord. This was incorrect. The Council sent Mr X a council tax bill for the empty property to his last known address.
11. Mr X did not receive the bill as he no longer lived at the address held by the Council. When the Council received no reply, it issued a court summons and a magistrate’s court granted a liability order allowing the Council to take enforcement action against Mr X.
12. Over the next year, enforcement agents acting on behalf of the Council sent several enforcement notices to Mr X’s last known address and an email address Mr X no longer used. Mr X did not receive any of these notices.
13. In early 2024 the enforcement agents received updated address information for Mr X and issued another enforcement notice. Mr X responded immediately to say he was not the landlord and did not live at the address. The enforcement agents told Mr X they could not stop enforcement action until the Council told them to. The agents issued another enforcement letter. Mr X told the Council he was not liable. The Council asked the agents to return the case, and it stopped all recovery action. Mr X complained to the Council.
14. The Council accepted it had billed Mr X incorrectly and confirmed it had stopped all recovery action. Mr X continued to complain. He said the Council’s error had impacted his credit rating. The Council said its actions would not impact Mr X’s credit rating. It repeated its apology and offered Mr X £50 to recognise his time and trouble in complaining. It also said it had altered its processes, so it now carried out land registry searches when it needed to confirm property ownership. Mr X remained unhappy and complained to the Ombudsman.

My findings

15. The Council accepted it billed Mr X incorrectly. Within two weeks of Mr X first becoming aware of the issue, the Council it stopped all recovery action and said it had made a mistake. It apologised, offered Mr X £50 and changed its processes to ensure the same thing does not happen again. I am satisfied with the Council’s actions and remedy for the impact on Mr X. Mr X says the Council’s actions have impacted his credit rating. There is no evidence to suggest this is the case. It is open to Mr X to contact his credit agency and rectify any mistake on his file.

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Final decision

16. I have completed my investigation, finding fault by the Council causing injustice, which it has already remedied.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman