Summary: Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of her council tax account. She complains the Council did not update its records and wrongly took enforcement action. She says this caused distress and financial strain. We find the Council at fault which caused Mrs X injustice. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Mrs X.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of her council tax account. Specifically, she complains the Council:

1. failed to update its records correctly;
2. wrongly took enforcement action; and
3. communicated with her poorly.

2. Mrs X says this has caused her distress, financial strain and time and trouble.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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. I considered the information and documents provided by Mrs X and the Council. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I have considered all comments received before making this final decision.
5. I also considered the relevant statutory guidance, and Council’s policy, as set out below.

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What I found

What should have happened

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.

What happened

10. In 2023, Mrs X told the Council a property she owned was now empty. She gave the Council her correspondence address.
11. In May 2024, an enforcement agent contacted Mrs X about council tax owed for her empty property. It told her she had a week to pay the full amount owed, which included an enforcement agency admin fee of over £300.
12. Mrs X told the Council it had been sending reminder letters to an incorrect address. The Council advised her to pay the full amount to the enforcement agent. Mrs X made the payment.
13. During this period, Mrs X called the Council 10 times and requested a phone call from the Council to explain its error. Several of the calls were terminated before Mrs X spoke to an operator. The Council did not call Mrs X.
14. In June, the Council told Mrs X it had updated its system with her payment. It also told her it had removed the additional costs for her summons of £100. It told her to complete a refund request form. Mrs X disagreed with the Council’s calculations. She made a formal complaint.
15. In July, the Council upheld Mrs X’s complaint. It apologised to Mrs X for not previously confirming the amount it owed her. It confirmed a new amount and explained its calculations. It told her it had contacted the enforcement agent separately to refund her the admin fee she had paid.
16. Mrs X escalated her complaint to stage two.
17. The Council upheld her complaint. If offered her a £50 payment in recognition of significant delay and the time and trouble it took Mrs X to get a resolution.

Analysis

Record keeping and enforcement action (parts a and b of the complaint)

18. The Council accepts its officer did not correctly update Mrs X’s information following her contact in 2023. This error caused Mrs X’s council tax bills to be sent to the wrong address. This meant Mrs X did not receive the bills, and the Council passed the debt to an enforcement agency. Mrs X paid the debt to prevent the enforcement agency taking further action. This fault caused Mrs X unnecessary and avoidable stress and financial strain.
19. I am satisfied the Council has taken action with the relevant officer to improve record keeping and prevent recurrence. I am also satisfied Mrs X has now received her refund for the enforcement agency fee.

Poor communication (part c of the complaint)

20. The Council’s council tax department can only be contacted via the main customer line. After receiving the payment demand from the enforcement agents, Mrs X called the Council multiple times to discuss the error. She says she called 10 times and was on hold for up to 50 minutes before the phone was answered, and in several instances the phone call disconnected before she spoke to someone. The Council accepts the frustration this caused Mrs X.
21. Mrs X says once she spoke to an officer, the officer agreed to speak to a manager and call her back. Mrs X says she did not receive a call back. Due to being under time pressure from the enforcement agents, she continued to phone the Council over several days. The Council accepts it failed to provide the suitable standard of communication to Mrs X. It has apologised to Mrs X for the additional inconvenience and time she spent trying to resolve the error it made. This fault caused Mrs X significant unnecessary and avoidable stress and frustration.
22. The Council also failed to properly explain the amount Mrs X was to be refunded, or its calculations, in its letter to her in June. This caused further avoidable and unnecessary uncertainty to Mrs X.
23. The Council took five months to resolve its error by recalculating Mrs X’s council tax bill and ensuring she received the correct refund from the enforcement agents. To its credit, the Council apologised and offered Mrs X a payment in recognition of the delay and time and trouble. I am satisfied with the Council’s apology. I consider the Council’s remedy of £50 does not reflect the significant avoidable and unnecessary stress, frustration and uncertainty it caused to Mrs X.

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Agreed action

24. Within four weeks of my final decision, the Council has agreed to:
1. make a payment of £300 to Mrs X to remedy the unnecessary and avoidable distress caused to Mrs X. The £300 incorporates the £50 it has already offered. In arriving at this figure, I considered our published guidance on remedies. I considered the level of stress, frustration, uncertainty it caused Mrs X. I also considered the length of time the Council took to resolve its error, and the efforts Mrs X made to resolve the situation. I consider this amount is proportionate and appropriate to the level of injustice caused.
2. review whether any improvements can be made to its case management system to alert staff if customers are calling multiple times and there is an outstanding call back required.
25. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

26. I have completed my investigation. I find the Council at fault and this caused injustice. I propose the Council makes a payment to Mrs X.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman