Summary: Mrs X complains on behalf of her grandmother, Mrs Z. Mrs X complains about a Council Tax instalment paid by Mrs Z which the Council alleges it did not receive. We will not investigate this complaint as it is late.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains on behalf of her grandmother, Mrs Z. Mrs X says Mrs Z paid an instalment of her Council Tax through a PayPoint representative in December 2021, but the Council said it did not receive the payment and pursued Mrs Z for the outstanding balance. Mrs X says events have taken a toll on Mrs Z's health and wellbeing, and that the Council should have pursued the PayPoint representative for the payment. Mrs X would like the Council to cancel the debt and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by Mrs X. Mrs X and the Council were offered an opportunity to comment on my draft decision and I considered any comments submitted before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legal and administrative background

5. Council tax is a tax made on domestic properties. Councils issue one bill to each household. Residents of dwellings, including tenants, are usually liable for council tax from the date they moved into the property.
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.
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 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. The law says that councils can serve a document about billing or enforcement of council tax by delivering it in person, leaving it at the person’s proper address, or sending it by post to their proper address. There is no need to use registered or recorded post. Unless the contrary is proved, a document is deemed to have been served by post when it would be delivered in the ordinary course of post. (Local Government Act 1972 (Section 233); Regulation 35(2) of The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992; The Interpretation Act 1978 (Section 7)).

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What happened

9. In December 2021, Mrs Z went to Store X to pay her Council Tax bill. She made a payment of £166 for what she intended to be paid towards her Council Tax to the Council
10. In mid-December 2021, the Council issued a reminder notice advising that the instalment was overdue.
11. In January 2022, the Council issued a second reminder notice advising again that the instalment was overdue.
12. In March 2022, Mrs X and Mrs Z contacted the Council to advise that the instalment of £166 had been paid in December 2021.
13. In April 2022, following further contact, the Council advised that the payment had not been received on the account and that the receipt should be taken back to Store X so it could investigate. The Council advised that the summoned amount remained payable.
14. In mid-April 2022, a notice before action was issued requesting payment.
15. In March 2024, a court summons was issued to Mrs Z requesting payment, which included the alleged outstanding instalment plus a summons costs.
16. At the end of May 2024, Mrs Z received a notice of enforcement for non-payment of one month’s Council Tax, plus a summons fee and liability order fee.
17. In June 2024, Mrs X complained to the Council. Toward the end of June 2024, the Council responded to Mrs X, it advised that it had attempted to trace the payment to no avail. The Council said that the receipt provided by Mrs X was not a PayPoint receipt, but rather a retailer receipt, and it did not evidence that it was paid at a PayPoint, nor does it include a barcode reference to which the payment was made. The Council advised Mrs X to contact PayPoint for further investigation.
18. In July 2024, Mrs X escalated her complaint, and the Council responded at Stage 2 in August 2024. The Council said that the payment was paid at a regular till, which whilst it accepted was not Mrs Z fault, it was subsequently not processed as Council tax. The Council confirmed that it had withdrawn the summons and recovery costs.

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Decision not to investigate

19. The law prevents us from investigating complaints that are submitted after the permitted time limit, unless there is a good reason to do so. Complaints must be made within 12 months of the person first having notice of the issue.
20. I understand from the Complaint responses that the Council has withdrawn the summons and liability fees. As such, this means the outstanding point of complaint and injustice concerns the £166 instalment payment paid by Mrs Z in December 2021.
21. The complaint is out of time because Mrs X and Mrs Z have been aware of the issue for over 12 months, as they had been disputing the payment with the Council since December 2021 when the first reminder notice was issued.
22. The Council's repeated reminders in January 2022 and April 2022, along with the communication that the instalment remained outstanding, should have alerted them that the matter was unresolved. In April 2022, the Council confirmed that the payment had not been received and advised Mrs X to take the receipt back to Store X for further investigation. This made it clear that the Council was continuing to pursue the debt, and the issue had not been resolved.
23. At that point, Mrs X had the opportunity to submit a formal complaint, as they were fully aware of the ongoing dispute and the Council's position. Despite being advised that the amount remained payable, they did not escalate the matter by making a formal complaint within the permitted 12-month period.
24. While Mrs X and Mrs Z continued to dispute the issue, the formal complaint was not made until June 2024, when enforcement action escalated. Mrs X had an opportunity to bring the complaint earlier, given that she was aware of the Council’s actions and the alleged outstanding payment and the Council’s position on the matter from April 2022. As a result, the complaint is out of time.

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Final decision

25. We will not investigate this complaint as it is late.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman