Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council arrears because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains about the way the Council recovered council tax arrears. She says the Council ignored her and did not explain the 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. (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 Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mrs X faced some difficult family issues in 2021. She had council tax arrears and the Council served a court summons in November which added costs of £65. Mrs X paid some of the council tax but still owed £406. The Council added these arrears to the bill for 2022/23. The Council issued a summons for late payment and in June 22 added costs of £65; in August it removed these costs. Mrs X made council tax payments for 2022/23 but owed £176. In late 2022 and February 2023 the Council confirmed the charge of £176 was correct.
5. In April 2023 Mrs X paid £111 but said she would not pay the remaining £65 because she had been told costs would be removed.
6. The Council issued a reminder in October and a summons in November 2023 for the arrears of £65. Further costs of £65 were added and Mrs X owed £130. The Council sent a letter about the arrears in January. Mrs X did not pay so the Council involved bailiffs. Bailiffs charge fees and the debt increased to £440.
7. Mrs X says the Council charged a £65 late payment fee. She says the Council did not waive it as agreed and did not answer emails.
8. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. There is no late payment fee; at times the Council served a summons which meant court costs of £65 were added to the arrears. The Council applied for a summons at different times since 2021 and one set of costs were removed. But, Mrs X was still liable for the other court costs and the overall balance was confirmed to her in 2023 but Mrs X decided to withhold £65.
9. The Council gave Mrs X another chance to bring the account up to date in January 2024 but, because she did not do so, it involved bailiffs. Bailiffs charge fees which led to a significant increase in the debt.
10. I do not know if the Council responded to every email but the combination of the summons, bills, reminders, and emails from officers, meant Mrs X had enough information to know she was required to pay the arrears and, because she did not, the debt increased to £440. Mrs X could have paid the £65 but, if she remained of the view it was wrong, she could have complained and sought a refund.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman