Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax liability and overpayment of Council tax because there was an appeal to a Valuation Tribunal. There is no evidence of fault by the Council in the way they acted in this matter.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council issued her with a backdated Council tax bill.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Ms X says that he moved out of a property in 2021 and believed she had paid all outstanding Council tax. However, in 2024, the Council issued her with further demands for Council tax. The Council says that the increased Council tax was because of a change in the circumstances of her co tenant which meant that an overpayment of Council tax reduction had been awarded in error.
8. Ms X paid the outstanding sum.
9. The Council explained that she had a joint liability for Council tax on the property. Therefore, she was liable to pay back the overpayment of Council tax even though there had been no changes in her own circumstances.
10. The Council says that the late recovery was because they had not been told of her new address. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council sought payment from Ms X as she was jointly liable.
11. Council tax reduction (CTR, also known as council tax support) is a discount, not a benefit. It reduces the amount of council tax a person has to pay.
12. If a council gives someone too much CTR it can reduce the CTR and increase how much council tax the person owes. We call these changes ‘CTR reversals’. Sometimes a council creates reversals because it has miscalculated the CTR. It might have ignored information it had or used information it should have not used.
13. If the council’s CTR Scheme says how it deals with challenges to reversals (sometimes called ‘overpayments’) a claimant can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. If the scheme does not say how the council will deal with CTR reversals, the claimant cannot appeal.
14. Councils can decide to reduce someone’s council tax and should have a policy explaining when this happens. (S13A(1)(C) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended) If somebody is struggling financially because of a decision about wrongly paid council tax reduction, they can apply for a discretionary reduction. Appeals about those decisions are to the Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case and so the complaint is out of jurisdiction.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault and there was a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman