Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his business rates account. This is because the Council has agreed to write off a significant amount of the charges owed and it is unlikely we would say it should write off the remaining amount owed.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has applied backdated charges to his business rates account which he was unable to prepare for. The Council has agreed to write off some of the charges but says Mr X must pay the full amount owed from 1 April 2024.

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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 effect 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 the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. The Council initially closed Mr X’s business rates account in July 2021 following notification from his landlord’s agent that the premises were empty. The Council then reopened the account in September 2024 when the agent notified it if the error and issued Mr X a demand for business rates dating back to July 2021. The amount was significantly more than he had previously paid because of a revaluation of the premises, effective from April 2023, which meant Mr X was no longer eligible for small business rate relief.
5. Mr X complained to the Council and it agreed to write off all unpaid charges up to April 2024, but Mr X believes it should go further. He wants the Council to write off the additional charges up to the date of its bill in September 2024.
6. While the Council says its officer did not pick up that the account number and address provided by the agent did not match, as a business-owner Mr X has some responsibility for monitoring his account and ensuring his business rates were paid.
7. Mr X should have known he was no longer paying business rates between July 2021 and September 2024 and could not reasonably have expected that this was correct. He should therefore have notified the Council of a possible error and retained the money he was not paying to cover his business rates liability at a future date.
8. The Council’s agreement to write off Mr X’s business rate debt from 2021 provides a substantial financial benefit to Mr X and it is unlikely we would recommend it further waives the charges incurred from April to September 2024. I appreciate Mr X’s business rates liability has increased as a result of the revaluation and no longer qualifying for small business rates relief but this is not the result of any fault by the Council.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely investigation would achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman