West Lancashire Borough Council (24 013 581)
Category : Benefits and tax > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Jan 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the business rates she pays. This is because the Council was granted a liability order by a magistrates’ court, and we have no jurisdiction to investigate a complaint which has been subject to legal proceedings. The complaint is also made late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion and consider it now.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains about the Council’s decision to hold her liable for business rates. She says the Council provided her with an exemption but then removed this and amended her bills. This left her with a large debt.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X says the Council previously granted her an exemption to business rates which it has since informed her was wrong.
- The Council say the magistrates court granted a liability order in February 2023 for the outstanding balance.
- I cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the case has been subject to legal proceedings, placing it outside our jurisdiction. Also, the issues raised happened more than 12 months ago and I see no reason why Mrs X could not have raised her complaint sooner.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and because the Council was granted a liability order by a magistrates’ court. We have no jurisdiction to investigate a complaint which has been subject to legal proceedings.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman