Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s pursuit of Mr X for unpaid council tax. This is because the Council has apologised, waived the debt on Mr X’s account and issued a reminder to staff. An investigation would be unlikely to result in a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council pursued him for unpaid council tax for a property he did not live in.

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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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(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 Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X complained to the Council after receiving a court summons for unpaid council tax. He advised that he did not live in the property as he had been homeless for some time. He was also unhappy that when he called the Council to complain about the summons, the employee who took the call failed to place him on hold and he heard them discussing his case.
6. The Council apologised to Mr X and partially upheld his complaint. The Council explained that in light of Mr X’s circumstances it would halt collections proceedings and waive the debt it was pursuing him for. The Council also told Mr X it had issued a reminder to staff to ensure they placed callers on hold in future.
7. Mr X brought the complaint to the Ombudsman as he remained unhappy with the Council’s actions.
8. The evidence shows the Council has ceased all collections activity and waived the council tax debt it was initially pursuing Mr X for. It has also taken action to make sure council staff place callers on hold. These were reasonable actions for the Council to take and any injustice Mr X suffered due to the Council’s actions has been addressed. An investigation into this matter would be unlikely to result in a different outcome.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to result in a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman