Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint that the Council will not reduce the repayment rate for council tax arrears and a housing benefit overpayment. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains that the Council will not reduce the repayment rate for money she owes to the Council. She wants the Council to reduce the repayment rate.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and considered correspondence between Ms X and the Council. I also considered a financial statement completed by Ms X and comments Ms X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Repayment of debts

4. The law allows councils to recover council tax arrears via an Attachment of Earnings Order (AEO). This means the employer deducts a set amount from the person’s salary and gives it to the Council. The amount of the deduction is stipulated in the regulations.
5. The law allows councils to recover a housing benefit overpayment through a Direct Earnings Attachment (DEA). Again, the amount is fixed in the regulations.

What happened

6. Ms X owes council tax for 2018 and 2019. She also has to repay a housing benefit overpayment. The Council has an AEO for the 2019 council tax arrears. This is a deduction of about £160 a month. When Ms X has repaid this debt the Council will set up a AEO for the 2018 arrears. Ms X is also having deductions of £130 a month for the housing benefit overpayment.
7. Ms X asked the Council to reduce the rate of repayment. She submitted a financial statement. The Council considered her request but decided that Ms X has enough disposable income to deal with the deductions. This view was, in part, due to Ms X’s explanation that she gives her father £450 a month for a loan he had given to Ms X’s mother to build an extension. The Council said this was a not a priority debt and was expenditure Ms X could renegotiate.
8. Mrs X told me she does not repay any money to either parent for an extension. But, I have seen an email she sent to the Council in November which says “my father recently paid for an extension and both myself and my mother have a personal agreement to pay back my dad, this is included in my £450 rent to mother”.

Assessment

9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault and it is not my role to decide how much Ms X should repay towards her debts. I have seen email correspondence between Ms X and the Council and it is clear the Council considered, in detail, Ms X’s circumstances, income and expenditure. It decided that the £450 could be diverted to paying Ms X’s debts to the Council and, in that context, the deductions of £290 are not unaffordable. Mrs X has stated in emails to the Council that contributes to the loan to her father. If she thinks the amount that she contributes is less than £450 then she would need to provide evidence of this to the Council.
10. The Council has decided it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to contribute 50% of the household bills. Mrs X provided evidence that council tax, water and fuel cost her mother £335 a month. On this basis it is reasonable for the Council to allow £167 a month for this expenditure. However, on her financial statement Mrs X listed her total expenditure to her mother for rent, utilities and food as being £920. On this basis it is understandable that the Council decided there is money Mrs X could use to pay her debts. If Mrs X wanted the Council to reconsider the rate of repayment she would need to clearly explain, and evidence, all the expenditure she gives to her mother, including the amount for the loan.
11. I appreciate Ms X may disagree but I can only consider if there has been fault in the way the Council considered Ms X’s request and I have not seen any suggestion of fault. It asked for evidence, considered that evidence and then explained why it would not recall the AEOs. The Ombudsman does not act as an appeal body and cannot intervene simply because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with.

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Final decision

12. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman