Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to hold him liable for business rates as the issue is more appropriate for the courts. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council misrepresented its reasons for holding him liable as there is no evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council considers him liable for business rates and misrepresented its reasons for holding him liable. He says that as a result he will lose around £16,000.

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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 may decide not to start an investigation if 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

Liability

4. Liability for business rates is determined by the magistrates’ court. If Mr X disputes the Council’s decision to hold him liable he should decline to pay the rates the Council says are owed and argue the matter at court.

Misrepresentation

5. Mr X says the Council’s initial reasons for holding him liable for business rates focused on the existence of a lease agreement between him and his landlord and he has now successfully argued the lease is void. He is unhappy the Council has now found a new reason to hold him liable and says that had the Council raised the point sooner he could have taken steps to address it.
6. The Council must make decisions on liability for business rates based on the information it has. The existence of the lease agreement was sufficient initially to hold Mr X liable for business rates but once it became clear it could not rely on this it reassessed its position. It contacted Mr X’s landlord and they provided new information which the Council is satisfied shows Mr X is liable, regardless of the position with the lease.
7. We would not expect the Council’s initial decision to list every possible reason Mr X may be held liable for business rates or to advise Mr X about how he may avoid liability. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decisions or in the information it provided to Mr X.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and the courts are better placed to decide if Mr X is liable for the business rates the Council says he owes.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman