Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about business rates because the complainant has not suffered significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mrs Y complained the Council did not reply to an email she sent asking for discretionary relief from business rates. Mrs Y says she would have moved the business had she known she was not eligible for business rate relief. Mrs Y wants some debt cleared.

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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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (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 Mrs Y and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs Y had business rates relief under an earlier scheme. The Council told Mrs Y when the earlier relief scheme ended. It was after that correspondence that Mrs Y sent an email asking for discretionary business rates relief.
6. The Council accepts it did not reply to that email until approximately eight months later when Mrs Y contacted it following a visit from an enforcement officer. However, I do not consider Mrs Y has suffered any significant injustice because of the error. This is because there were no other relief schemes available, so Mrs Y did not miss out on business rates relief.
7. Mrs Y says she would have made different business decisions had she known sooner she would not be eligible for relief. But the Council did tell Mrs Y in July 2022 that the previous business rates relief did not apply and says it sent bills and payment reminders correctly, including a bill that was sent before the enforcement visit, so she should have been aware that payment was owed. At no point did the Council lead Mrs Y to believe she would benefit from rates relief, and in fact she could not benefit from rates relief. She has therefore not suffered any significant injustice.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint because the Council’s failure to reply to her email did not cause significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman