Complaints about council tax

This fact sheet is aimed primarily at anyone who is experiencing problems with some aspect of their council tax account and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman.

I have a problem with my council tax. Can the Ombudsman help me?

In some cases, yes. But there are some matters we are not allowed to look at by law:

• We cannot deal with a complaint about something that affects nearly everyone living in a council’s area, such as the level of council tax that has been set.
• We cannot normally deal with complaints about issues that you can appeal about to the Valuation Tribunal, such as the council tax band your property has been placed in, whether you are liable for council tax, whether a property is your main residence or second home, whether you are entitled to an exemption or discount, or whether you are a student for council tax purposes. We would normally expect you to appeal about these issues rather than make a complaint to us.
• Nor can we look at what goes on in court.
• But we can consider other complaints about the way the council has dealt with your council tax.

How do I complain?

• You should normally complain to the council first. Councils often have more than one stage in their complaints procedure and you will usually have to complete all stages before we will look at your complaint.
• Then, if you are unhappy with the outcome, or the council is taking too long to look into the matter – we think 12 weeks is reasonable – you can complain to us.
• You should normally make your complaint to us within 12 months of realising that the council has done something wrong.
• To complain to the Ombudsman phone our Advice Team on 0300 061 0614 (8.30am to 5.00pm, Mondays to Fridays). You will be able to discuss your complaint with one of our advisers. You can text us on 0762 480 3014.
• You can complete an online complaint form.

If you consider my complaint what will the Ombudsman look for?

We consider whether the council has done something wrong in the way it went about dealing with your council tax account which has caused you problems. Some of the issues we can look at are if the council:

• failed to give you information you should have (such as entitlement to reductions in the tax or your right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal)
• failed to act on information you provided (especially where this affects your liability for council tax or your entitlement to discounts or exemptions)
• delayed in dealing with disputes
• made mistakes in dealing with your payments such as failing to credit them to your account, allocating them to the wrong account, or failing to pay in council tax benefit that has been awarded
• continued to take recovery action against you when it shouldn’t, such as when you have already paid off the debt, or you are keeping to an agreed arrangement to pay the debt by standing order or direct debit
• failed to pass on important information to the bailiffs, such as that you have cleared your arrears, or
• delayed unreasonably in dealing with council tax benefit claims.

We can also look at complaints about bailiffs acting on behalf of the council, for example if they behave unreasonably or make unreasonable charges.

What happens if the Ombudsman finds that the council was at fault?

We cannot decide whether you are liable to pay council tax or whether you are entitled to exemptions or discounts. But, if we find that something has gone wrong in the way the council dealt with your council tax account we can ask it to:

• take action to put the matter right, such as to correct mistakes on council tax records and issue the right bills and demands
• ensure that payments you have made or council tax benefit awarded are properly paid into your account
• deal with your correspondence or appeal
• withdraw a summons or bailiffs and waive costs where appropriate, or
• pay compensation. Whether we ask for compensation and the amount we recommend will depend on how you have been affected by what has gone wrong, for example whether you have received any unnecessary summonses, liability orders or bailiffs visits as a result of the council’s errors. 

Where we find fault with the council’s procedures we will often recommend that the council makes changes so that the same problem does not occur again in the future.

Examples of some complaints we have considered

Other sources of information

• Most councils have lots of information on council tax on their own websites.
• There is also information on the Valuation Office Agency’s website at www.voa.gov.uk/council_tax/index.htm
• The Valuation Tribunal's website is www.valuationtribunal.gov.uk

Our fact sheets give some general information about the most common type of complaints we receive but they cannot cover every situation. If you are not sure whether we can look into your complaint, please phone 0300 061 0614.

Date Updated: 10/01/12