South Cambridgeshire District Council (19 017 523)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Housing benefit and council tax benefit 06-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his housing benefit claim. This is because the Council is not responsible for the issue at the heart of his complaint.

Birmingham City Council (19 017 302)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Council tax 05-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about council tax charges raised for her late mother’s property. This is because the Valuation Tribunal is set up to handle the substantive issue in this complaint. It is also unlikely the Ombudsman would add to the previous investigation by the Council and the fault has not caused a significant enough injustice to Mrs X.

Bristol City Council (19 006 858)

Statement Upheld Housing benefit and council tax benefit 04-Mar-2020

Summary: There was fault by the Council. It did not review Mrs B’s care plan or advise her, or her family that she was not entitled to housing benefit (HB) to pay the rent of her flat while she was in residential care. The Council’s shortcomings mean Mrs B incurred a debt she may have otherwise avoided. The Council has made improvements to how it handles these situations. It agreed to refund the amount of overpaid HB to Mrs B’s estate.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 009 711)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Council tax 04-Mar-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains that the Council has not recorded all her payments of Council tax and has demanded a higher payment of Council tax to clear arrears than she can afford. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

Luton Borough Council (19 014 159)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Council tax 04-Mar-2020

Summary: Ms X complains that the Council unreasonably delayed pursuing her for a housing benefit overpayment. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (19 017 092)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Council tax 04-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the accuracy of council tax bills issued to the complainant. This is because it is unlikely he would find any fault by the Council warranting investigation or that any injustice has been caused.

Maidstone Borough Council (19 017 749)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Council tax 04-Mar-2020

Summary: Ms X complains that the Council has held her liable for Council tax on a property. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because this could be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. Any question of bankruptcy and liability is a matter for the courts

London Borough of Harrow (19 017 793)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Council tax 04-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr X complains that the Council removed a Council tax discount he previously received. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.

Manchester City Council (19 008 269)

Statement Upheld Council tax 03-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr X complains the Council failed to respond to his request for a repayment plan and wrongly told him an instalment of Council Tax would not be deducted. The Council responded to Mr X’s request for a repayment plan in 2016 and offered a repayment plan to him in 2017. The Council is at fault as it wrongly told Mr X that the July 2019 instalment of Council Tax would not be deducted from his account. Mr X was caused distress by the fault which the Council has agreed to remedy by making a payment of £100 to him.

Birmingham City Council (19 015 146)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Council tax 03-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about disputed liability for council tax. Mr B has a right of appeal to an independent tribunal and it is reasonable to expect him to use this.