Birmingham City Council (21 014 629)
Category : Adult care services > Charging
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about a charge placed on his property by the Council. This is because the matter has been decided in court and is therefore outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complained he is unable to sell his home because of charge placed on it by the Council. Mr X’s wife (Mrs X) has recently passed away. Mr X complained to the Council about the charge which he said was applied in 2011. Mr X told the Council he wanted the charge removed because the debt was “paid off”.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
- I gave the complainant the opportunity to comment on a draft statement and considered any comments received.
My assessment
- I asked the Council about Mr X’s complaint. It said that a ‘letter before action’ was sent to Mrs X who signed a direct debit mandate to pay the debt owed to the Council. When no payment was made, the Council took the matter to court. The case proceeded to an interim charging order. Mr and Mrs X were served papers. Neither attended the final charging order hearing in January 2012. The Council wrote to Mrs X to say the judgment had been granted but it did not receive a response.
- The issue at the heart of Mr X’s complaint was decided in court over 10 years ago. The exception at paragraph 3 therefore applies. We cannot consider matters decided in court. The complaint is therefore outside our jurisdiction and is not one we can investigate. Mr X said in his original complaint to the Council the debt had been paid. I would therefore suggest he sends the Council proof of this.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the matter has been decided in court and is therefore outside our jurisdiction.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman