Summary: We will not investigate Ms Q’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her council tax and council tax support. This is because she has, and could have, appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I have called Ms Q, complained that the London Borough of Haringey (the Council) wrongly calculated her entitlement to council tax support (CTS) and is now pursuing her for council tax she does not owe.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information Ms Q provided. I considered the information the Council provided. And I consider Ms Q’s comments on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

7. Ms Q’s adult daughter, who lives with her, has support needs. She said the Council failed, in 2018, to scan relevant documents regarding her daughter’s support needs. As a result, the Council miscalculated Ms Q’s entitlement to CTS. She said it accepted it made a mistake but then took too long to amend its records. The Council later obtained a liability order for council tax Ms Q said she did not owe.
8. More recently, the Council recalculated Ms Q’s entitlement to CTS. Ms Q has appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.

Analysis

9. We will not investigate this complaint.
10. Ms Q said the Council took too long to amend its records in 2018 and, as a result, it pursued her for council tax she does not owe. It was open to Ms Q to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if she did not think she was liable for the council tax. It is not our role to decide whether Ms Q is liable. So it would have been reasonable for her to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
11. Ms Q has appealed to the Valuation Tribunal over the Council’s recalculation of her CTS. Because of this, we cannot investigate this part of the complaint.

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Final decision

12. We cannot and should not investigate Ms Q’s complaint. This is because she has, or could have, appealed to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman