Summary: Mrs B complains the Council has not dealt properly with her Council Tax. The Council is not at fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs B, complains the Council has not dealt with her Council Tax properly because it hasn’t taken account of her vulnerability properly.
2. Ms X disputes liability for the council tax in full and wants a council tax reduction backdated.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I spoke to Mrs B and considered the details of her complaint. I reviewed information provided by the Council.
5. Mrs B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

6. The Council’s corporate debt policy says a person may be considered vulnerable if they are seriously ill. Each case is determined on its own merits and a person may be considered vulnerable in a range of circumstances, including where:
• The person is elderly;
• The person is seriously ill or mentally or physically disabled;
• The person has communication or learning difficulties;
• The person has young children and where there is severe deprivation;
• The person has recently be bereaved or made unemployed;
• The person has difficulty in understanding written or spoken English.
7. Falling into one of these categories does not automatically mean that recovery action is not appropriate. The Council will make individual decisions based upon the individual circumstances of the taxpayer or ratepayer to identify if recovery action is appropriate and, if so, what action to take.

What happened

8. Mrs B has disputed her Council Tax bill since 2017. She appealed to the Valuation Tribunal (VT) which found in favour of the Council. Mrs B unsuccessfully appealed the decision of the VT.
9. The Council has sent Mrs B letters and documents concerning what it says is her Council Tax liability for 2018/19 and 2019/20. Mrs B made some payments towards her Council Tax bills for each of these years.
10. The Council applied for a charging order in respect of Mrs B’s outstanding liabilities for nearly £6,000 in respect of liability orders made in September 2017, November 2017 and March 2019. The Court granted the charging order in April 2020.

Analysis

11. The Council accepts Mrs B is vulnerable. It says in cases of vulnerability it looks at how the individual’s vulnerability could prevent them from dealing with their liability or entering into a discussion with the Council about their payment arrangements.
12. The Council says it looks at factors including a person’s ability to pay, their income and source of income, the nature of any employment , whether a person is capable of managing a job or business, their ability to deal with correspondence and whether a person needs assistance with providing information.
13. I have seen documents from the Council which show it has considered Mrs B’s ability to pay and has considered her income and assets.
14. The Council also says it has considered that Mrs B has had the opportunity to make payment arrangements, has corresponded with the Council frequently, has the capacity to manage a portfolio of properties, and has challenged the Council at VT.
15. On the balance of probabilities, the Council has considered Mrs B’s vulnerability when it has considered what action to take about Mrs B’s Council Tax. This is not fault by the Council.
16. I also note that Mrs B had the opportunity to request the charging order decision be reviewed by a district judge within 14 days of the decision.

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Final decision

17. I have not found fault by the Council. I have now completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman