Maidstone Borough Council (20 004 019)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax support
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 05 Oct 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s calculation of Mrs X’s council tax liability. This is because Mrs X has the right of appeal against this decision to the Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council has wrongly calculated her council tax liability.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council’s responses to her complaint. I also spoke with Mrs X and gave her the opportunity to comment on a draft version of this decision.
What I found
- Mrs X received a letter from the Council stating the amount she had to pay towards her council tax. She disagreed with the amount and asked the Council to review its calculation. As it did not change its decision, Mrs X complained to the Council.
- In response the Council told Mrs X it had paid her too much council tax support because the council tax costs it had used in the calculation were incorrect. It told Mrs X she could apply to its discretionary hardship scheme for support or appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
- Mrs X disagreed with the Council’s response and escalated her complaint. But it did not change its decision.
- The Ombudsman does not normally investigate complaints about matters that carry a right of appeal to an independent tribunal.
- The Valuation Tribunal is an independent body which hears appeals about council tax. This is a free and an easy to access service. We would therefore expect Mrs X to appeal to it to dispute the Council’s decision.
Final decision
- I will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s calculation of Mrs X’s council tax liability. This is because Mrs X has the right of appeal against this decision to the Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman