London Borough of Ealing (21 010 468)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax support
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 30 Nov 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about backdating Council Tax Support because he could appeal to a Valuation Tribunal and the complaint is late.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that the Council will not backdate Council Tax Support more than three months and the Council previously failed to tell him of his right to claim
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.
- We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council awarded Mr X Council Tax Support in April 2020 and backdated it the maximum three months (to January 2020). Mr X says that the Council should have backdated it to 1993. The Council says that he had previously been advised of his right to claim.
- Amy dispute about backdating of Council Tax Support can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an expert body and their decisions are binding on the Council. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case.
- Further, Mr X was aware of the matter in April 2020 and so the complaint is out of time and I see no grounds to disapply this rule.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he could appeal to a Valuation Tribunal and the complaint is late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman