Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with her council tax applications. It is unlikely we would find fault and in any case, Ms X has not experienced a significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the way the Council handled her applications for council tax reduction. Specifically, she complained the Council:
• didn’t tell her she must inform it if her circumstances changed;
• took funds out of her account to recover some of the overpayments;
• threatened to take her to court when she did not pay back the overpayments; and
• refused to award her CT reduction when she submitted a new application in August 2022.
2. Ms X said this has aggravated her anxiety and depression.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
4. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Ms X received a second adult council tax reduction. Following a review of her case at the end of 2021, the Council discovered Ms X and her daughter’s circumstances had changed several years ago and in February 2022, it informed Ms X she would have to pay for council tax arrears for those years. It also said she no longer qualified for the reduction.
8. The Council informed Ms X it would take some of the arrears from her account which it did. Ms X complained and the Council refunded the money and set up a payment plan.
9. Ms X asked for a review. The Council upheld its decision. If Ms X remained unhappy she could have appealed the decision to the Valuation Tribunal.
10. Ms X made a new application in July 2022 and the Council awarded her the reduction from that point. Following a complaint from Ms X the Council backdated her award to February 2022. It confirmed that prior to then, she did not qualify for the award because the household income was too great.
11. It is unlikely an investigation would find fault. The Council was entitled to recalculate Ms X’s entitlement when it discovered circumstances had changed and to ask for a reimbursement of the overpayment. It was also entitled to consider court action as part of that process. When Ms X complained the Council had taken money out of her account to cover the arrears and had not backdated it to the correct date, the Council took appropriate action. As a result, even if we did find fault, there is no injustice outstanding to remedy and investigation into this matter would achieve nothing meaningful.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman