Summary: Ms X complained the Council made many administrative errors in handling her Council Tax Support. We have ended our investigation of this complaint because the Council offered a suitable remedy for the fault and injustice experienced. Further investigation would not result in a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council made many administrative errors in handling her Council Tax Support.
2. Ms X also complained the Council has handled her complaint and contacts poorly by failing to agree to meetings to discuss the complaint and providing incorrect information.
3. Ms X says this matter has caused her financial worry, stress and distress and taken time in handling this matter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

5. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered all the information Ms X provided. I have also asked the Council questions and requested information, and in turn have considered the Council’s response.
7. Ms X and the Council had opportunity to comment on my draft decision before I made my final decision.

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What I found

What happened

8. In March 2022, the Council advised Ms X of her Council Tax Support for the forthcoming year. Ms X contacted the Council to advise she was no longer receiving Tax Credits and believed she was therefore no longer entitled to Council Tax Support.
9. The Council investigated Ms X’s concerns and realised Ms X’s household had changed since 2016. The Council amended Ms X’s Council Tax Support to remove credits totalling £1,287.18 which became a debt Ms X owed.
10. Ms X contacted the Council about the lack of a single person discount on her Council Tax bill and to express concerns about the instalment amounts the Council was requesting. Ms X also provided extra information to the Council about her family setup over the past few years.
11. The Council continued to make changes to Ms X’s Council Tax Support, going back to 2017. This resulted in repeated changes to the balance Ms X owed for her Council Tax. Ms X continued to contact the Council for explanations of the changes to her Council Tax Support and balance owed. Ms X had repeat contacts with the Council from May 2022 through to July 2022.
12. In September 2022, Ms X asked to appeal the Council’s decision about her Council Tax Support. The Council’s appeals officer upheld the previous decision of the Council and advised Ms X of her appeal rights to the Valuation Tribunal.
13. Ms X engaged her appeal rights to the Valuation Tribunal. Following feedback from the Valuation Tribunal, Ms X withdrew her application for a tribunal hearing in April 2023.
14. Ms X brought her complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) who contacted the Council on her behalf.
15. The Council assessed Ms X’s complaint and decided not to recover the backdated Council Tax Support charges from Ms X. The Council wrote to Ms X on 16 May 2023 to explain its decision. The Council said:
• Following its review of the changes in Ms X’s household from 2017 to 2022, it had reduced Ms X’s Council Tax during this time by £975.41.
• It decided to wait until the result of the Ms X’s tribunal hearing before it would make a further decision in her case. It failed to tell Ms X of this and apologised for this oversight.
• It provided the correct information to appeal to the tribunal despite the tribunal advising Ms X to withdraw the appeal.
• It had no doubt Ms X contacted it to make it aware of changes to her household in 2017 but unfortunately the Council has no record of receiving this contact.
• It has corrected Ms X’s Council Tax Support award resulting in the £975.41 Ms X now owes.
• It has now decided not to recover the £975.41 in Council Tax Support from Ms X. It decided this because Ms X tried to advise it of changes to her household in 201. And, because of the large amount of correspondence sent by the Council over a short period of time, causing confusion, and the delays by the Council in handling this matter.

Analysis

16. A dispute over liability of Council Tax, or the amount of Council Tax Support award, is a matter for the Valuation Tribunal. It is beyond the remit of the Ombudsman to remove valid Council Tax charges or amend the Council’s decision about the award of Council Tax Support.
17. If I had investigated this matter, I could not have recommended the Council cancels the charges for the amended Council Tax Support.
18. I could have investigated the Council’s handling of Ms X’s complaint. This would have looked at the Council’s communication with Ms X, delays in handling Ms X’s complaint and the distress, inconvenience and frustration this could have caused Ms X.
19. The Ombudsman’s primary focus for remedies is to put a person back in the position they would have been in if the fault had not happened. In circumstances where a significant unremedied injustice arises from a fault, such as through poor complaint handling of delays, we can ask a Council to make a symbolic payment. This payments is to acknowledge distress or difficulties a Council has put a person through. Where we decide it is appropriate, we will normally recommend a remedy payment for distress or time and trouble of up to £500.
20. The Council has already provided an award of £975.41, which is in excess of the upper end for our normal symbolic payments of £500. The Council has also recognised and apologised to Ms X for the confusion it caused through its handling of this matter and failure to keep Ms X informed.
21. Given the Council has already taken action which resolved the outstanding issues in this matter, no further action by the Ombudsman is needed.

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Final decision

22. I ended my investigation and upheld Ms X’s complaint. The Council took action which resolved the outstanding issue and no further action by the Ombudsman was needed.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman