Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax enforcement action as the complaint is made late to us and there are not good reasons to investigate now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council wrongly took enforcement action against him in 2019 for council tax areas when, Mr X says, he did not owe anything. Mr X says this has caused him distress and seeks a refund of £100 he paid to the Council's enforcement agents.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X’s complaint is made late to us as he knew about the problem he complains about in 2019 but did not complain to us until July 2023. Mr X does not explain the reason for the delay in complaining to us.
7. We can investigate late complaints when we think there are good reasons to do so. I do not consider there are in this case as it is reasonable to expect Mr X to have complained to us sooner and within a year of him knowing about the problem. We will not therefore investigate

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late to us and there are not good reasons to investigate now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman