Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Miss X’s complaint about council tax reduction. This is because the complaint is late, and there is no good reason for the delay in coming to us.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that the Council:
• gave her incorrect information about her eligibility for council tax reduction in 2020;
• has refused to backdate the payment;
• has also refused her freedom of information request.
2. Miss X states this has caused her anxiety and financial difficulties.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
6. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Incorrect information about council tax reduction and back payment

9. Miss X contacted the Council in February 2020 to ask if she was eligible for council tax reduction, but the Council told her she was not. In September 2020, she contacted the Council again after discovering she believed this advice was incorrect and that she was eligible. She sought a six-month backdate due to the earlier alleged misinformation, but the Council refused to backdate this.
10. We cannot investigate complaints brought more than 12 months after the person complaining knew about the matter, unless we decide there are good reasons. The relevant date I have considered this 12-month period to begin is September 2020, as I am satisfied Miss X knew about the issue she complains about then. Miss X did not contact us until 2025, and I do not see a good reason for the delay.
11. At this stage, Miss X would have had a right to appeal, first to the council and then the Valuation Tribunal. The Council told her about this right to appeal in April 2021, but did not use it. Appealing to the Valuation Tribunal is relatively straightforward, and it is reasonable to expect Miss X to have used it.

Freedom of Information request refusal

12. Miss X states she requested information from 2020 under the Freedom of Information Act, but the Council refused to provide it.
13. If Miss X wishes to complain about access to this information, she can approach the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is better placed to deal with such matters. If Miss X disagrees with the decision made by the Information Commissioners Office, she will have the right to appeal to the tribunal.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the complaint is late, and there is no good reason for not coming to us sooner. Miss X also had the right to appeal in 2021, and it is reasonable to have expect her to have done so.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman