Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of his council tax account and his request for council tax support. We found fault by the Council because it took too long to decide Mr X’s appeal and to address his correspondence and complaints. This caused him uncertainty, frustration and put him to avoidable time and trouble. The Council agreed to apologise and make Mr X a symbolic payment.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of his council tax account and his request for council tax support. He complained the Council:
1. did not provide him with a paper form to apply for council tax support when he explained he could not complete an online form for medical reasons.
2. failed to properly consider his request for council tax support and was wrong not to backdate his claim to September 2022. It also wrongly told him to approach the Valuation Tribunal to challenge its decision.
3. did not reply to his correspondence about this matter and his subsequent complaints in a timely manner and its replies did not fully address his concerns.
4. took payment of the full amount of council tax it said he owed for the financial year 2024/2025 without notifying him.
5. failed to make reasonable adjustments to make it easier for him to use its council tax services.
6. did not properly handle his late father’s council tax account.
2. Mr X stated the Council’s actions have caused him financial hardship, frustration, put him to avoidable time and trouble and negatively impacted his mental health.

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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 unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

7. I have considered parts A to E of Mr X’s complaint.
8. The Ombudsman normally expects a person to complain to them within 12 months of knowing something has happened which affects them. I have decided to exercise discretion and investigate matters from 2024 onwards. This is because Mr X has been pursing matters with the Council continuously since this time and the Council’s delay in handling his case contributed to the delay in contacting the Ombudsman.
9. I have not considered matters which occurred before January 2024. I consider it was reasonable for Mr X to have brought any concerns about the Council’s actions prior to 2024 to us sooner and so I have not exercised discretion to consider earlier matters.
10. I have not investigated part F of his complaint. This is because this matter was not part of his formal complaints to the Council in January 2025 and April 2025 and so the restriction in paragraph 4 applies.

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How I considered this complaint

11. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
12. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

13. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 cover both the way councils collect payments of council tax and the way councils can recover council tax debt.
14. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1 April. A council will usually collect payment through monthly instalments. If any instalment is missed, the council will send the liable person a reminder. If a payment is still not made or a further payment missed, then the entire outstanding balance will be due (that is the full amount for the rest of the year).
15. Council tax reduction (CTR, also known as council tax support) is a discount, not a benefit. Councils can award discretionary CTR to reduce a claimant’s council tax, using their powers under S13A(1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended). Each council will have its own scheme.
16. The Council’s council tax support scheme allows applicants, with continuous good cause for failing to make an application, to make a claim for backdated council tax support for up to one year before the date the application was made.

Reasonable adjustments

17. The reasonable adjustment duty is set out in the Equality Act 2010 and applies to any body which carries out a public function. It aims to make sure that a disabled person can use a service as close as it is reasonably possible to get to the standard usually offered to non-disabled people.
18. Service providers are under a positive and proactive duty to take steps to remove or prevent obstacles to accessing their service. If the adjustments are reasonable, they must make them.
19. The duty is ‘anticipatory’. This means service providers cannot wait until a disabled person wants to use their services but must think in advance about what disabled people with a range of impairments might reasonably need.
20. We cannot decide if an organisation has breached the Equality Act as this can only be done by the courts. But we can make decisions about whether or not an organisation has properly taken account of an individual’s rights in its treatment of them.
21. We have published guidance for local authorities called “Equal Access: Getting it right for people with disabilities”. This looked at complaints we received about this topic and offers good practice advice to councils.

What happened

22. Mr X has a medical condition which makes it difficult for him to use the computer, especially when it is cold. Mr X received council tax support to help pay his council tax. The Council stopped Mr X’s council tax support from September 2022 because he did not provide the necessary information for the Council to decide his claim.
23. On 24 April 2024 Mr X called the Council asking for a paper form to make a council tax support application. He explained he could not complete an online form because of his medical condition. The Council told Mr X he could only complete the form online.
24. On 28 April the Council received a completed online council tax support form from Mr X. The form said Mr X would like his council tax backdated to 29 April 2023, the maximum period allowed on the form.
25. The Council wrote to Mr X in May asking for information to support his request for backdated council tax support. In response Mr X contacted the Council and was advised he could provide the required information at a local library or forum.
26. On 24 July the Council awarded Mr X backdated council tax support from 1 May 2023, in accordance with its policy to backdate council tax support for a maximum of one year.
27. On 27 August Mr X wrote to the Council. He asked the Council’s benefits department why his council tax support claim was not backdated to 29 April 2023. He also asked the Council’s appeals department to consider backdating his council tax support to September 2022 because he was unable to complete an online form.
28. On 17 September the Council wrote to Mr X telling him its appeals department had a backlog of cases, and it would take longer than normal to consider his request.
29. On 25 January 2025 Mr X made a complaint to the Council because he had not received a response to his letter of 27 August 2024. The Council replied on 21 February. It upheld his complaint and said it would prioritise addressing his backdating request.
30. On 27 February the Council decided it would not backdate Mr X’s council tax support claim beyond 1 May 2023.
31. Unhappy with the Council’s decision Mr X made a second stage complaint on 14 March 2025. He complained that nothing was offered to resolve his complaint and it had not addressed his reasons for not requesting backdated council tax support sooner. He also said the benefits department had not answered his letter of 27 August 2024.
32. On 23 April the Council replied to Mr X’s complaint. It said:

• it has decided Mr X’s appeal request as promised in its stage one complaint reply.
• its letter of 27 February 2025 explained it could only backdate Mr X’s council tax support for a maximum of one year.
• it did not pass Mr X’s letter of 14 February 2025 concerning council tax costs and asking for refund to the council tax department. It apologised and said it had resolved his concerns and arranged a refund.
• it sympathised with Mr X’s difficulty using online forms, but it can only determine a claim once it has been received.
• the complaints process cannot change the outcome of the Council’s decision not to backdate his council tax support to September 2022. Mr X can appeal the decision if he is unhappy.

33. On 13 May Mr X asked the Council to reconsider its appeals decision not to backdate his council tax support to September 2022. The Council replied on 2 July 2025. It said it could not change its decision because its scheme only allows it to backdate support for a maximum of one year. It said Mr X could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
34. Mr X appealed to the Valuation Tribunal, but it struck out his appeal because it cannot consider disputes to about backdating council tax support for longer than the 12 months allowed.
35. Unhappy Mr X complained to the Ombudsman. His complaint is set out in paragraph 1.
36. We made enquires of the Council. It told us:

• if a resident cannot apply for council tax support online they can call its contact centre and arrange for an officer to help them complete the form over the phone. Applicants can also access help claiming council tax support at their local library and other locations.
• the officer Mr X spoke with on 24 April should have been aware the Council offers support over the phone to complete council tax support forms.
• it issued Mr X with a council tax bill for the year 2024/2025. Mr X had an overpayment for a previous financial year and so it used the overpayment to pay some of Mr X’s balance for the current financial year. It refunded Mr X the remainder of the overpayment.
• it has withdrawn costs on Mr X’s council tax account for the years 2022/2023, 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.
• it has recruited additional staff to its appeals team to prevent a recurrence of the delays Mr X experienced.

Finding

37. Mr X tried to apply for backdated council tax support on 24 April 2024. He told the Council he needed a paper application form because he cannot complete online applications due to a medical condition affecting his hands. Records show Mr X was told there was no alternative to applying online. Mr X was wrongly advised as the Council will help applicants complete the form over the phone. Failing to explain this option to Mr X meant he did not pursue a backdated council tax support application at this time. However Mr X made an online application four days later and so, I do not consider his claim was substantively delayed, as a result.
38. The Council has arrangements for residents who cannot complete an online council tax support from to be able to do so over the phone. They can also access support a local libraries and forums. I am satisfied the Council has suitable arrangements in place to facilitate residents making applications other than online.
39. The Council’s council tax support policy says it will backdate requests for a maximum of one year. The Council received Mr X’s online claim form on 28 April 2024, and it awarded him council tax support from 1 May 2023. The Council’s decision is in keeping with its policy and so I do not find fault with how it decided his request.
40. Mr X wrote to the Council challenging its decision not to backdate his claim in late August. The Council did not decide his request until 27 February 2025. This is a period of six months. While I appreciate the Council had a backlog of requests at this time, six months is a significant delay which amounts to fault. As a result Mr X was caused frustration and put to the avoidable time and trouble of making a complaint. This is injustice.
41. The Council’s reply to Mr X’s complaint did not address his reasons for not requesting backdated council tax sooner. While the Council’s reply did explain why it could not backdate council tax support to September 2022, it did not address Mr X’s grounds that it should make an exception because he had been unable to apply earlier. The failure to address this point specifically caused Mr X uncertainty about whether the Council had considered the matter and if it would result in a different outcome. This in injustice.
42. The Council’s policy for council tax support does not allow for an exception to be made to the rule that the maximum it will backdate claims for is 12 months. Therefore I do not consider the Council would have made a different decision if it had considered this matter.
43. Mr X also complained the Council used an overpayment for a different council tax year to pay the outstanding balance of his 2024/2025 council tax bill. The Council can use overpayments in this way and so I do not find its actions to be at fault. I also note it arranged for the remainder of the overpayment to be refunded to Mr X.

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Agreed Action

44. Within one month of my final decision the Council will:
• apologise to Mr X for the identified fault.
• pay Mr X £200 in recognition of the uncertainty, frustration and avoidable time and trouble Mr X was put to by the identified fault.
• issue guidance to the relevant staff explaining the options available to residents who cannot complete an online council tax support application.
45. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

46. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman