Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council handled errors in calculating council tax support. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an Ombudsman investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that after three years the Council noted it had not included one of his benefits in council tax support calculations. The Council asked Mr X to repay the money. He says the Council should write off the overpayments.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X has been claiming council tax support for three years. The Council says it has written to Mr X on more than ten occasions asking him to list all household income, but he did not include Industrial Injuries benefit on the list he provided.
6. In 2025, the Council became aware of the benefit and said it had over-estimated Mr X’s discount entitlement. It asked Mr X to repay the money. Mr X said he could not afford to repay it. The Council gave advice about its hardship scheme, but Mr X did not make an application. Mr X has now agreed to repay the money.
7. The law says the taxpayer has a duty to tell the Council of any changes that may affect their entitlement to any discount or exemption. The Council wrote to Mr X on many occasions to ask him to confirm all his income. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to know about his income. He did not tell the Council about the Industrial Injuries benefit. When it became aware, the Council recalculated the council tax discount and asked Mr X to repay the difference. It was entitled to do this. It also offered Mr X advice about its hardship scheme. Based on the available evidence, I can see no fault in the actions of the Council.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman