Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax support. The complaint is late, and there is no good reason for this.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has not properly explained council tax support overpayments for the period 2022-2024. He says the Council failed to respond to his enquiries and complaints about the matter from July 2024. He says the Council’s court action may be invalid and it continued to pursue recovery while he was disputing its decisions. Mr X says this caused him distress and anxiety.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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).
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. We will not investigate this complaint because it is late, and there are no good reasons for this as I explain in paragraph 2. Mr X complained to the Ombudsman in January 2026 about matters he was aware of from July 2024 or earlier.
6. In addition, we cannot investigate the summons or liability order proceedings because these are court proceedings and we are unable by law to investigate.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for this.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman