Summary: The Ombudsman finds fault with the way the Council handled Mr B’s complaint about a court summons it issued in error. This caused Mr B unnecessary distress and inconvenience. The Council has accepted the Ombudsman’s recommendations to remedy the injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr B was wrongly issued a court summons for non-payment of council tax. Mr B complains about the way the Council responded to his complaint. Mr B says this caused him avoidable worry and distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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’. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read the information provided by Mr B with his complaint to the Ombudsman.
5. Mr B and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What happened

6. In March 2019, Mr B contacted the Council about his council tax Direct Debit payments. The Council provided Mr B with inaccurate information which led to it wrongly issuing Mr B a court summons. Mr B alerted the Council to this error, but the Council failed to tell him the summons had been cancelled until the day of the court hearing.
7. The Council upheld the complaint from Mr B. In its response the Council:
• Confirmed the summons and associated costs had been cancelled. The summons had been deleted from his record.
• Accepted it had misadvised Mr B about his Direct Debit payment and as a result he was incorrectly issued a summons.
• Acknowledged its mistakes caused Mr B ‘unnecessary inconvenience and distress’.
• Said it would provide ‘additional training to all staff to ensure they fully understand how the Direct Debit process works.
8. Mr B complained to the Ombudsman because he was not satisfied with the Council’s response. Mr B feels the Council did not apologise and properly acknowledge the worry and distress caused by the fault.

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My findings

9. Mr B made the Council aware it had wrongly issued a summons as soon as he received the Council’s letter; this was 18 days before the court date.
10. But the Council failed to prioritise its handling of the complaint and its response to Mr B. The Council did not post its response to Mr B’s complaint until 3 days before the court date. Mr B says this letter did not arrive until a week after this date.
11. The Council took too long to deal with such an important matter and to establish it had wrongly issued a summons. Mr B says he cancelled a holiday because he thought he would have to attend court. He only found out the summons was cancelled one hour before he was due in court. This is fault.
12. I have reviewed the Council response to Mr B. It upholds his complaint but does not apologise to Mr B.
13. The Council’s offer of additional staff training will hopefully prevent the same mistakes happening in the future. But because of the identified fault Mr B says he cancelled a holiday. He was caused avoidable distress and time and trouble. This is an injustice

Agreed action

14. Whenever the Ombudsman finds fault causing injustice, we look to remedy the injustice caused. As well as the actions the Council has already offered, it has agreed to:
• Apologise to Mr B.
• Pay Mr B £50 for the time and trouble caused pursuing his complaint.
• Pay Mr B £100 for the avoidable distress it caused.
15. The Council should carry out the above actions, and the training already offered, within one month of my final decision and provide evidence it has done so.

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Final decision

16. I find fault with the Council, causing injustice. The Council has accepted the Ombudsman’s recommended actions to remedy the injustice. I have therefore completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman