Summary: Mrs X complains the Council mismanaged her council tax account leaving her not knowing what she owed and why and then failed to deal with her complaint about this.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

To put matters right the Council has agreed to:

• apologise to Mrs X.
• pay Mrs X the £240.36 the Council charged her because of its mistakes.
• pay Mrs X an additional £500 for the distress it has caused her and the unnecessary time and trouble it put her to.
• The Council should also review its complaints procedure. If it intends to continue with a one stage procedure it should ensure it has a system so that a senior manager, not involved with the matter complained about, carries out the investigation.

Ombudsman satisfied with Council's response: 18 December 2020

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