Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council (19 006 416)

Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax

Decision : Not upheld

Decision date : 20 Dec 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Ms X complains the Council has mishandled her council tax account. The evidence shows Ms X has arrears of over £2,000 and the Council has taken action to recover this. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

  1. Ms X complains the Council mishandled her council tax account. In particular she says it wrongly used money to just pay off arrears, took recovery action when an appeal was outstanding and enforcements officers have harassed her.
  2. She says this has caused her distress and she has incurred extra charges.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
  2. 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

  1. As part of the investigation, I have:
    • considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
    • made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
    • discussed the issues with the complainant;
    • sent my draft decision to both the Council and the complainant and invited their comments.

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What I found

  1. Ms X has council tax arrears relating to previous addresses. In September 2017 Ms X entered into a repayment agreement with the Council. The Council wrote to Ms X confirming the agreement. The letter stated the arrangement was to settle her council tax arrears. It attached a payment schedule and said this was for settlement of the arrears and not part of the normal facility for payment of council tax. The letter also listed the total amount of arrears of £3,180.42.
  2. The agreed direct debit payments of £150 per month began in November 2017. Under this repayment arrangement Ms X made seven monthly payments from November 2017 to May 2018. Due to a change in circumstances, Ms X was unable to continue to pay this amount and so cancelled the direct debit.
  3. The Council used the payments towards the oldest debt first and so five payments used in respect of arrears for the years 2014/15 and 2015/16. The payments in April and May 2018 were used towards the arrears for the year 2016/17.
  4. The information provided shows the Council took recovery action each year as Ms X did not pay her council tax in accordance with the payments set out on each bill. After the first missed payment, the Council sent a reminder. When the payments were not brought up to date, the Council then issued a summons. The matter then went to court where a liability order was issued. As a result costs were added to Ms X’s account each time.
  5. As Ms X did not make regular payments in most years, the Council decided to use external enforcement agents to seek recovery of the debt. The debt for the year 2016/17 was passed to enforcement agents in February 2017. The debt for the year 2017/18 was passed to enforcement agents in June 2017 and the debt for the account 2018/19 was passed to enforcement agents in November 2018.
  6. Ms X says the Council passed the debts to enforcement agents even when there was an outstanding appeal for council tax reduction. The information I have seen shows Ms X did submit an appeal but not until 18 February 2019. The appeal was determined in Ms X’s favour on 13 March 2019 and council tax reduction was awarded from 22 October 2018.
  7. Ms X has also complained about the conduct of the enforcement agents. She says the enforcement agents harassed her even though she was vulnerable due to suffering post natal depression. In response to her complaint on 9 April 2019, the Council said all enforcement agents wear a bodycam and it would view the footage and take a view on Ms X allegations about the conduct of the enforcement agent.
  8. In response to my enquiries asking for the footage and the Council’s assessment of the enforcement agent’s conduct, the Council provided information about retention of bodycam footage. Prior to 3 July 2019, the enforcement agents only retained footage for 60 days. The enforcement agents changed the retention policy in July 2019 and footage is now kept for six months.
  9. I have seen footage of a visit which was carried out to Ms X’s property on 29 September 2019. Ms X was not at home when this visit was carried out and shows the enforcement officer knocking at the door, posting some paperwork and leaving.
  10. Enforcement agents carried out a visit to Ms X on 3 April 2019. Information provided by the Council indicates the enforcement officer had no contact with Ms X during this visit. Notes by the enforcement agents show there was subsequently contact between Ms X and the enforcement agent but it is not clear if this was by telephone or in person. .I have not been provided with any bodycam footage of a visit prior to April 2019.

Analysis

  1. The information provided shows Ms X did not regularly pay her council tax and so arrears accumulated over several years from different addresses. Councils have a duty to collect council tax from residents and there is legislation setting out the process that must be followed. I am satisfied the Council followed the process correctly in this case.
  2. Ms X says she thought the payment arrangement of £150 per month reached with the Council in September 2017 was to pay the current monthly amount with the reminder covering the arrears. She says she did not agree to pay £150 a month to cover just the arrears.
  3. The letter sent to Ms X by the Council in September 2017 does show the £150 will be used towards Ms X’s outstanding arrears only. There is nothing to suggest Ms X raised this with the Council after receiving the letter. I find no fault in the Council using the full £150 towards Ms X’s arrears.
  4. Ms X says the Council took recovery action while there was an outstanding appeal. The evidence does not support this position. There are several different accounts because Ms X has council tax arrears at several different addresses. The information provided shows Ms X appealed refusal of council tax reduction in February 2019 and her appeal was upheld in March 2019. There is no information to suggest a case was passed to the enforcement agents while the Council was determining her appeal. I find no fault on this point.
  5. Ms X also complains about harassment by the enforcement agents and requested bodycam footage is viewed. I took this to mean Ms X was complaining about a particular incident with an enforcement officer. I have not been provided with any footage to show interaction between Ms X and an enforcement officer.
  6. As Ms X has not entered into any agreement with the enforcement agents to pay the arrears, then they will continue to contact her. I appreciate she may find this distressing and may consider the amount of contact is harassment. However, I am satisfied the Council and its agents are entitled to contact Ms X to try to recover the outstanding debt. Ms X explains she is vulnerable and has suffered post natal depression. The Council and enforcement agents are aware of this but are still entitled to contact Ms X. It seems to me that the best way for Ms X to manage this ongoing issue would be to reach an agreement with the enforcement agents to pay the outstanding debts.
  7. I have not seen anything which persuades me the Council and its enforcement agents are harassing Ms X.

Final decision

  1. I will now complete my investigation as there is no evidence of fault in this case.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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