Summary: Mr C complains about the way the Council dealt with his council tax account and says he suffered distress and spent time and trouble in trying to resolve the matter. The Ombudsman has found fault by the Council but considers the actions it has already taken provide a satisfactory remedy.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr C, complains about the way the Council dealt with his council tax account. In particular, Mr C complains about the Council’s communication with him and its recovery action including wrongly issuing an Attachment of Earnings Order.
2. Mr C says because of the Council’s fault, he suffered distress and has spent time and trouble in trying to resolve the matter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

5. I read the papers provided by Mr C and discussed the complaint with him. I have considered some information from the Council and provided a copy of this to Mr C. I have explained my draft decision to Mr C and the Council and provided an opportunity for comment.

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What I found

6. The Council had already accepted it had started the attachment of earnings process and issued a letter to both Mr C and his employer despite receiving the evidence it had sought.
7. The Council apologised to Mr C for this error and amended its internal processes to ensure it processed evidence more promptly in future and introduced a sweep of any incoming evidence before it issued any attachment of earnings.
8. During my investigation, the Council also provided a further detailed explanation to Mr C about its actions and his outstanding council tax liability. Mr C has confirmed to me he is content with the further explanation and the Council has confirmed he has paid the remaining outstanding amount.
9. The Council accepted its response to Mr C’s initial complaint was not as clear as it could have been and may have left him feeling unsure about the amount he owed on his accounts at that time. The Council has apologised to Mr C for this and is working with its new head of customer services to improve the level of plain English in all its correspondence.
10. The Ombudsman welcomes the actions already taken by the Council and considers these provide a satisfactory remedy to Mr C and he would not seek more.

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Final decision

11. I have completed my investigation as the Council has taken action which I consider provides a suitable remedy to Mr C.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman