Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s recovery of council tax arrears from his mother and its refusal to share information with him. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council pursuing his mother for unpaid council tax using threatening letters and bailiffs. He says he has tried to act on her behalf to set up direct payments, but the Council has refused to communicate with him.

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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’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response.

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What I found

4. Mr X says the Council sent threatening letters to his mother about outstanding council tax payments. He says he attempted to set up a direct debit payment and discuss the arrears on her behalf, but the Council would not communicate with him.
5. The Council says it sent standard letters and notices about the arrears to Mr X’s mother because she is the sole party liable for the charge at the property. It sent consent forms to Mr X when he wanted to deal with her case in the Magistrates Court, but he did not return them. The case was passed to enforcement agents as standard procedure following the granting of a liability order by the court.
6. We cannot consider the liability for the Council tax debt because this is the role of the Valuation Tribunal. I have considered the Council’s recovery action and there is no evidence of fault in this. Without written consent the Council could not deal with Mr X in relation to a third-party account. This would be in breach of GDPR data protection regulations. His mother would remain responsible for the payments even if the Council had received consent for Mr X to make payments on her behalf.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman