• The complaint
• The Ombudsman’s role and powers
• How I considered this complaint
• What I found
• Final decision

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mr B complains that the Council referred his council tax arrears to enforcement agents despite a payment arrangement having been agreed. The Ombudsman finds no fault on the Council’s part. It was entitled to refer the arrears to enforcement agents as Mr B did not keep up with the payment arrangement.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains that the Council referred his council tax arrears to enforcement agents despite a payment arrangement having been agreed.

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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’. 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)
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 have considered all the information provided by Mr B, made enquiries of the Council and considered its comments and the documents it provided.
5. I have written to Mr B and the Council with my draft decision and given them an opportunity to comment.

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What I found

6. Mr B had council tax arrears dating back to 2011. Various arrangements were made over the years for him to repay the amounts owing.
7. In February 2018 the Council agreed Mr B would pay £50 per month towards the arrears for October 2014-March 2018. It explained this would be in addition to the 2018/2019 bill which would be issued in March 2018. It also explained that, if Mr B failed to keep to the arrangement, it would be cancelled without further notice and recovery action taken.
8. In April 2018 the Council accepted a payment arrangement of £50 per month for arrears due from April 2011 to March 2014.
9. On 12 June 2018 Mr B telephoned the Council to make a payment of £50. The officer explained that, although he had been making payments towards the arrears, he was not paying the instalments for the current year (2018/19). Mr B was under the impression the £50 payment covered both the arrears and the current instalments. A manager telephoned Mr B and explained the payment arrangement of £50 per month only covered the arrears and had started before the bill for 2018/2019 had been issued. She explained Mr B should have begun making payments towards the 2018/19 bill from April 2018 as well. The manager set up an arrangement for Mr B to pay the 2018/19 instalments. Mr B said he could not pay £50 per month towards the arrears as well so the manager agreed this would be reduced to £20 per month and would be reviewed in April 2019.
10. The Council sent Mr B an arrangement notice confirming the payments of £20 per month for the arrears for October 2014-March 2018 and another arrangement notice in respect of £122 per month for the current year’s council tax (April 2018-March 2019).
11. On 9 July 2018 Mr B telephoned the Council to clarify the arrangement amount. The Council sent an email confirming the amounts payable.
12. In October 2018 the Council issued a reminder to Mr B that £207 was overdue in respect of the current year’s payments. Mr B contacted the Council. It agreed he should pay instalments of £157 per month for the remainder of 2018/2019 and £20 per month towards the arrears and sent an arrangement notice confirming this.
13. In December 2018 the Council sent Mr B a final notice for outstanding council tax of £785 for April 2018-March 2019. It requested payment in full or a summons would be issued.
14. In January 2019 Mr B requested a reduction in payments. The Council put the arrangement on hold and sent him a budget planner to complete it. It asked him to provide updated information about his income and expenditure. Mr B did not return the budget planner so the Council removed the hold from his account. It sent Mr B an arrangement notice confirming the payments of £20 per month to be made towards the arrears and a summons in respect of the unpaid council tax for 2018/2019.
15. Mr B telephoned the Council and offered to pay £57 per month for the current year’s council tax in addition to £20 per month towards the arrears. The officer explained this was not enough and sent him a further budget planner to complete. Mr B did not return it. Mr B telephoned the Council again in April 2019. It advised him to provide bank statements as evidence of his expenditure and an offer of payment. He was also advised to continue paying council tax instalments for the current year.
16. By May 2019 Mr B had still not provided any financial information and had made no payments towards the arrears since February. So, the Council sent the arrears for 2012-2017 to enforcement agents for recovery. It also issued a final notice in respect of the arrears for 2017/2018.
17. Mr B returned the budget planner setting out details of his expenditure but provided no details of his income and no bank statements evidencing his expenditure. A few days later he telephoned the Council and agreed to pay £10 per month in respect of the arrears for 2017/2018. The Council sent an arrangement notice confirming this.
18. On 14 May 2019 a council tax bill was issued to Mr B for 2019/2020.
19. On 16 May 2019 Mr B telephoned the Council complaining that it had referred the arrears to enforcement agents despite an arrangement being in place to pay all the arrears at £20 per month. The officer explained amounts owing on Mr B’s account.
20. A few days later a liability order was issued for outstanding 2018/2019 council tax.
21. On 20 May 2019 Mr B asked the Council to reconsider enforcement action. It explained it could not accept his budget planner without proof of income and copies of his bank statements. It again asked him to provide this information.
22. On 28 May 2019 Mr B submitted a formal complaint to the Council. It put enforcement action on hold pending the outcome of the complaint and carried out a review of Mr B’s account.
23. The Council responded to the complaint on 24 June 2019 and included a statement of Mr B’s accounts. It said the arrears from 2012 to 2017 would not be recalled from the enforcement agent because, although Mr B had made some payments, he had not complied with the payment arrangements. The letter also reminded Mr B of the payments due for 2017/2018 and 2018/2019.
24. Mr B was unhappy with the Council’s response and escalated his complaint to stage 2. The Council issued a stage 2 response on 25 July 2019. It said an arrangement had been made in June 2018 to pay £20 per month but regular payments had not been received and Mr B had not provided income details and evidence of his expenditure as requested. The Council was satisfied the referral to the enforcement agents had been undertaken correctly because payments had not been received in line with the payment arrangement.
25. On 30 July 2019 Mr B contacted the Council advising that his mortgage company was seeking possession of his property and a court hearing had been set. The Council placed a temporary hold on his account to allow him to seek advice. Recovery action was also put on hold.
26. In January 2020 the court ordered that Mr B’s house would not be repossessed provided he paid his mortgage arrears over a period of time and kept up to date with current payments.
27. As Mr B had told the Council there was a repossession order pending on his property, it had brought his account back from the enforcement agents. The Council says it is agreeable to Mr B sending an up-to-date budget planner with bank statements and supporting evidence so a new arrangement could be set up for the current year and the arrears. The council tax bill due on 1 April 2020 for 2020/21 would also need to be taken into account.

Analysis

28. The evidence shows that, between February 2018 and April 2019 the Council set up several payment arrangements to enable Mr B to clear his council tax arrears. There were several telephone calls between the Council and Mr B over the same period together with email correspondence confirming the arrangements. The Council issued reminders when Mr B failed to make the agreed payments. It put the account on hold for a number of periods whilst waiting for up-to-date information from Mr B. When he failed to provide the required information, the Council issued reminders. Mr B also failed to pay some of the instalments towards the current year’s council tax which meant further arrears accrued.
29. The Council made it clear throughout that Mr B should make payments towards the arrears in accordance with the payment arrangement and also keep up with the monthly instalments in respect of his current council tax bill.
30. As Mr B failed to meet the agreed payments or provide information requested so the Council could consider an alternative arrangement, I find no fault in its decision to refer the debts to enforcement agents.
31. In any event, the Council has now recalled the debts from the enforcement agents and offered to set up a new payment arrangement if Mr B provides the required financial information.

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Final decision

32. I do not uphold Mr B’s complaint.
33. I have completed my investigation on the basis that I am satisfied with the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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