Summary: Ms X complains that the Council has refused to consider her offers of repayment of Council tax arrears which are causing her hardship. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council has refused to consider her offers of repayment of Council tax arrears which are causing her hardship.

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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.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the comments of the complainant and the Council, and the complainant has had an opportunity to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

4. Ms X says that she became in arrears in her payments of Council tax. She says that the Council is now insisting that she pays 239 pounds per month instead of the 40 pounds she had offered (based on what she could afford).
5. The Council says that the repayment rate has to be negotiated with the bailiffs as the debt had been passed to them. The Council says that the bailiffs will send an income and expenditure assessment sheet which will enable them to set a budget plan.
6. I do not consider there to be fault in the way the Council has asked Ms X to contact the bailiffs to discuss repayment rates. It is not for the Ombudsman to determine the correct or fairest level of repayment.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman