Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to deal with a change to her council tax fairly. This concerned a change from a joint account to council tax account in Miss X’s sole name. There was no fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council acted unfairly when she asked to cancel her joint council tax account and create a new one in her sole name. She complained the Council’s approach to dividing the credit in the joint account was unfair and the Council had unnecessarily delayed giving her a single person discount.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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 spoke to Miss X and considered the details of her situation. I asked the Council for information and considered its response to the complaint.
5. I asked the Council to place a hold on recovery action while we investigated.
6. I sent a draft decision to both parties to enable them to comment. I considered the comments I received before taking a final decision.

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What I found

7. In November 2018 Miss X told the Council her ex-partner had moved out of their property and she wished to apply for a single person discount for council tax.
8. It took until February 2019 for the Council to respond. It asked Miss X if the property had been transferred into her sole name. If so, it asked for evidence of this.
9. In March 2019 Miss X confirmed her ex-partner had been removed from the property, she enclosed a deed of separation and she asked that any overpayments of council tax be refunded to her.
10. Miss X’s ex-partner left the property on 10 March 2018.
11. Council tax payments were up to date when Miss X made her request.
12. Miss X’s ex-partner moved out before the end of the 2017/18 tax year. They paid £65.74 for council tax between 10 March and 31 March. All the 2017/18 payments came from the joint bank account Miss X had with her ex‑partner.
13. For 2018/19, one payment of £111.82 had been made in April 2018 and six payments of £116.00 had been paid between May and October 2018. This totalled £807.82. All of these payments came from the joint bank account.
14. On 9 November Miss X made a payment of £116.00. She made four further payments of £58.00. One in December, two in January and one in March. All payments Miss X made from 9 November came from her sole bank account. These payments totalled £348.00.
15. Upon receipt of the information Miss X provided, the Council closed the 2018/19 joint council tax account. It set up a new council tax account in Miss X’s sole name for a short period for 2017/18 (10 March 2018 to 31 March 2018), and for 2018/19. This was to backdate the single person discount to 10 March 2018 when her ex-partner left.
16. Miss X and her ex-partner had paid £65.74 for 2017/18 and £807.82 for 2018/19 from their joint council tax account. A total of £873.56. Because this was paid on a joint council tax account, and from a joint bank account, the Council would not automatically transfer these payments to the new council tax account in Miss X’s sole name. It required agreement from both parties about what should happen with the “joint funds”.
17. Miss X’s revised council tax bills for 2017/18 and 2018/19, after the 25% single person discount, less the payments she made from her sole account left around £500 for her to pay.
18. Miss X explained she had funded the joint account that payments came from, so she should be entitled to all of the £873.56. She could use part of this to pay the council tax bill in her sole name.
19. The Council explained that where people are jointly responsible for council tax, its policy is to gain the agreement of both parties about who the funds from the closed joint account should be paid to. I understand Miss X reached agreement with her ex-partner about finances which he did not honour. In addition, he was now seeking half of the council tax payments made to their joint council tax account, which Miss X explained she paid in full herself. She felt any refund to him would be unfair.
20. The Council stated it could not take their wider financial circumstances into account. It acknowledged the circumstances, but as the council tax account was joint and payments were made from a joint account, it needed to gain both parties agreement to decide what to do with the funds.
21. Miss X’s ex-partner has stated he wants 50% of the refund. Miss X disagrees. Because of the disagreement, the Council intends to hold the money until agreement is reached.
22. I understand Miss X has maintained her council tax payments for 2019/20 However, because the majority of the funds paid to the joint council tax account have not been refunded, she has an outstanding balance of around £500 for 2018/19. The Council stated it intends to begin recovery action if this is not brought up to date. The recovery action was placed on hold while we investigated the complaint.

Was there fault by the Council

23. I understand Miss X’s situation is difficult and I recognise the background circumstances to her complaint about the Council’s actions. However, I have not found any fault by the Council.
24. The principle behind the Council’s actions is not to favour either party over the other. So, when payments are made to a joint council tax account from a joint bank account, the Council requires both parties to agree on what to do with the funds. This is appropriate.
25. I recognise Miss X seeks to demonstrate that the funds paid into the joint account all came from her, so in effect, she has solely paid the council tax. However, the financial agreement between Miss X and her ex-partner is likely to be more complex than this and the Council could not be expected to analyse their finances in any detail to make a judgement as to which of the parties is more deserving of the refund. When two people are sharing a property, they are jointly and severally liable for the Council tax due.
26. I am satisfied the amount the Council is holding, and the amount moved to Miss X’s sole account were correct, based on the payments already made. The revised council tax properly takes account of the 25% single person discount that is due.
27. Although there was some slight delay in the council’s response to the original request (between November 2018 and February 2019), all the payments Miss X made from November 2018 were moved across to her sole account in full. This delay did not increase the amount that has been held by the council awaiting agreement between Miss X and her ex-partner. So, it did not lead to any injustice or impact to Miss X.
28. As I have not found fault in the way the Council has dealt with this matter I have now completed my investigation and closed the file.

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Final decision

29. There was no fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman