London Borough of Bromley (19 012 738)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Ms X complains about the way the Council has dealt with her council tax liability. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because the matter has been remedied and there remains a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Ms X complains about the way the Council has dealt with her council tax liability.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the complainant's and Council's comments. The complainant has been given the opportunity to comment before a final decision has been made.
What I found
- Ms X says that, as a student living with a non student, she supplied the Council with her student certificate statement. The Council declared her exempt but a council tax bill was issued as her partner was liable (albeit with a 25% single occupation discount).
- She says that the Council initially applied the certificate to her partner in error and she had to pay more council tax. The Council has apologised for any errors made on her account.
- The Council has now applied the certificate and her partner has been billed as a non student.
- Any dispute about her status as a student could have been appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. I am satisfied that the matter has been remedied and there are no grounds to investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because there was a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal and the matter has been remedied.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman