East Suffolk Council (19 017 496)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 Feb 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains about the way the Council has dealt with his Council tax liability. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because this is a matter for the Information Commissioner’s Office and the matter is settled.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the way the Council has dealt with his Council tax liability.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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
- the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
- the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, 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, or
- there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered the comments of the complainant and the Council and the complainant has had an opportunity to comment on the draft decision.,
What I found
- Mr X complains that the Council’s system did not provide him with a Council tax bill promptly which meant he was unable to pay his bills on time. He says that the Council lost documents he submitted and this was a data breach.
- Any complaints about data breaches are matter for the Information Commissioner’s Office. Mr X says that his bill was dealt with quicker than others because he complained and that this was unfair to others. I am not satisfied that any significant injustice was caused to him by this.
- I note that the Council responded to his complaint and ensured that a Council tax bill was issued. In the absence of any enforcement action taken against Mr X, I am not satisfied that there are sufficient grounds to warrant investigation as the matter is settled.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman