Summary: We found the Council at fault as it failed to fulfil its offer to remove enforcement costs and fees from Mr X’s council tax debt. This put Mr X to the avoidable expense of paying costs and fees the Council had agreed to cancel. While the Council had already refunded the costs and fees, it agreed to apologise to Mr X for its earlier oversight.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of his council tax account and council tax support claim because it:

• failed to issue a proper council tax bill showing the amount due for the time he lived in a house in the Council’s area;
• wrongly got two liability orders for the council tax year 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019;
• failed to properly take account of his low income when setting repayment terms;
• failed to assess his claim for council tax support;
• failed to provide copy documents he asked for; and
• failed to properly investigate his complaints about staff bullying and harassment.

2. Mr X says the Council’s actions caused significant distress and worry and caused unnecessary and serious financial hardship for him and his vulnerable family.
3. To put matters right, Mr X wanted:

• a properly adjusted council tax bill for his stay at the house in the Council’s area;
• removal of the costs and charges on the second liability order;
• a decision on his council tax support claim; and
• a proper and detailed investigation into his staff conduct complaint so others did not experience similar problems when seeking information about their council tax account.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
5. 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)
6. 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

7. I have:

• considered Mr X’s written complaint and supporting papers;
• talked to Mr X about the complaint;
• asked for and considered the Council’s comments and supporting papers on the complaint;
• shared, where possible, the Council’s comments and supporting papers with Mr X; and
• given Mr X and the Council an opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

A summary about council tax

8. Councils have legal powers to set and collect council tax, which is a tax made on domestic properties. Residents of dwellings, including tenants, are usually liable for council tax from the date they move into a property.
9. Councils issue council tax bills each year for 1 April to 31 March. Payment is due at year start on 1 April but usually collected by monthly instalments as set out in the council tax bill. (Councils may, but do not have to, agree a special payment arrangement outside the normal instalment scheme if they consider it right to do so.)
10. People can seek help with council tax by applying for a council tax reduction (also known as ‘council tax support’). Each council decides its own council tax reduction scheme. Thurrock Council’s scheme will pay a maximum of 75% of a working age claimant’s council tax. People may ask for a review of a council’s decision on their council tax reduction application. And, if the council does not change its decision, it is possible to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
11. If people pay their council tax late, or do not pay, they lose the right to pay by instalments. Councils can then demand payment of the outstanding balance (that is, the full amount for the rest of the year). If the council tax remains unpaid, councils can issue a summons for a liability order in the magistrates’ court. A liability order confirms the amount owed and who is liable to pay it.
12. A liability order gives councils legal powers to take enforcement action to collect the council tax debt. Councils can add the costs of getting the order to the person’s council tax debt. Councils may ask bailiffs (also called enforcement agents) to collect the debt. Bailiffs will add their fees to the debt.
13. Bailiffs must send a notice of enforcement letter to the debtor seven clear days before they may ‘take control of goods’ (that is, before visiting to take goods). This is the ‘the compliance stage’. The law allows bailiffs to add a set fee to the debt at the compliance stage. Once a bailiff makes a first visit the compliance stage is over and the enforcement stage has begun.
14. The law says councils can serve documents about council tax billing and enforcement by leaving or sending them by post to a liable person’s proper address. The ‘proper address’ is the liable person’s last known address. Councils do not need to use registered or recorded post. And, subject to proof to the contrary, a document is ‘served’ when it would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.

A summary of what happened

15. In spring 2018, Mr X and his family moved home (‘the Arrival Date’). Their new home (‘the Property’) was in the Council’s area. A housing organisation (‘the Housing Body’) arranged the move to the Property as temporary accommodation.
16. About a week later, the Council said Mr X registered online for its school admissions service. And, about five weeks after that, the managing agent for the Property contacted its council tax team. The council tax team understood from this contact that Mr X and his family had just moved into the Property. The same day, the Council’s records showed another person registered for an online council tax account, including online billing, for the Property (‘the Registration Date’). (I shall refer to this other person as ‘the Third Party’.) The council tax registration information included details about Mr X as an occupant of the Property with liability to pay council tax. The registration also produced a ‘notification of occupation to Council Tax’. The Registration Date appeared in the notification as the date Mr X and the Third Party ‘first occupied’ the Property. In their separate online registrations, Mr X and the Third Party used different passwords and email contact numbers.
17. The Council said that two days later, it used the registered council tax email to tell the Third Party their council tax bill was available to view on the online account. The bill started from the Registration Date and went to the end of the council tax year on 31 March 2019 (‘the Year End Date’).
18. The Council’s records showed that, about 10 days later, the Third Party sent it a claim form for council tax support (‘the Application’). The form included a ‘checklist’ which set out information the Council needed to support a claim. The Application gave the Arrival Date as the date the Third Party and Mr X moved to the Property.
19. Two days later, the Council’s records showed someone had viewed the council tax bill for the Property on the online council tax account.
20. About 10 days later, the Council wrote to the Third Party for information it needed to assess the Application. The letter said the Council would consider the Application withdrawn if it did not hear from the Third Party.
21. Three weeks later, the Council wrote again to the Third Party. The Council said, as it had not received the information it had asked for, it had decided to refuse the Application. However, the letter gave the Third Party a calendar month to provide the information and, if they did, the Council said it would consider the Application. The letter also set out how the Third Party could ask for a review of its decision on the Application. The same day, the Council said it sent a separate letter to the Third Party. This letter was a reminder for payment of council tax. The next day, Mr X said the Housing Body moved him and his family to another property.
22. Two weeks later, the Council said it wrote again to the Third Party giving them seven days to pay the full council tax to the Year End Date to avoid legal action.
23. Seven days later, the Council said it sent a council tax summons to the Property, that being the last known address for the Third Party. About the three weeks later, the Council said it secured a liability order for unpaid council tax from the Registration Date to the Year End Date plus costs (‘the First Liability Order’). The Council said it then wrote to the Third Party seeking immediate full payment of money due under the First Liability Order to avoid recovery by enforcement agents. The Council said it again sent the letter to the Property as the last known address for the Third Party.
24. The Council said that a few days later, it received a call from a new tenant at the Property. The Council adjusted Mr X’s and the Third Party’s bill to cover council tax from the Registration Date to the date of the new tenant’s call, which was before the Year End Date. This reduced the council tax payable under the First Liability Order.
25. The Council then asked enforcement agents to recover the council tax debt. After about four months, the agents found the new address of Mr X and the Third Party (‘the New Address’). The agents sent Mr X and the Third Party a notice of enforcement letter seeking payment of the First Liability Order within 14 days.
26. Just over two weeks later, Mr X emailed both the agents and the Council. Mr X said he had moved to the Property on the Arrival Date and moved out about twelve weeks later (‘the Leave Date’). The Leave Date was about six weeks before the new tenant of the Property had contacted the Council (see paragraph 24). Mr X said he had a right to council tax discounts. And, the Council had ‘told them on the telephone that everything would be looked into and resolved accordingly’.
27. The Council replied that it had had no knowledge of the Leave Date and no record of Mr X telephoning about his council tax. It had cancelled the Application when the Third Party failed to respond to its letters seeking information. The Council gave Mr X a telephone number for its debt management team if he wished to discuss how to pay his council tax debt.
28. The Council also adjusted Mr X’s and the Third Party’s council tax bill to cover the time they occupied the Property, that is, between the Arrival and Leave Dates. The adjusted bill further reduced the council tax payable under the First Liability Order, which applied to council tax between the Registration and Year End Dates. However, the First Liability Order did not cover council tax from the Arrival Date to the Registration Date. And, the Council had not previously billed the Third Party or Mr X for council tax for the Property from the Arrival Date to the Registration Date. The adjusted bill therefore sought payment of the council tax due from the Arrival Date to the Registration Date. The Council emailed Mr X and the Third Party to let them know the new bill was available for viewing on their online council tax account.
29. The enforcement agents visited the New Address. The agents said they found tenants at the New Address that gave their move in date as two weeks before Mr X had emailed the Council (see paragraph 26).
30. Meanwhile, the Council had received no payment of the council tax now billed and due for the Property between the Arrival and Registration Dates. The Council sent both a reminder and final payment letter for the council tax. The Council then issued a summons for the unpaid council tax. Each time the Council said it wrote to Mr X and the Third Party at the New Address, as their last known address.
31. When the Council issued the summons, an officer also telephoned Mr X. The officer told Mr X about the summons; said the Council was enforcing the First Liability Order; and asked for confirmation of Mr X’s then address and circumstances. Mr X challenged much of what the officer said and said he was being bullied. Mr X made a follow up telephone call and sent an email to the Council complaining about the officer’s call. Mr X said his objective during the officer’s call had been ‘to engage and explore a possible repayment plan’ for the council tax. (After listening to telephone recording, the Council considered the call “was dealt with in an appropriate manner” and did not uphold Mr X’s complaint.)
32. The Council got a second liability order from the court (‘the Second Liability Order’). The Second Liability Order was for unpaid council tax (plus costs) from the Arrival Date to the Registration Date.
33. A few days later, Mr X gave the Council information about his income. Mr X and the Council then agreed a payment plan for the unpaid council tax between the Arrival and Leave Dates (plus costs).
34. Over the next few months, Mr X paid two instalments and twice asked to change the payment arrangements. The Council agreed both changes but said it would not agree further changes. The Council said it warned Mr X it would refer the case back to enforcement agents if he failed to pay another instalment.
35. The next month, the Council received no instalment payment. The Council said it wrote to Mr X and the Third Party and told them it was passing the case to its enforcement agents, which it then did.
36. The Council’s enforcement agents traced Mr X and the Third Party to another address and sent two notice of enforcement letters. Mr X called the agents and discussed a new payment arrangement. The agents written records showed Mr X suggested the amount he would pay each month to clear the debt. This monthly amount was more than Mr X had paid under the arrangement made with the Council. The agents then wrote to Mr X setting out the new arrangement, which was for six instalment payments to clear the council tax, legal, and recovery costs.
37. Mr X also telephoned Council officers. Mr X questioned why he had two council tax bills and liability orders and the need for enforcement agents when he had a payment arrangement. After one call, Mr X complained to the Council. In the complaint correspondence that followed, Mr X said the Council had not issued 'a' clear and correct council tax bill but several bills with different, unexplained, figures. It had wrongly issued and later taken court action on two council tax bills for the same tax year, which maliciously doubled the legal fees and costs. While entitled to a council tax reduction, it had failed to apply that benefit to his council tax bill. Mr X also said the Council’s officers had bullied, harassed, and humiliated him during telephone calls.
38. The Council explained it had issued more than one bill because it had to respond to information it received about when Mr X lived at the Property. This changing information had led to it to apply for two liability orders. It had closed the Application because it did not receive the added information it needed, despite sending reminder letters. Mr X was now ‘out of time’ to make another claim for council tax support. Its council tax support scheme said applicants receiving benefits still needed to pay at least 25% of their council tax. The Council recognised that conversations about debt collection could be difficult and it expected its officers to be polite and courteous with all callers. Having listened to telephone recordings and read officers’ notes, it was satisfied they had handled Mr X’s calls appropriately. While legally payable, the Council said it would waive both the legal costs and enforcement recovery fees of one liability order in recognition of Mr X’s circumstances. The Council also sent Mr X a statement of account for his council tax from the Arrival to the Leave Dates.
39. Mr X was dissatisfied with the Council’s complaint responses. His main concerns were, the Council knew of his move to the Property on the Arrival Date and had no reason to not then issue one, correct, council tax bill. And, as he had a right to a council tax reduction, the Council should let him reapply. Mr X also said the Council had not carried out a proper and detailed investigation into his serious allegations about officers’ behaviour.
40. Meanwhile, Mr X made six monthly instalment payment to the Council’s enforcement agents. The agents passed the payments to the Council, less their recovery costs for one liability order. The Council found Mr X had overpaid and refunded money to him.

Consideration

The failure to issue one correct council tax bill

41. A key underlying concern for Mr X was the Council’s failure to issue one council tax bill quickly after the Arrival Date. Mr X said the Council should and could have issued such a bill because the Housing Body and managing agent for the Property gave it the Arrival Date. And his application for school places and the Third Party’s Application both included the Arrival Date.
42. I had no reason to doubt Mr X believed the Housing Body and managing agent for the Property would, and had, contacted the Council on/near the Arrival Date. And yet, the evidence did not show this happened. I therefore had no good grounds to find the Council had timely notice of the Arrival Date from either the Housing Body or the managing agent.
43. The evidence did show an online registration for the Council’s school admissions service soon after the Arrival Date. And yet, there was no good reason for the Council’s council tax team to know about an application for a school place. Indeed, the Council confirmed that while residents may access many services online, it did not link individual service registrations. So, one service department does not automatically share information it receives with other Council departments. On balance, I therefore did not find the Council at fault because its council tax team was unaware Mr X had applied for school places soon after the Arrival Date.
44. The evidence showed the Council’s council tax team first knew about occupation of the Property on the Registration Date (see paragraph 16). Having the Registration Date, the Council acted correctly in then quickly preparing a council tax bill for the Registration to the Year End Dates. The Council uploaded the bill to the Third Party’s council tax account as needed for ‘online billing’. The Council then emailed the Third Party to let them know the bill was available online.
45. The Third Party made the Application, which gave the Arrival Date as when they and Mr X first moved to the Property. And yet, the Council’s benefits team later refused the Application. So, the Council’s benefits team had no reason to share information about the Application with the council tax team. Someone also viewed the council tax bill about 10 days after the Council uploaded it to the Third Party’s online account. And yet, the Council’s council tax team remained unaware of the Arrival Date. I did not therefore find the Council at fault in first issuing a council tax bill soon after, and seeking payment from, the Registration Date.
46. I saw no evidence the Council knew Mr X had moved out the Property before the new tenant made contact (see paragraph 24). So, the Council could not have adjusted Mr X’s council tax bill before that contact took place. And, months later, when contacted by Mr X and given the Arrival and Leave Dates, the Council acted properly in again changing the bill to cover the time he had occupied the Property. So, while the Council issued more than one council tax bill, I found no evidence of fault here.

Issuing two liability orders

47. Councils cannot recover unpaid council tax before they have formally demanded payment. Here, the Council first billed the Third Party and Mr X for council tax at the Property from the Registration Date. So, when this bill remained unpaid, the Council’s recovery action could only apply to council tax from the Registration Date. This recovery action led to the First Liability Order, which order also applied to council tax due from the Registration Date.
48. The evidence showed it was after getting the First Liability Order the Council’s council tax team became aware of the Arrival Date (and the Leave Date). The Council rightly acted on this information and issued a bill to the Third Party and Mr X for when they lived at the Property between the Arrival and Leave Dates. This was the first time the Council had ‘demanded’ payment of council tax for between the Arrival and Registration Dates. When this bill remained unpaid, the Council could, and did, take recovery action for the council tax due between the Arrival and Registration Dates, which led to the Second Liability Order. So, while the Council got both the First and Second Liability Orders, I found no fault here by the Council.
49. The Council also acted positively in agreeing to remove the costs and fees of one liability order from Mr X’s debt. (But see also paragraph 55.)

Payment arrangements

50. Mr X provided some information about his financial circumstances that led the Council to use its discretion and agree a payment plan for the council tax debt. The evidence showed the Council twice responded positively when Mr X asked to change the agreed plan. The evidence also showed the Council told Mr X it would not agree further changes and further missed payments would mean a referral to enforcement agents. And, after Mr X missed an instalment payment, the Council again passed his case to its enforcement agents. Mr X said this was the Council ‘weaponising’ its enforcement agents against him. And this act was ‘abusive and coercive’ and forced him to pay instalments he could not afford.
51. Councils have a duty to taxpayers to act reasonably and responsibly when dealing with financial matters. And Government guidance about collecting council tax says “enforcement is a necessary and important” council activity. The guidance also recognises councils should be sympathetic to people in genuine hardship and take “proportionate” enforcement action.
52. Mr X recognised in his correspondence with the Council that he was liable to pay council tax while living at the Property. When the Council made the final referral to its enforcement agents, it could legally follow the rules leading to a visit to Mr X’s home to take control of his goods (see paragraph 13). However, the agents did not do this. Instead, Mr X and the agents agreed a repayment plan.
53. The plan agreed between Mr X and the enforcement agents provided for increased monthly instalments compared to those previously agreed with the Council. The evidence showed this payment plan was agreed during a telephone call made by Mr X. The agents written note of the call says Mr X offered to pay reduced (compared to the plan agreed with the Council) instalments and clear the debt in eight months. The agent recorded that arrangements ‘needed to be mutually agreed’ and an eight months’ plan was too long given the recovery stage reached. The agent also recorded telling Mr X about the enforcement consequences of not paying the debt or securing an agreed payment plan. The notes then stated Mr X offered to pay a monthly amount greater than that previously agreed with the Council, which the agent accepted. That agreement meant Mr X would pay five instalments of the new amount and a final, smaller, payment in month six to clear the debt.
54. I was not present during the telephone call between Mr X and the enforcement agents and no recording of that call was available for me to listen to. I therefore could not now find out what both parties said. However, I have no reason to doubt Mr X found making the new monthly payments challenging. And yet, the agents written information states Mr X offered to pay that amount. Mr X may have believed he had no choice if, as it seems, the agents advised him they would visit his home to take control of his goods. And yet, the Council’s final referral of Mr X’s case to its enforcement agents came fifteen months after the Arrival Date. The referral was also eleven months after the First Liability Order and followed the breakdown of the payment plan agreed with the Council. Based on the evidence, I did not find the Council, through its enforcement agents, fell below acceptable standards when agreeing this, second, payment plan with Mr X.
55. However, the evidence showed Mr X paid the fees and costs of both liability orders despite the Council’s agreement to cancel one set of charges (see paragraph 38). So, later, the Council had to refund money to Mr X. I found the Council at fault here. And, given Mr X’s concerns about his instalment payments, an overpayment was likely to have caused Mr X avoidable distress.

Not processing the Application

56. Mr X may be correct that his and the Third Party’s circumstances between the Arrival and Leave Dates meant he could have successfully claimed a council tax discount. However, I could not know this as the evidence showed the Council did not receive the information necessary to properly assess the Application. The evidence showed the Council’s council tax support team contacted the Third Party at the Property some weeks before the Leave Date. And the Council’s written contact set out what the Third Party needed to do and the consequences of not responding. When the Council did not get all the information it asked for, it told the Third Party it had refused the Application. The Council’s letter properly set out the Third Party’s right to ask for a review of its refusal decision. The letter also said the Council would further consider the Application if the Third Party did then provide the remaining information. The written evidence did not show the Council acted with fault in handling the Application.
57. The Council’s scheme for council tax support restricts ‘backdating’ of claims for council tax support. I therefore did not find the Council at fault because it would not consider a further, late, claim from Mr X for council tax support.

Copy papers

58. I have no reason to doubt Mr X did not see all the Council’s letters and documents about council tax for the Property. The Third Party registered for online council tax billing. So, the Council would place bills on the account rather than post them to the Property. The bills were therefore available to view on the online account. When Mr X asked for council tax information, the Council sent him a ‘statement of account’ (see paragraph 38).
59. The Council would also use the last known address of the Third Party and Mr X for any post (see paragraph 14). New occupants might not use the Royal Mail to ‘return to sender’ other peoples’ post. And, if the Third Party and Mr X did not use the Royal Mail service to redirect their post, it would probably not be forwarded to them either.
60. Councils also do not generally keep hard copy letters and papers about council tax due to the volume of such records. And magistrates’ courts usually set aside a specific day/time to handle cases from public bodies in batches. The Council provided information it held, but most of the letters and papers sent to the Third Party and Mr X in 2018 and 2019 were no longer available. I did not therefore find the Council at fault in how it responded to this part of Mr X’s complaint.

Not properly investigating allegations of harassment and bullying

61. Mr X said Council officers bullied and harassed him during telephone calls. Again, I was not present during any of these calls. However, the Council still held recordings of some conversations, which I listened to carefully. The recordings showed Mr X and Council held different views on some council tax matters. The calls therefore might be described as ‘challenging’ as both parties sought to explain and assert their view and position. Clearly, Mr X found the calls unacceptable. And yet, I did not find the recorded evidence showed the Council’s officers behaved in a bullying or harassing manner or fell below acceptable administrative standards.

Agreed action

62. I found the Council at fault in not effectively following through its offer to remove the fees and costs of one liability order from Mr X’s council tax debt (see paragraph 55). The Council refunded the overpayment (see paragraph 40). And yet, I found without an apology the injustice caused to Mr X had not been properly and suitably addressed. The Council therefore agreed, within 10 working days of this decision statement, to write to Mr X to apologise for its oversight and copy that letter to the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

63. I completed my investigation, finding fault causing injustice, on the Council agreeing the recommendation at paragraph 62.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman