Maidstone Borough Council (20 000 263)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Jan 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint the Council has refused to refund a payment Mrs B made in respect of council tax at a property she owns. This is because Mrs B has already sought a court remedy to recover the money.
The complaint
- Mr and Mrs B say the Council has refused to refund a payment Mrs B made in respect of council tax at a property she owns, but which was occupied by a tenant whose name was on the council tax account.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered what Mr and Mrs B said in their complaint, discussed the matter with Mr B by telephone, and asked the Council for its comments. I have also given Mr and Mrs B an opportunity to comment on a draft before reaching a final decision.
What I found
- Mr and Mrs B own a property which was occupied at different times by tenants of theirs who also worked for them. There was an unpaid sum of council tax the Council had passed to enforcement agents. Mrs B appears to have paid the agents to avoid further recovery action against their tenant. The Council later established from correspondence with Mr and Mrs B their tenant had not been liable for council tax for the relevant period so it adjusted the council tax account. That left a credit balance for the Council to repay and it sent refund forms to Mr and Mrs B's tenant. Their tenant has, however, returned to his home country and is unlikely to return.
- With his reply to my draft decision Mr B sent us evidence of Mrs B taking court action against the Council and its enforcement agents to recover money in 2018. Regardless of the result of the court action, this means we have no discretion to investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mrs B has already taken court action to recover the disputed money and we have no power to investigate the matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman