Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s actions in pursuing her for council tax when she was not the person liable. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because it is a late complaint and because we would reasonably to have expected her to have used her appeal rights to the Valuation Tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, complains about the Council’s handling of matters relating to council tax liability for a property which she moved out from in 2016. She says she has suffered financial loss by paying someone else’s council tax bill and wants her money back.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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)
5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

6. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Ms X and the Council. I gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

7. In 2016 Ms X moved out of a property she had been living in.
8. In 2018 she received a council tax bill from the Council for this property even though she says she had provided evidence and called to the Council to tell it that she had not been living in England after 2016 and so was not the person liable.
9. Ms X says she has paid over £1000 for a council tax bill that was not hers and that the Council has now sent her a further bill.

Assessment

10. Ms X knew in 2018 that the Council was pursuing her for council tax for a property which she had moved out of and for which she says she was not liable. The restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies to these past events and it is too late to investigate them now.
11. Moreover, had Ms X wanted to challenge the Council’s decision on her council tax liability she could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal, the statutory tribunal set up by Parliament to hear such disputes. As this alternative remedy was available to her, we would reasonably have expected her to have made use of it.
12. Ms X says she believes the landlord of the property in question has acted fraudulently. It is open to her to report him to the Council and/or the police.

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Final decision

13. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is a late complaint and because it would have been reasonable to have expected Ms X to have used her appeal rights to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman