Summary: Ms B complained about the Council miscalculating her and her brother’s council tax for the period when she was a full-time student. She said this confused them and led them to believe she overpaid her council tax. The Council was at fault for raising Ms B’s and Mr X’s expectations about a possible council tax refund. The Council agreed to remedy the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Ms B complained on behalf of herself and her brother, Mr X.
2. Ms B complained the Council did not correctly calculate her council tax bill when she became a full-time student in 2017. She also complains that she received multiple (conflicting) council tax bills in 2020 which she found confusing. She believes she has paid more council tax than she should have done.
3. Ms B also complained about the Council informing her it owed her a refund, but later withdrawing that offer and asking her to pay more council tax. She said she was unsure if the Council has applied the student discount since 2020 after she became a sole occupant.
4. Ms B wants the Council to clarify what council tax should have been paid to see if the calculations were correct.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. 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)
6. 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)
7. 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’. 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)
8. 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)
9. When considering complaints, if there is a conflict of evidence, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we will weigh up the available relevant evidence and base our findings on what we think was more likely to have happened.

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How I considered this complaint

10. I considered the information provided by Ms B.
11. I considered the Council’s reply to my enquiries.
12. Ms B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legal Background

13. Council tax is a locally set tax that is payable on all residential properties whether they are owned or rented.
14. A council tax rate is calculated based on the type of dwelling and the number of adults living in it.
15. There is a ‘general rule’ the Council charges full council tax on a home occupied by more than one adult. However, if an adult living in the property is in full-time education, then a student discount can apply. This means that adult is ignored for council tax purposes and the liable person can receive a 25% discount on their council tax.
16. Receiving a student discount is not automatic. The Council can ask for proof of study. This can be a certificate or letter from the academic institution confirming the identity of the student, details of their course and their dates of study.

What happened

17. Ms B lived with her brother, Mr X, and they were liable to pay council tax for their home.
18. In October 2017 Ms B gave the Council a certificate showing she would be a full-time student between September 2017 and October 2021.
19. The Council applied a student disregard to Ms B and created a sole council tax account in Mr X’s name and it applied a 25% sole occupancy discount.
20. At the beginning of the 2020/21 council tax year the Council did not at first apply the correct discount, and it sent a full council tax bill to Mr X. This prompted Ms B to resubmit her certificate confirming that she was a full-time student.
21. The Council realised that it sent a wrong bill to Mr X and in April 2020 it sent another bill, but this time it was showing all the required discounts.
22. The Council received Ms B’s resubmitted certificate and applied it to the only council tax account for the property, which was in Mr X’s name. The Council believed that both Ms B and Mr X had been full time students since 2017, which would have meant the property would have been fully exempt from council tax.
23. In May 2020 the Council issued another council tax bill to Ms B and Mr X with an inaccurately applied student discount. This bill wrongly showed Mr X had overpaid the council tax by £2603.34.
24. Ms B applied to the Council to refund the money she considered to be overpaid, but the Council realised its mistake and refused the refund.
25. Ms B complained to the Council about the refund refusal and the misleading information she received.
26. The Council wrote to Ms B and explained that as a full-time student she is exempt from council tax payments. It also told her that it would write to Mr X separately as the council tax account was in his name, and because of data protection it would not disclose further information to her.
27. The letter the Council sent to Mr X explained its error in calculating the May 2020 bill. The Council also said the amount showing on the bill issued in August 2020 was payable. In this letter the Council said that Ms B mentioned financial difficulties and told Mr X that he could apply for council tax reduction by contacting the Council’s Benefits Team.
28. Ms B was not happy with the Council’s response and she asked it to independently review her complaint. The Council reviewed the complaint, but it said that it still could not provide Ms B with specific information about the council tax account that was in Mr X’s name.
29. Ms B was not satisfied with the response the Council gave her and she complained to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

30. Ms B complained the Council wrongly calculated her council tax bill when she became a student in 2017. In response to my enquiries the Council confirmed that it disregarded Ms B from being liable for council tax for her flat because she was a full-time student.
31. Ms B became concerned after the Council sent her and Mr X a bill for the financial year 2020/2021 showing their account was in credit by £2,603.34. After a refund request the Council refused to return the money. In response to my enquiries the Council provided a copy of a letter it sent to Mr X explaining what had occurred. In that letter the Council said that it mistakenly thought Mr X was also a full-time student since 2017 and should have been disregarded from council tax liability for the flat. On that basis the Council assumed that Mr X overpaid his council tax for the last three years. The Council acted with fault when it mistakenly told Mr X and Ms B that their council tax account was in credit. I consider this fault has caused Mr X and Ms B an injustice and I have recommended a remedy. The bill dated May 2020 wrongly raised Mr X’s and Ms B’s expectations as they believed that a refund of £2,603.34 would follow. The Council’s response to Ms B’s complaint dated mid-August says that the Council “will write to Mr X separately to confirm balances due”. On the balance of probabilities the Council did not explain to Mr X what happened until after the complaint response. This left Ms B and Mr X feeling uncertain about the refund and the council tax they should have paid. I consider this caused Ms B and Mr X avoidable distress, especially since Ms B said they were experiencing financial difficulties. They were also put to avoidable time and trouble in having to complain about this in order to resolve and clarify their council tax accounts.
32. Ms B provided copies of five council tax bills that she and Mr X received for the financial year 20/21. Although I cannot criticise the Council for amending its bills when it noticed errors, I can see how this number of letters would contribute to the confusion Ms B described in her complaint.
33. Ms B asked the Council to clarify what council tax was still outstanding. In response to my enquiries the Council provided a copy of a letter that it sent to Mr X confirming his council tax balance.
34. Ms B also complained about the current state of the council tax account since Mr X has moved out of the property. In response the Council confirmed that it is aware of the change in circumstances, and it will update the account accordingly. The Council also said that Ms B continues to be disregarded as a full-time student and it is in contact with Mr X about his council tax account. There is no fault in the Council’s approach.

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Agreed action

35. Within one month of this decision the Council will:
• Make a symbolic payment of £100 in recognition of the injustice it caused Mr X and Ms B when it raised the expectations and left them in a state of uncertainty, for almost three months, about a possible council tax refund. The Council will divide the remedy equally between Mr X and Ms B.
• Update its council tax records to reflect the fact that Mr X no longer lives with Ms B and that as a full-time student she is exempt from paying council tax.

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Final decision

36. I completed my investigation and found the Council was at fault for raising Ms B’s and Mr X’s expectations about a possible council tax refund. The Council agreed to remedy the injustice this has caused to Ms B and Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman