Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s communication on a council tax matter as there is no evidence of fault causing significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mrs J says for her son Mr R and his partner Ms H, that Buckinghamshire Council did not explain the council tax due on their account may increase because of a change of income.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mr R, Ms H and their representative, Mrs J, to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

4. Mrs J requested the amount of council tax due from Mr R and Ms H for the rest of 2020/21. She was informed by the Council on 25 November 2020 the amount was £195.54.
5. Mr R paid £195.54 to the Council and then received an updated council tax balance in December 2020, showing that a further £567.18 is due for the rest of the current period.
6. Mrs J contacted the Council to query the new amount. The Council informed her the updated balance was due to information received from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) showing a change in income for Mr R and Ms H. The Council re-assessed Mr R’s award of council tax support, and revised the council tax account.
7. Mrs J does not dispute the amount of council tax due, but she says the Council should have made it clear in November 2020 that the balance could still increase. She says the Council should have considered the information she provided about Mr R’s employment when issuing the amount due at that time. She also says the amount paid previously was full and final although the emails from the Council do not state this.
8. Mrs J says that Ms H has suffered distress because of this issue which has led to an alcohol problem, her being arrested and her children becoming involved with social services. It is unfortunate Ms H developed these issues but we could not attribute that to the Council.
9. Council tax accounts are live accounts that can change when new information arises from official bodies such as the DWP. The Council assessed the information and issued a revised bill which Mrs J does not disagree with. It could not have acted on the information Mrs J gave it in November 2020 because it could not have known it was correct until the DWP confirmed it.
10. The emails between the Council and the complainant do not show evidence of fault by the Council.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council causing Mr R or Ms H significant injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman