London Borough of Enfield (21 000 621)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 01 Jun 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about council tax as the Council has applied the discount she sought and we cannot add to this.
The complaint
- Ms X complained the Council did not apply a single person discount to her council tax account which means Ms X paid more than she thought she should.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 further investigation will lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Ms X said in her complaint and I have sent her my draft decision on it for her comments.
What I found
- Ms X complained the Council failed to apply a single person discount to her council tax account even though she had told it she lived alone.
- The Council has confirmed it has now applied the discount and backdated it.
Analysis
- The Council has taken the action Ms X sought and we cannot add to this. We will not therefore investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint as the Council has applied the council tax discount Ms X sought and we cannot add to this.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman