Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s council tax account. This is because she could have appealed to the Valuation Office Agency if she disagreed with the amount the Council said she owed. We are also unlikely to find fault with the remaining issues complained about.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Miss B, complains that the Council has incorrectly calculated her outstanding council tax liability. Miss B says the Council was wrongly addressing letters so she was unaware of her liability and it is unreasonable to apply the enforcement fees that were incurred as a result.

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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. 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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
5. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached that is likely to have affected the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Miss B and the Council.
7. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessessment

8. Miss B has the right to appeal the level of her council tax liability to the Valuation Office Agency (“VOA”).
9. The Council says it sent letters addressed to Miss B’s property as it had done since 1997 with no issues. However, it has now updated the address at Miss B’s request.
10. Regardless of the address on the letters, Miss B was liable to pay her council tax as billed. If instalments are missed, the remaining council tax for the year becomes immediately payable.
11. Once she was aware of her liability, Miss B made payments but these did not cover additional costs. These were added when the Council obtained a liability order after she missed payments earlier.
12. Miss B agreed a payment plan with the Council but did not always make payments on time. The Council therefore took further recovery action. This added further bailiffs’ fees to what Miss B owed.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate a complaint about the amount of council tax Miss B should pay. She could have appealed to the VOA if she disagreed with this.
14. We will not investigate the Council’s decision to take recovery action and apply charges for this as it is unlikely we would find fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman