Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an Attachment of Earnings order for council tax made by the Council and the lack of telephone communication. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation. Moreover, any injustice is not significant enough to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X says the Council has been taking money from her wages through an Attachment of Earnings (AOE) order for council tax when she was on a zero-hour contract.
2. Ms X also says the Council failed to provide a telephone number for council tax recoveries so she could call. As a result, she could only email the Council.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

7. Ms X says the Council has been taking 40% of her wages every week. This was despite agreeing with her debt management company it would only take a set amount each month.
8. A Council is entitled to recover unpaid Council tax though an AOE order. The fact that Ms X was on a zero-hour contract and on a debt management plan does not change this.
9. The AOE order made by the Council in February 2020 was for liability orders dated July 2016 and December 2018. Therefore, it is clear the Council had not recovered the money owed by Ms X.
10. The weekly deduction rate as set by the government is 17% of the first £505 and 50% of the remainder. However, it is the employer who makes the deductions and then sends them to the Council. It is not the Council which calculates the actual amounts. Therefore, Ms X needs to contact her employer to discuss this.
11. I accept Ms X made a payment arrangement with the Council. However, the Council only agreed to this in May 2021. This was more than a year after the AOE order was made and a few months after the deductions started in October 2020. The arrangement was for debts not covered by attachment of earnings.
12. In any case the Council is entitled to refuse to make arrangements which it does not consider to be suitable. It was Ms X’s responsibility to make payment of council tax for which she was liable, and the Council’s recovery action is the result of her not doing so; that is not evidence of council fault.
13. It also must be noted Ms X’s AOE deductions started in October 2020 during the Covid 19 pandemic. During this time a lot of organisations had staff working from home and contact by telephone would have been limited.
14. I accept the lack of telephone contact might have been inconvenient for Ms X however, she was still able to communicate via email. Therefore, any injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.

Final Decision

We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation. Moreover, any injustice is not significant enough to justify an investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman