Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of Council Tax liability matters and the lack of communication between its departments. We will not investigate the complaint because the Council has taken action to address the problem and has made a reasonable offer of compensation for its failings.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complained about the lack of communication between the Council’s Council Tax Team and its Benefits Team which led to enforcement action being taken against him for an outstanding Council Tax liability when he was disputing a related benefits decision.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
7. I gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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My assessment

8. Mr X received a significant bill for an earlier Council Tax liability. He contacted the Council to dispute this and complained about its poor handling of matters related to it.
9. The Council acknowledged there had been a delay in its handling of his benefit dispute and delays and failures by the teams involved in responding to his communication and in following the correct procedures. It apologised for this, told him how to progress his dispute and offered £250 compensation.
10. There was fault by the Council but as an investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a significantly different outcome, we will not investigate the complaint about the Council’s handling of this matter.
11. The issue of whether Mr X is or is not liable for the Council Tax debt falls outside our jurisdiction and will not be pursued. This is because Mr X has appeal rights to the Valuation Tribunal which we would reasonably expect him to use.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has taken action to address the problem and has made a reasonable offer of compensation for its failings.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman