Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax arrears because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. In addition, I cannot question a decision that has been made in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains the Council instructed bailiffs for council tax arrears without notifying her of the debt. She wants the Council to recall the account from the bailiffs and waive the fees. She says the account was in credit.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Ms X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

5. Ms X left a property in May 2017 and went abroad. The Council sent emails in June 2017 which showed she owed council tax for the property; the Council says it send a final bill in June but, due to the passage of time, cannot provide a copy. In one email from June the Council said Ms X had only paid one instalment for the year and was not due a refund. It asked for further information about the date the tenancy ended which Ms X did not provide.
6. Ms X did not pay the final bill so the Council sent a summons. It sent the summons to an address in Norwich which the landlord had given to the Council as Ms X’s forwarding address. Ms X says she did not get the summons because she did not move to Norwich; she says the landlord provided inaccurate information. The court decided Ms X owed the arrears and issued a liability order. This is a court order which says the person must pay the council tax and the costs. By early 2020 Ms X was aware of the arrears. The arrears were £159 which included court costs.
7. In August 2021 the Council explained it had notified Ms X of the outstanding council tax in 2017. It said that if Ms X paid £159 by the end of August it would recall the account from the bailiffs. Ms X did not pay. Ms X now owes £469 because bailiff fees have been added because she did not pay by the end of August. The Council says Ms X has not made any payments and has not set up a payment plan.
8. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council notified Ms X that there was council tax to pay in 2017 because she had only paid one instalment. It gave her opportunities to pay when the amount was £159 and it offered to recall the debt from bailiffs. However, because Ms X did not pay she has incurred fees. I appreciate Ms X did not see the summons but, even if she had received the summons, the debt would still have been £159 and Ms X could have paid £159 in August.
9. Ms X says she was not told she owed the council tax. But, on balance, and considering the time that has passed, it seems likely she was told of the outstanding amount and was given enough information to know there was council tax to pay. In addition, the court was satisfied the council tax was due and I cannot question a court decision.

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Final decision

10. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and I cannot question a court decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman