Summary: Mr X complains about receiving a late council tax bill plus costs from the Council. We will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about receiving a late council tax bill plus costs from the Council.

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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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. I considered the complainant’s comments on my draft decision.

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My assessment

6. Mr X owns a property which he converted to a number of flats in 2006. The Council issued a reminder letter for unpaid council tax on one of the properties in October 2020 and a Liability Order was then obtained.
7. Mr X says that he did not receive the letters and notice because it was sent to the rental flat rather than his own home. The Council says that they did not have any other contact address for that flat. Mr X says that they have previously written to his home about the flats and would therefore have known.
8. In the absence of any evidence to show that the Council had issued bills (in relation to the specific flat) to his home address or had been specifically notified by Mr X I must conclude that the Council’s decision to send the bills to the rental address was not administrative fault.

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Final decision

9. I do not intend to investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman