Summary: Miss D complained how the Council handled her council tax account. She says the Council continued to apply a student exemption to her account, even though she provided it with evidence of when her course was ending. We find the Council was at fault for failing to pick up on the end date of Miss D’s course. It also was at fault for how it dealt with her complaint. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

The complaint

1. Miss D complained how the Council handled her council tax account. She says the Council continued to apply a student exemption to her account, even though she provided it with evidence of when her course was ending. She also says she had to constantly chase the Council after she realised the error, it failed to properly deal with her original complaint, and it allowed her little flexibility to repay the council tax. Finally, she says the Council wrongly sent her a court summons.
2. Miss D says the Council’s failures left her in financial difficulty. She was also put to time and trouble trying to resolve the matter and it has been a very stressful time.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information from Miss D. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent in response.
6. Miss D and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Council tax

7. Council tax is a tax made on domestic properties. Residents of dwellings are usually liable for council tax from the date they move into a property.
8. A full-time student is exempt from council tax. If only students live in a property, they are exempt from council tax. The exemption covers holidays and ends at the end of the course or when the student leaves the course.
9. Before a council can pursue someone for council tax it must send a demand. If a taxpayer misses a payment, the council must issue at least one reminder notice before issuing a summons for a liability order in the magistrates’ court.

What happened

10. Miss D contacted the Council in October 2019 and provided evidence she was a full-time student. The certificate she provided stated she was due to finish her course in June 2020.
11. The Council updated Miss D’s council tax account and awarded her a student exemption.
12. The Council issued Miss D with a council tax bill in March 2020. This said it had applied a student exemption until 31 March 2021.
13. The Council says it applied a review date on Miss D’s council tax account for June 2020. However, the review procedure failed to pick up on the end of Miss D’s course. Therefore, it continued to apply a student exemption after June 2020.
14. Miss D says she checked her council tax account and assumed the student exemption applied for a full tax year. Therefore, she did not think it was wrong the Council was not charging her council tax from June 2020 onwards.
15. The Council issued a council tax bill on 2 March 2021. It applied a student exemption until 31 March 2022.
16. Miss D emailed the Council on 29 March. She explained the Council had continued to award her a student exemption, but it no longer applied. She asked for an updated bill.
17. The Council responded and asked for the date Miss D stopped being a student. She replied and provided this information.
18. Miss D emailed the Council again and said she was unhappy she had to pay council tax from June 2020. She said she was not liable to pay because she provided it with evidence in October 2019 that her course was ending in June 2020.
19. The Council emailed Miss D and said she was liable to pay the outstanding balance because she was no longer a full-time student. Miss D responded and said she could not afford to pay. She asked for it to escalate the matter.
20. Miss D called the Council and explained her situation. She also said she was moving to a new property. The Council advised her to wait until she moved before it adjusted her council tax balance. It also told her to call back nearer to the time of her move to agree a payment plan.
21. Miss D called the Council again on 25 June. It advised her it would set up a monthly payment plan for three months to pay off the outstanding council tax. It also said to allow her more time, it would not start the payment plan until 28 August. Miss D accepted the payment plan, but also said she wanted to complain about the Council’s handling of the matter. The operator transferred her to the Council’s complaints department.
22. The Council issued Miss D with a court summons on 18 October because the system showed she had defaulted on the payment plan.
23. Miss D complained to the Council on 25 October. She said even though it knew her course was ending in June 2020, it continued to apply a student exemption to her account. She also said she raised a complaint in June and heard nothing further. Finally, she said it only allowed her to pay off her council tax over three months and it wrongly sent her a court summons.
24. The Council responded to Miss D’s complaint. It said she should have contacted it when she stopped being a student and when she received her bill in March 2020. It said she should not have received a summons as it advised her in the call on 25 June she could make payments outside the payment plan. It apologised for the distress caused and confirmed it had withdrawn the summons and waived the fee. Finally, it said it had asked the contact centre to investigate why it had not logged her previous complaint.
25. Miss D asked the Council to review its response. She said it did not tell her she had to contact it again when her course ended. She also said three months to pay off a large bill was unfair.
26. The Council responded and said its bills state individuals must advise the council tax office if there is a change in circumstances. It also said the bill showed there was an ongoing student exemption. Finally, it offered her £100 for how it handled her enquiries at its contact centre. It said this would be in full and final settlement of her complaint.
27. Miss D replied and said she would accept £100, but not in full and final settlement of her complaint.
28. The Council emailed Miss D and said she could either accept £100 in full and final settlement of her complaint or reject it and refer the matter to the Ombudsman.
29. Miss D did not accept the Council’s terms and referred the matter to the Ombudsman.

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Analysis

30. The Council was at fault as its review procedure failed to pick up on Miss D’s course ending in June 2020. This meant it wrongly continued to apply a student exemption to her council tax account and she was left with a substantial council tax bill to pay off. This caused her frustration and worry.
31. While I find the Council was at fault, Miss D should have also contacted it when she saw it had applied a student exemption on her council tax until 31 March 2021. It is a reasonable expectation for her to have questioned this with the Council sooner as she knew her course was ending in June 2020.
32. Miss D says she had to constantly chase the Council when she realised its error. While she did exchange several emails with the Council, there is no evidence she had to constantly chase it for a response.
33. The Council was at fault for its complaints handling. Miss D registered a complaint on 25 June 2021, but the Council failed to pick this up which meant she was put to time and trouble in repeating her complaint again.
34. The Council accepted it wrongly issued Miss D with a court summons. It apologised for the injustice caused and confirmed it had removed the summons fee. This is a suitable way to remedy Miss D’s injustice for this part of her complaint.
35. The Council provided Miss D with some flexibility in paying off the council tax and so I do not find fault. It did not ask for the payment in one go, it told her it would not start the payment plan until August 2021, and then it allowed her to pay it off over three months.
36. The Council offered Miss D £100 in full and final settlement of her complaint. This was for how it handled her initial complaint. As I have mentioned in paragraph 30 of this decision statement, the Council was at fault as its review procedure failed to pick up on Miss D’s course ending in June 2020. I do not consider its complaints response properly reflects its fault. I consider £200 to be a more appropriate figure to represent Miss D's injustice and this is line with our guidance on remedies.
37. I am concerned the Council told Miss D she could either accept its offer of £100 or refer her complaint to the Ombudsman. It is not normally the case that someone is prevented from coming to the Ombudsman if they accept a remedy payment from a council. When the Council responded to my enquiries, it accepted its response was misleading and said it understands by accepting its offer Miss D would not be giving up her right to take her complaint further. It says it will review the wording of its complaint responses where it offers a payment. It should provide evidence to the Ombudsman it has completed this review.

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Agreed action

38. To address the injustice caused by fault, by 9 August 2022 the Council has agreed to:

• Apologise to Miss D.
• Pay Miss D £200.

39. By 6 September 2022:

• Using this case as an example, review the wording of its complaint responses where it offers a remedy payment to ensure complainants are accurately advised of their options.

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Final decision

40. There was fault by the Council, which caused Miss D an injustice. The Council has agreed to my recommendations and so I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman