Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s enforcement of council tax arrears. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s enforcement of council tax arrears.

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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. The complainant had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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My assessment

6. Mr X has been in arrears of council tax since 2015, totalling over £4,000 currently. Mr X made an offer to pay off the arrears but this was rejected as it did not cover his current year liability. That offer was increased and, as a result, the Council removed one of the Attachment of Earnings Orders they had against him.
7. To use the various powers available to it to recover unpaid council tax, a council has to apply to the Magistrates Court for a liability order against those it believes are liable. Once a council has obtained a liability order it can take recovery action.
8. A liability order gives a council legal powers to take enforcement action to collect the money owed. This can include taking deductions from benefits, getting an attachment of earnings (by which deductions are taken directly from earnings by an employer and passed to the Council) or using bailiffs. The Council can decide which recovery method it wishes to use but it can only use one method for one liability order at one time.
9. The Council’s decision to use an attachment of earnings order is not fault where there are arrears of council tax and the Council has considered their enforcement powers. The Council cancelled one of the orders after a more suitable offer of repayment was made and so I am satisfied that consideration has been given to effective and fair enforcement in this case. In the absence of fault, the Ombudsman would not be critical of the use of the orders.
10. Mr X is unhappy with the communications he has had with Council officers about payments. The Ombudsman cannot comment on the incidents identified because he did not witness them. I am satisfied that the Council has provided evidence that they sought to contact him. Mr X was able to make payments to the Council at any time even where the Council had not specifically agreed a payment plan.
11. Ultimately the Council has to recover the arrears from Mr X and they have properly used their powers in doing so. In the absence of administrative fault, the Ombudsman cannot question this.

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Final decision

12. 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