Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council wrongly stopped taking his council tax payments in 2021 causing arrears. The Council has resolved the complaint appropriately by explaining what went wrong, apologising for its error, and offering to spread the arrears over this financial year.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council mishandled his council tax account by confusing his home with another address. Mr X only realised in January that the Council had stopped collecting his tax and closed his account in July 2021. As a result, he owes significant arrears and will need to pay 600 pounds per month if spread across the 2022/23 financial year as the Council has suggested. Mr X says the Council has caused him time, trouble, and distress and should pay compensation.

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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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organization, or
• we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered Mr X’s information and comments. The information held includes the Council’s complaint reply dated 10 March 2022.

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My assessment

4. I will not investigate this complaint for the following reasons:
5. The Council has taken appropriate action by explaining what went wrong with the address error, apologising for the error, and offering to spread the council tax debt payments over this financial year. The Council also says it will draw the error to the attention of staff as a learning point.
6. There is insufficient remaining injustice to investigate:
7. It should have been possible to make up some of the shortfall in 2021/2. The Council says it wrongly closed the account on 29/7/21 but sent a closing bill/refund. Mr X returned 3 notifications sent to unknown people at his address in November. On 3 December Mr X returned a completed council tax form requesting information about who should pay council tax at his address. A new arrangement could have been made in December or at the latest January.
8. Mr X’s statements to the Council about his employment suggest it is reasonable for him to pay the shortfall during this financial year. If the requirement would cause hardship, he has the option of applying to the Council for a different arrangement.
9. I appreciate Mr X’s annoyance at what happened and that he had some extra communications with the Council. However, there is insufficient injustice to request compensation.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council wrongly stopped taking his council tax payments in 2021 causing arrears. The Council has resolved the complaint appropriately by explaining what went wrong, apologising for its error, and offering to spread the arrears over this financial year.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman