Summary: Miss B complained the Council delayed issuing her a council tax bill when she moved into a new build property. Miss B also complained the Council’s communication was poor. We found fault with the Council for its delay sending Miss B a council tax bill and for errors in its complaint responses. The Council will make a financial payment to remedy the injustice to Miss C.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complained the Council delayed issuing her a council tax bill when she moved into a new build property. Miss B also complained the Council’s communication was poor.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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

4. I considered:
• Miss B’s complaint and the information she provided;
• documents supplied by the Council;
• relevant legislation and guidelines; and
• the Council’s policies and procedures.
5. Miss B and the Council had the opportunity to comment on a draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance

6. Council tax is a system of local taxation collected by councils. It is a tax on domestic property. Every domestic property has a council tax band. This is set by the Valuation Office.
7. The council tax bill for the year is due on the 1 April. A council will usually collect payment through monthly instalments. If any instalment is missed the council will send the liable person a reminder. If a payment is still not made or a further payment missed, then the entire outstanding balance will be due.
8. Buckinghamshire Council publishes its council tax bands and charges on its website.

What happened

9. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened.
10. In February 2008 the Council gave a developer permission to build 220 properties in its area. The Council issued a completion certificate for Property 1 in 2018. The developer used Property 1 as a show home.
11. In November 2020, Miss B moved from Property 2 into Property 1 with Mr C. She completed a moving home form and sent it to the Council. This form included the address they were moving from and to, Property 1.
12. The Council sent Miss B and Mr C a letter telling them it was closing their council tax account for Property 2. It said the account was in credit. Miss B says she asked the Council to transfer the balance to her new account for Property 1. The Council refunded the money rather than transferring it to their new property.
13. In April 2021, Miss B contacted the Council about paying council tax for Property 1. The Council told her to complete another moving home form.
14. Miss B sent the Council another moving home form in September 2021. The Council gave its council tax department her and Mr C’s new address.
15. The Council sent Miss B and Mr C a letter in October 2021 telling them what the provisional council tax band for Property 1 was. It issued a council tax bill the same month. This bill was a provisional bill because the Council had not had confirmation from the Valuations Office of Property 1’s council tax band.
16. In November 2021, the Council contacted the Valuations Office and it confirmed Property 1’s council tax band. The Council issued a revised council tax bill. It told Miss B and Mr C they could pay the bill in instalments across the financial year 2022/23.
17. Mr C tried to contact the Council three times in November 2021 to discuss their council tax bill. He could not speak to someone at the Council and asked for a call back. The Council did not call him back.
18. Miss B complained to the Council in November 2021. She said she had asked the Council to close her council tax account for Property 2 and to move the balance to their account for Property 1, but it did not. The Council responded in December 2021. It said it could not move the balance from Property 2’s council tax account to Property 1’s because she did not include her new address on her moving home form. It offered to spread her council tax payments over a longer period to reduce the monthly payments.
19. Miss B asked the Council to escalate her complaint in January 2022. The Council responded at stage two in March 2022. It:
• Apologised it wrongly stated in its stage one response that she did not include her new address on the moving home form she submitted in November 2020. It stated when she submitted the form, Property 1 was not set up on its system because the developers had not told it of its completion.
• Apologised because it should have transferred her credit refund to Property 1 because it is in the same area as Property 2. It said it would raise this with head of customer services.
• Advised it did not issue her with a council tax bill until October 2021 because it was waiting for the Valuation Office to band Property 1.
• Confirmed the council tax she had to pay and offered to spread her payments over a longer period.
• Apologised for not responding to requests they made for a call back. It said it would provide staff with further training.
20. Miss B told the Council she was unhappy with its response and their monthly council tax payments were too high. It offered to spread their council tax payments over a longer period and signposted her to the Ombudsman.
21. In May 2022, the Council and Mr C agreed a payment plan.
22. Since Miss B complained, the Council has introduced a new automated call back system and a new procedure for assigning call backs to staff members.

Analysis

23. When Miss B and Mr C moved into Property 1 in November 2020, they told the Council. The Council accepts it did not register their new address until September 2021. This delay was fault by the Council. As a result of not registering Miss B and Mr C’s new address in 2020, the Council delayed contacting the Valuation Office and issuing a council tax bill. It also failed to transfer the council tax credit in Property 2’s account to Property 1. This delay caused Miss B and Mr C frustration and put them to time and trouble chasing the Council.
24. In response to Miss B’s complaints, the Council made statements that were untrue. At stage one it said Miss B had not provided her new address on the moving in form she submitted in November 2020, when she had. At stage two the Council said it could not register her new address in November 2020 because the developers had not told it Property 1 was complete, despite the Council issuing a completion certificate in 2018. It is disappointing that the Council’s complaint responses contained these errors and that rather than accepting fault, it tried to shift blame onto others. These errors caused Miss B further frustration.
25. Despite the Council’s faults, I consider Miss B and Mr C liable for their council tax. The Council has agreed to spread Miss B and Mr C’s council tax payments over a longer period, and this is a suitable remedy for its delay sending a council tax bill. It has implemented a new call back system to ensure it does not miss these in future, which addresses the problems Miss B and Mr C had contacting the Council. I do not consider the Council’s apology a suitable remedy for the time and trouble Miss B and Mr C were put to chasing the Council and the frustration caused by its faults. For this injustice, the Council will make a financial remedy.

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Agreed action

26. Within one month of the final decision, the Council should pay Miss B £250 for the time and trouble they were put to chasing the Council and the frustration caused.
27. Within two months of the final decision, the Council should provide those involved in council tax complaint handling with training about how to investigate and respond to complaints.
28. The Council should provide the Ombudsman with evidence it has completed these actions.

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Final decision

29. I have completed my investigation and uphold Miss B’s complaint. Miss B was caused an injustice by the actions of the Council. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman