London Borough of Haringey (22 002 259)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 25 May 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr Y complains the Council is wrongly pursuing him for council tax he is not liable for. Mr Y says he has provided evidence of this to the Council but he is still being contacted by bailiffs looking to collect the outstanding council tax.
- Mr Y says this is causing him upset, worry and frustration.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr Y was renting a property until September 2019. He had no arrears and landlord took over the property and the bills in September 2019. The Council then contacted Mr Y in March 2020 and asked him to pay council tax from September 2019 onwards. Mr Y told the Council he was not liable for the council tax.
- The Council then told Mr Y in December 2021 that he needed to show documents to prove he was not liable for the council tax. Mr Y says he did this, but the documents were not received by the Council. He says he has tried to send the documents multiple times to the Council. Mr Y has since been contacted by bailiffs who are trying to collect the allegedly outstanding council tax.
- Mr Y approached us in May 2022.
Analysis
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction. This is often free and reasonable adjustments can be made where necessary for access to the tribunal’s service.
- Consequently, it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he wishes to dispute the Council’s enforcement action for non-payment of council tax. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman