Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Miss X’s application for council tax reduction and with her complaint. Since Miss X contacted us, the Council has dealt with the outstanding points and provided a satisfactory remedy.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council had not dealt properly with her application for a discretionary council tax reduction or with her formal complaint. She said this meant she did not have the correct discretionary council tax reduction.

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and copy complaint correspondence from the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In November 2021, Miss X asked the Council for a discretionary council tax discount due to financial difficulties. In April 2022 she complained the Council had still not decided this. Meanwhile, the Council had added £100 court costs to the council tax bill. The Council’s response to that complaint, in May 2022, seemingly rejected the request for a discretionary reduction. Miss X escalated her complaint then, stating the Council had not dealt with her complaint about the delay and it was inappropriate to use a complaint response letter to issue a decision on an application for discretionary council tax reduction. In early August 2022, when Miss X complained to us, she still had not heard further from the Council.
6. On 31 August 2022, the Council wrote to Miss X. It apologised for the delay with the application and for the poor complaint-handling, accepted it should not have added court costs and had now removed them, and said the Council had now given full discretionary council tax reduction so Miss X owed no council tax. The Council described actions it is taking to reduce the chance of the faults in this case recurring. The Council also offered Miss X £200.
7. The Council has accepted fault for the delay, poor complaint-handling and for adding court costs while it had not yet decided the application for a council tax reduction. That fault caused Miss X avoidable uncertainty and worry, and she went to time and trouble pursuing the matter.
8. The Council could reasonably have resolved this much sooner, including after Miss X escalated her complaint in May 2022. Nevertheless, granting the council tax reduction and removing the council tax and related debt have now resolved Miss X’s council tax situation in practical terms. I consider the apology and offer of £200 are enough symbolic acknowledgement of the injustice caused by the delay and failures. So we would be unlikely to achieve more for Miss X if we investigated the complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Council’s recent actions have provided a satisfactory remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman