Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about enforcement action the Council took for council tax arrears. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about action the Council took for council tax arrears. He says the Council harassed him and says the Council’s actions are rooted in racism. Mr X wants compensation and a council tax refund.

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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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. The law says people must pay their council tax as billed. If they do not pay on time, or do not pay the correct amount, the Council can take recovery action.
5. The Council issued Mr X with a council tax bill for 2021/22. The bill explained his payments and due dates. It also said he had arrears for 2020/21.
6. Throughout 2021 Mr X made payments but his payments were often late or not for the correct amount. And he did not pay enough to cover the arrears and the current year. The Council followed the correct process by issuing reminders, which told Mr X what he needed to do to avoid further action, and it then applied to the court for a liability order. The court issued a liability order stating Mr X must pay £476.
7. The Council set up a payment plan in March for £25 a month. At Mr X’s request it re-set the plan in August. The Council says Mr X has not made the payment which was due on 15 September.
8. Mr X says he has been paying his council tax and the Council’s actions flow from racism and represent harassment.
9. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. I appreciate Mr X was making payments but he did not pay as billed and did not pay enough to cover the arrears and the amounts due in 2021/22. The Council followed the correct process and sent all the letters it was required to send before obtaining the liability order. In addition, the letters told Mr X what he needed to do to avoid further recovery action and explained what would happen if he did not bring the account up to date. The Council also re-set the payment plan at Mr X’s request. There is no suggestion of racism because the Council has followed the correct process and there is nothing to indicate Mr X has been treated differently.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman