Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to pay her Council Tax Support and failed to respond to her correspondence about payment of her council tax bills. The Council is at fault for failing to respond to Ms X’s communication and failing to provide support when Ms X said she was struggling to pay her council tax. The Council are not at fault for failing to pay Ms X Council Tax Support as she had not submitted all the information; the Council is at fault for not explaining this.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council failed to pay her Council Tax Support and failed to respond to her correspondence about payment of her council tax bills. Ms X said this led to her receiving a Liability Order for non-payment of council tax which could have been avoided. This caused Ms X significant financial difficulty.

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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. As part of the investigation I have considered the following:
• The complaint and the documents provided by the complainant.
• Documents provided by the Council and its comments in response to my enquiries.
• The Local Government Finance Act 1992, The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 and The Local Government Act 2003.
5. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

Relevant legislation

6. Before the Council can pursue someone for council tax they must have been sent a demand with their name on. The Council must issue at least one reminder before issuing a summons for a liability order hearing at the magistrates’ court.
7. Recovery of council tax is by action in the magistrates’ court. The court must grant an order if it is satisfied the sum has become payable and the individual has not paid. The council will charge costs for the issue of a summons and a liability order.

The Council’s policies and procedures

Council Tax Support

8. The Council’s website explains that Council Tax Support (CTS) is a 'means tested' discount off an individual’s council tax bill to help those on a low income.
9. An individual is likely to qualify for CTS if they are on welfare benefits or a low income. The website suggests anyone claiming Universal Credit (UC) or Pension Credit should check if they are eligible for CTS.
10. How much an individual gets depends on their household income and savings. Someone with more than £16,000 in savings will not be eligible.
11. The website has an online form for individuals to apply for CTS. It calculates how much CTS or Housing Benefit an individual is entitled to. Once an individual submits the application form online, it will explain what evidence is needed to support their application.
12. The website also gives advice to anyone having trouble paying their bill. It says to contact the council tax department immediately and not to wait until the Council sends a reminder. The Council will check whether the individual is getting all the council tax discounts and exemptions they are entitled to.

Corporate debt policy

13. In response to my enquiries, the Council referred me to its Corporate Debt Policy which has a section for customers struggling to pay bills. The policy says the Council provides the following advice and support:
• Advice is given about what happens if a debt remains outstanding.
• Council debt recovery officers provide advice and support especially where a customer is deemed to be vulnerable. Benefit officers may visit the customer to resolve the situation and avoid further recovery action if possible.
• Information will be provided stating who can give help and advice.
• Encouragement will be given to customers to get help from a range of sources and ensuring where people are eligible they receive benefits and discretionary support, including CTS and/or Council Tax Discretionary Reduction.
14. The Corporate Debt Policy also refers to ‘Breathing Space’ which is an opportunity for vulnerable people in problem debt to have a fixed period without fees, charges and interest or enforcement action. Breathing Space is designed to give people time to get on top of debts before they get out of control. It is available to anyone with problem debt and gives protection for 60 days.
15. The Council’s website has a contact email address and telephone numbers for help with council tax and general customer services.
16. In my enquiries to the Council, I asked what advice and support it offers people who are struggling to pay their Council Tax. It said it would advise customers to contact the benefits department or Citizens Advice.

The Council Tax bill

17. The council tax bill shows any reduction in council tax an individual has been awarded, based on the information they have provided. It states that it is the individual’s responsibility to tell the Council of any changes that might affect their entitlement to CTS.
18. The council tax bill and reminder letters have contact details (email address, phone number and postal address) for individuals to contact the Council if they are struggling to pay their council tax. It also provides a link for people to find out more about CTS if they are having difficulty to pay their council tax.

Contacting the Council

19. The Councils website says its Customer Service team deals with all ‘first point of contact’ with customers and is committed to providing excellent service. The Council aims to answer telephone calls within 20 seconds, speak to an individual within 10 minutes of arrival at the office and respond to email by close of business the following working day.

What happened

20. I have summarised below the key events; this is not intended to be a detailed account.
21. In early February 2022, Ms X emailed the Council with a copy of her council tax bill and proof of address. She said she believed she had sent all the supporting documentation for her CTS application and asked the Council to confirm. The Council advised Ms X her claim was linked to the DWP so she would receive all future awards.
22. At the end of February 2022, the Council emailed Ms X to tell her she had no active claim for CTS after this date as her income exceeded the threshold.
23. In early March 2022, Ms X emailed the Council explaining she could not pay her council tax. The next correspondence is dated middle of March. The Council advised Ms X to pay what she can to reduce the balance, and then to set up a direct debit to pay the rest.
24. The Council issued the council tax bill in early June 2022.
25. Ms X emailed the Council within a week and asked if she could set up a payment plan and claim income tax support. Ten days later, the Council responded and provided a link to set up a payment plan. Ms X applied the same day but the Council could not process her application as it needed proof of universal credit.
26. The following day, the Council issued a reminder.
27. Ms X emailed the Council at the beginning of July. She confirmed receipt of the reminder notice and explained she could not pay. She said she applied for CTS but was awaiting a response. Ms X did not receive a response to this email. She chased the Council for a response in late July and the middle of August. She emailed again in late August and said she felt she was “hitting her head against a brick wall” as she was not getting anywhere.
28. The Court issued a Liability Order in the middle of July 2022.
29. Ms X complained to the Council in the middle of July 2022. She said the Council had failed to communicate with her and failed to pay her CTS.
30. The Council wrote to Ms X about her council tax in the middle of July and said it had set up a pre-court special payment arrangement. The Council followed this up with an email to Ms X and apologised for the delay in responding to her email correspondence. It refers to the letter about the special payment arrangement and confirmed it had sent a letter about CTS.
31. The Council issued a new Council Tax bill showing it applied the CTS award in late July.
32. The Council issued its stage one response in the middle of August. It admitted it had failed to respond to Ms X’s email correspondence in a timely manner and upheld this part of Ms X’s complaint. It said her emails were to the customer service team and not the council tax back office. It explained the team had received a lot of correspondence and had not been able to respond as quickly as it would like to. The Council apologised to Ms X.
33. The Council did not uphold Ms X’s complaint about its failure to pay Ms X CTS. It said the Council did not process the claim as Ms X had not provided proof of UC.
34. The Council issued a revised bill in late August showing a change of CTS because of changes to Ms X’s UC.
35. The Council issued its stage two response in October. It said Ms X now received CTS and the correct procedure had been followed.

Analysis

36. According to the information on the Council Tax bill, the individual must tell the Council about changes to their circumstances that might affect their claim to CTS. The responsibility is with Ms X to tell the Council of this and not the other way around. The Council did however tell Ms X her income had exceeded the threshold in February and made her aware of this. The Council did more than what it was expected to do. I do not find the Council at fault.
37. Ms X told the Council she was struggling to pay her council tax in March. The Council advised her to pay what she could and set up a payment plan. From the information I have seen, Ms X asked to set up the payment plan in June, three months later. The Council are not at fault for this delay in setting up the payment plan.
38. The Council could have done more to help Ms X. The Council’s website urges people to contact it should they have issues paying their council tax. It also has a Corporate Debt Policy setting out what advice and support it gives to those that request it. The policy also refers to the Council’s ‘Breathing Space’ policy. From the correspondence I have seen, I cannot see the Council carried out any of these polices. The only advice it gave Ms X was to set up a payment plan. There were many alternatives it could have explored with Ms X, and advice and support that it could have provided. It did not, this is fault.
39. The Council admitted it had not responded to Ms X’s communication in a timely manner in its stage one response. The Council’s website says it aims to respond to all emails by the close of business the following working day. I have not seen any evidence the Council complied with its own policy on responding to communication. This is fault.
40. Ms X applied for CTS in June and had to chase this up in July and August. In its stage one response, the Council explained it could not process her application as it did not have proof of Ms X’s UC. I cannot see the Council contacted Ms X to explain it could not process her application because it did not have all the documentation. Had it done so, Ms X could have supplied this much sooner. The Council are not at fault for not processing Ms X’s application for CTS as the application was incomplete. It is at fault for not explaining to Ms X the reasons her application was delayed and asking her to send the documentation.
41. If the Council had responded to Ms X’s communication and provided advice and support at an earlier stage, on the balance of probabilities it is likely that Ms X could have completed her CTS application, organised her finances and paid her council tax bill. She could then have avoided a Liability Order and associated fees and charges.

Injustice

42. I have considered the impact the Council’s faults had on Ms X.
43. The Council’s poor communication and failure to provide more advice and support to Ms X meant she lost the opportunity to make suitable arrangements to pay her council tax bill before receiving a Liability Order. This caused Ms X worry and distress. That is her injustice.

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Agreed action

44. Within four weeks of the final decision, the Council agreed to:
• Apologise to Ms X in writing for its poor communication and failure to provide advice and support.
• Waive the fees and charges associated with the Liability Order.
• Pay Ms X £200 for the distress caused by the Council’s faults and the time and trouble in raising this complaint.

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Final decision

45. The Council is at fault for failing to respond to Ms X’s communication in a timely manner and failing to provide advice, guidance and support when Ms X said she was struggling to pay her council tax.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman