Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council recovering council tax arrears from 2020. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council recovering council tax arrears from her which she says are higher than they should be. She says she applied for council tax support in 2020 but the Council has no record of this.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mrs X says she separated from her husband in 2020 and submitted applications for single persons discount and council tax support. Since that time, she has received council tax bills which she says are higher than previously and that her discount and support have never been properly applied. The Council has taken court action against her and obtained a liability order before passing the debt to enforcement agents to recover.
6. The Council says that it applied the single person discount from the time in 2020 when Mrs X informed it that she was the sole occupant. Since that time she did not pursue any claim for council tax support and it has no evidence that she submitted a claim. The Council has issued various council tax bills since 2020 and the case was subject to summons and court action without any evidence of a claim for council tax support being referred to.
7. Mrs X’s husband has returned to the home since February 2022 but the arrears remain outstanding. The Council has taken the debt back from the agents following Mrs X’s contact in 2023 and it has arranged a payment plan which it expects her to adhere to. It says she has not provided any evidence of a council tax support claim and so the current balance remains outstanding.
8. We will not investigate a complaint about matters which the complainant was aware of more than 12 months before they complained to us. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Final decision

9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council recovering council tax arrears from 2020. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman