Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax liability. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right to go to the Valuation Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Council threatened to take him to court for late payment of council tax and failed to investigate his complaint about a lack of services he had received from the Council.
2. Mr Y says he does not rely on money from his community but has been threatened by the Council for payment for services he does not believe he has received.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal about the same matter. 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)
5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
6. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

8. Mr Y initially complained to the Council in December 2021, asking for an investigation into the threats from the Council that he would be taken to court if he did not pay his council tax. Mr Y then complained further in September 2022 after he received correspondence from the courts about the matter. After the Council responded, saying that the matter was not in the hands of the courts and bailiffs, Mr Y approached us in November.

Analysis

9. Mr Y is unhappy the Council has sent him letters warning him that it would proceed to take court action if the council tax was not paid. Where payment has either been made late or has not been made, Councils are able to take action to recover the amount owed, so it is unlikely we would find fault with such action.
10. However, if, as in this case, a person disputes liability and therefore the validity of the action the Council is taking to recovery the unpaid or late council tax, they can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
11. 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.
12. Consequently, it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he wishes to dispute his liability for council tax. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
13. Mr Y has also complained about the lack of proper investigation by the Council into his complaint, including what services he has received, his agreement to pay and the same officer investigating the complaint at various points. However, as we are not investigating the substantive issue about Mr Y’s liability for the Council tax it is not a good use of public resources to investigate how the Council dealt with Mr Y’s complaint. We will not investigate.

Back to top

Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mr Y ’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right to go to the Valuation Tribunal.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman