Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Ms X’s council tax liability. It would have been reasonable for her to use her right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal, and the law prevents us from considering the Council’s subsequent decision to obtain liability orders from the courts.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council held her liable for council tax for two properties after she moved out of them. She says she had asked for help with council tax due to financial difficulties, and she assumed she did not owe council tax until the Council wrongly obtained a liability order from court and involved bailiffs in late 2022. Ms X says the situation has caused her significant distress. Ms X wants the Council to apologise and re-evaluate the amount owed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Ms X complains about two council tax liability orders for properties she previously resided in. She says she contacted the Council to challenge its decision she was liable, and on receiving no response she assumed she no longer had to pay.
8. It would have been reasonable for Ms X to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal on receiving no response from the Council to a request to appeal. The Council has since obtained liability orders from the courts. The law prevents us from investigating councils’ decisions to begin court proceedings.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because It would have been reasonable for her to use her right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal, and the law prevents us from considering the Council's subsequent decision to obtain liability orders from the courts.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman