Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council holding Mr X liable for council tax. Mr X used his right of appeal to the Valuation Office Agency, and there is no evidence of fault in the Council following the Valuation Office Agency’s decision.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council is demanding council tax in line with an incorrect decision by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The VOA refused an appeal on technical grounds and the Council has filed for bankruptcy, but Mr X says if the Council discussed the issue with him, it would see the demand is clearly incorrect and unjustified. Mr X says this has caused him severe stress and pressure. He wants the Council to meet with him and the VOA.

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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)
5. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
6. 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

7. I considered information provided by the complainant.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. Part of Mr X’s complaint is about the Council’s decision to begin bankruptcy proceedings instead of discussing the matter with him. We cannot investigate the Council’s decision to begin court proceedings or what happens during those proceedings.
10. It is the VOA, and not the Council, that determines the council tax band for properties and therefore how much council tax people must pay. Mr X used his right to appeal to the VOA, however it refused his appeal. The Council is not at fault for pursuing Mr X for council tax in line with the VOA decision, as it is entitled to do so.
11. In any event, the issues Mr X complains about are also issues that he was aware about several years ago, dating back to 2013. We could not now consider historical events.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is about a decision by the VOA, for which he had a right of appeal which he used. The Council is not at fault for following the VOA decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman