Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of the council tax account in respect of Mr X’s late father’s home as the complaint is made late to us and there is insufficient remaining injustice caused to Mr X to warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to properly update the council tax account on his late father’s account. Mr X says this has impacted on him financially and caused him distress and inconvenience.

Back to top

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 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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide any fault has not caused significant injustice to the person who complained, or any remaining injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
6. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

Background

9. The Council issued a zero council tax bill in Mr Y’s name in April 2020 after Mr Y, Mr X’s father, had moved into a care home. Mr X spoke to the council tax department around this time and says it gave him no indication that the exemption was time limited in any way.
10. In December 2021, the Council carried out a review of the exemption on the property and contacted the care home where Mr Y had been residing. The Council says it was informed that Mr Y had passed away in August 2020 and that probate had been granted in October of that year. In response, the Council issued an amended bill, to reflect that the property was then classed as an unoccupied property, attracting the full council tax bill.
11. Mr X is the executor of this late father’s estate. Mr X says the Council was informed of the date his father passed away by the ‘Tell us Once’ service and complains the Council failed to update the account in light of this and to issue a bill which showed how this impacted on the council tax liability. Mr X says he has been caused an unexpected financial burden by the late demand for council tax. Mr X says he would have acted sooner to ensure the property was sold, had the Council properly updated him.
12. The Council says it received no notification of Mr Y’s death from the ‘Tell us Once’ service. In its complaint responses to Mr X, it acknowledged however that it had received such notification from the Registrar but due to human error, Mr Y’s council tax account had not been amended accordingly. The Council apologised to Mr X for this and offered Mr X a payment of £150 in recognition of the delay and distress caused to him.
13. Mr X is not satisfied with the Council’s proposal and wants the Council to waive the council tax owed on the property or to significantly reduce the amount he should pay.
14. Mr X also complains the Council sent him a summons for the money owed on the account despite it having told him the account would be placed on hold while the complaint was dealt with. The summons was removed from the account during the complaint investigation.

Back to top

My Assessment

15. Mr X became aware of the full charge on the property in December 2021 but did not complain to us until February 2023. Mr X’s complaint is therefore made late to us, as it was not made within a year of Mr X knowing about the problem.
16. While Mr X complains of some delay by the Council in completing stage 2 of his complaint to it, I consider Mr X could have complained to us sooner. Information on our website about making a complaint explains we normally only investigate complaints made to us within 12 months of someone becoming aware of the problem. It also explains that if there is delay in a council providing a response to a complaint, then a complaint can be made to us. As such, I do not consider there are good reasons for us to investigate now.
17. Notwithstanding this, I do not consider the injustice Mr X claims arises completely from the fault acknowledged by the Council. As executor of Mr Y’s estate, there was an onus on Mr X to inform the Council that probate had been granted in October 2020. Had Mr X done this, he would have been issued with the appropriate council tax bill and could have acted accordingly in terms of selling the property.
18. Mr X has appealed the Council’s decision on his council tax liability to the Valuation Tribunal (VT), the independent body which is empowered to decide if the bill is payable. As such, as per paragraph five, we no longer have any remit to become involved in this particular aspect of the complaint.
19. While I recognise that Mr X was caused distress by receiving a summons on the account, as it was later cancelled by the Council, I do not consider there is sufficient remaining injustice in this regard to warrant our further involvement.
20. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

Back to top

Final decision

21. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now. In addition, there is insufficient remaining injustice caused to Mr X from Council fault to warrant our involvement and the council tax liability itself is not within our remit.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman