Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failing to apply a single person discount (SPD) to the complainant’s (Mr X) council tax. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise our discretion, as Mr X can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council wrongly charged his council tax without applying an SPD. He says he did not receive any letters about this discount. Mr X says there is a very similar address to his with the same postcode where any correspondence to him from the Council might have been delivered.
2. Mr X says the Council’s failings caused the decline in his mental health and impacted his financial situation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. 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)
6. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered the information Mr X provided.
8. I considered the information the Council provided.
9. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

What happened

10. In October 2017 the Council sent an enquiry form to Mr X, telling him that if he wished to continue receiving an SPD, he had to complete and return the form to the Council.
11. Having received no response, in December the Council sent Mr X a reminder form. The form included advice that if it was not returned, the Council would assume the resident no longer wished to continue claiming the discount.
12. In years 2018 to 2022 the Council issued the undiscounted council tax demand notices for Mr X.
13. In May 2022 Mr X successfully made an online claim for an SPD. The Council applied the discount for the tax year starting in March 2022.
14. In March 2023 Mr X complained to the Council. He said the Council had charged him the wrong council tax over several years. In his stage two complaint Mr X mentioned an enforcement action which he was unhappy about.
15. Mr X contacted us after receiving the Council’s stage one response in mid-March 2023.

Analysis

16. As explained in paragraph four of this decision we would normally not investigate late complaints. Mr X complained about events which happened more than 12 months from the date he contacted us.
17. Even though Mr X said until recently he had had no awareness of our services, I do not consider there are good reasons to exercise our discretion and investigate his late complaint. This is because the matters of the council tax reduction can be appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Final decision

18. I discontinue this investigation. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise our discretion as Mr X can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman