London Borough of Barnet (22 017 352)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s enforcement of a Council tax debt as the matter has been remedied.
The complaint
- Ms X says that she notified the Council of a change of liability in March 2022, but the Council pursued her for the debt.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X told the Council in March 2022 that she had moved out of the property and a new tenant was talking over the liability for the Council tax. Despite this the Council pursued enforcement action to the point that a Liability Order was obtained and bailiff costs of £75 added. The enforcement notices and letters were sent to the same property so Ms X was unaware of them.
- The Council accept that the original notification was not acted upon and apologised and all costs waived. The Council has also agreed to pay Ms X £100 to reflect the time and trouble of dealing with the matter when she became aware of the matter.
- I am satisfied that this is a satisfactory remedy to the matter and so there are no grounds to investigate the complaint further.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman