Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (22 017 585)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 04 Apr 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax because it is reasonable to expect Miss Y to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
The complaint
- Miss Y complained the Council wrongly charged her for council tax when she is a student and believes she should have at least a 25% reduction. Miss Y says she has now received a bill for nearly £2,000, causing upset and worry.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information Miss Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss Y says she should not be paying the amount of council tax billed and is disputing her liability for this. She also says the council tax should be adjusted to take account of her receiving a discount for being a student.
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction. This is often free and reasonable adjustments can be made where necessary for access to the tribunal’s service.
- Consequently, it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he wishes to dispute the Council’s application of the single occupation discount. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to her to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman