West Northamptonshire Council (22 017 808)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delay in assessing an exemption for Council tax as the matter has been remedied.
The complaint
- Ms X complains that the Council unreasonably delayed determining her student exemption certificate for Council tax.
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 says that she sent the Council her student exemption certificate in January 2023 but the Council continued to threaten her with enforcement of a Council tax debt.
- The Council has now applied the exemption to her account and a summons (which had been issued in February 2023) has been cancelled and all costs waived.
- I am satisfied that the Council’s actions have remedied this matter and there are no grounds for investigating the complaint further.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman