Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council calculated the complainant’s council tax. This is because the complainant could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal and because it is a late complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, disagrees with the way the Council calculated his council tax after he lost entitlement to the single person discount in 2020. He disagrees with the council tax bill for October 2020 to March 2021.

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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. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes council tax letters from 2021 and an email signposting Mr X to the Valuation Tribunal. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

6. Mr X received the council tax single person discount from March to October 2020. He then lost entitlement for the rest of the financial year. The Council issued a new bill in October 2020. Mr X disagrees with the way the Council calculated the charge from October. Mr X owes £49 for this period.
7. In March 2021 the Council provided an explanation by phone. It also sent two letters during 2021 explaining how it had calculated the charge. The Council sent an email signposting Mr X to the Valuation Tribunal if he continued to disagree. The Council says it has not been notified that Mr X appealed to the tribunal.
8. I will not investigate this complaint because Mr X could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. It is reasonable to expect him to have appealed because the tribunal is the appropriate body to consider council tax disputes.
9. I also will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint. Mr X has been aware of the way the council tax has been calculated since at least March 2021 but he did not complain to us until April 2023. I have not seen any good reason to accept a late complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X could have appealed to the tribunal and because it is a late complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman