London Borough of Waltham Forest (23 001 856)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 May 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a dispute over liability for council tax. This is because liability disputes are best dealt with appeals to the Valuation Tribunal, and it was reasonable to expect the complainant to have done this.
The complaint
- Mr X disagrees that he was personally liable to pay council tax on a property he jointly lets out via his company.
- He complains that he was made to pay £975.96 under duress to bailiffs who turned up at his home. He would like the Council to refund this payment.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council has advised Mr X that it will not refund the money he paid to bailiffs. The Council says Mr X’s personal details were provided to the Council when the direct debit was set up.
- Further it says Mr X has not registered any disputes concerning the liability before the bailiffs attended his property.
- I note the Council has secured a Liability Order against Mr X in court.
- We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. It was reasonable to expect Mr X to appeal because the tribunal is free to use and is the appropriate body to determine council tax liability disputes. If the tribunal decided Mr X was not liable it would have told the Council to amend its records.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman