Summary: Miss E complained the Council wrongly closed her council tax account when a third party wrongly stated they had moved into her property. We do not find the Council was at fault.

The complaint

1. Miss E complained the Council wrongly closed her council tax account when a third party wrongly stated they had moved into her property.
2. Miss E says it has caused her distress, upset and anxiety. She also says she now has to pay extra money each month.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information from Miss E. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent in response.
5. Miss E and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Council tax

6. Council tax is a tax made on domestic properties. Councils issue one bill to each household. Residents of dwellings are usually liable for council tax from the date they move into a property.

What happened

7. Miss E pays a monthly direct debit payment for her council tax. The Council received correspondence from a third party in July 2022 who registered himself at Miss E’s address. The Council closed Miss E’s account and issued a council tax refund for £127. The Council says it sent Miss E a letter to say it closed her account, but it does not have a copy of it.
8. The Council issued households with a one-off £150 payment towards increased energy costs. Miss E emailed the Council in August and asked why she had received £127 rather than £150.
9. The Council responded in September and explained the £127 was nothing to do with the energy payment and it was a refund after it closed her account.
10. The Council emailed Miss E in January 2023 and explained it closed her account in error after a third party contacted it and said they had moved into her property. It asked her to confirm if she was still living at her address. It also said there was an outstanding council tax balance of £919.87.
11. Miss E called and emailed the Council several times to discuss the matter. She said she could not afford to pay the outstanding balance in one go. The Council spoke to Miss E and said it would set up a direct debit for her to pay £150 per month. The remaining balance would be bought forward into the next tax year.
12. Miss E complained to the Council about its handling of the matter. She said she received a letter in 2022 asking if she still lived at her property and she replied to confirm she did. She said she received no further communication until January 2023 and the matter had caused her distress and upset.
13. The Council apologised to Miss E for her distress and inconvenience. It said it could spread the payments into the next financial year.
14. Miss E replied to the Council and said she had struggled to get through to officers. She said she was unhappy it had taken six months to realise its mistake.
15. The Council issued its final response to Miss E’s complaint. It repeated its apologies, but it said it was unavoidable as it is legally obliged to ensure it updates council tax records. It also said it was sorry if she had difficulty getting in contact with its call centre. It repeated its offer to extend the outstanding balance across the year.

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Analysis

16. The Council acted in good faith when it received information from the third party, and I agree it has a duty to update its records when it receives such information. It would not have known the third party provided it with the wrong information. Therefore, I do not find the Council was at fault. The Council has explained it does sometimes ask for more information if details supplied by customers are unclear, but it is largely reliant on customers providing the correct details. There was no unclear information in this case.
17. Miss E also had opportunities to resolve the situation sooner. Although the Council has been unable to provide me with the closure letter it sent to Miss E in July 2022, it emailed her in September 2022 and explained it issued the refund after it closed her account. Therefore, Miss E was reasonably aware the Council closed her account, but I cannot see she questioned it. She also did not question the Council after it stopped taking the monthly direct debit payments. Miss E says after receiving correspondence from the Council she replied and confirmed she still lived at her property. However, there is no record of this correspondence and so I cannot comment on it further.

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Final decision

18. I have completed my investigation. The Council was not at fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman