Summary: We will not investigate this council tax complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council told him a property would be exempt from council tax for 12 months. He also says the Council did not tell him there were arrears on the account or that it had instructed bailiffs. Mr X wants the Council to award the 12 month exemption.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. Since 2013 the Council has offered a three month council tax exemption on empty properties.
5. Mr X bought a property (A) in April 2022; part of the property is registered for business rates and part for council tax. Mr X says he called the Council when he bought the property and was told there would be a 12 month council tax exemption because the property was empty.
6. In April 2022 Mr X called the Council and asked it to send business rates information to property (A).
7. Council records from May state Mr X called and asked for council tax correspondence to be sent to an address in Birmingham.
8. The Council sent letters to the Birmingham address asking for payment after the three month exemption ended. Mr X neither paid nor responded so the Council took recovery action and instructed bailiffs.
9. Mr X called the Council in May 2023 to say he had been contacted by bailiffs. He complained and said he had been told there was a 12 month exemption and he had not heard anything about the arrears. Initially the Council said it appeared the council tax letters had been sent to the wrong address and it recalled the account from the bailiffs. It confirmed there is a three month exemption and Mr X owes council tax for the period after the exemption ended. The Council asked Mr X to pay or make a payment plan to avoid further recovery action.
10. In response to Mr X’s next complaint the Council said it is unlikely he would have been told there is a 12 month exemption because there has been a three month exemption since 2013. It referred to the case notes and said calls are not recorded.
11. The Council also said it had rechecked the records and in May 2022 Mr X had asked for council tax letters to be sent to Birmingham. The Council again asked Mr X to pay the arrears to avoid further action. The Council told me recovery action has resumed because Mr X has not made any payments.
12. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. Given that the exemption has been three months since 2013 it seems unlikely, on the balance of probabilities, that an officer would have referred to a 12 month exemption. I am not suggesting Mr X is trying to mislead anyone but it is possible he misheard or misunderstood. And, even if Mr X is sure he was told it was 12 months, there is no evidence to support that assertion. The maximum exemption is three months so the Council has asked him to pay the correct amount. Mr X could have paid without incurring any fees if he had made a payment plan when the Council recalled the case from the bailiffs. In addition, the available evidence suggests Mr X had asked for the council tax correspondence to be sent to the Birmingham address.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman