Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council should not have instructed bailiffs for council tax arrears because the debt is too old. This is 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 should cancel council tax arrears because the debt is more than six years old.

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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 comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. The law says councils must obtain a liability order for council tax arrears within six years. Once a council has a liability order there is no time limit on collecting the debt.
5. Mr X had council tax arrears from 2015 to 2017. The court issued a liability order in 2017 for a debt of £1484.
6. In 2018 Mr X unsuccessfully tried to include the arrears in a debt arrangement (an IVA). Mr X then set up a payment plan with bailiffs but he stopped making payments in 2021.
7. The Council asked bailiffs to collect the debt but they were unsuccessful. The Council instructed another firm who traced Mr X to his current address.
8. Mr X contacted the Council and said he has health conditions. The Council referred him to the bailiffs’ welfare team and helped him to set up a payment plan; the rate of repayment is low. The Council told Mr X there are no time limits on collecting the arrears and it would not cancel the debt.
9. Mr X says the debt is too old to be enforced. He also says the arrears should be written off under the section 13A discretionary relief rules.
10. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council correctly told Mr X there are no time limits on collecting the debt and it is clear the Council has made attempts to collect the arrears since obtaining the liability order. The Council acted appropriately by referring Mr X to the bailiffs’ welfare team and helping him set up a payment plan.
11. Councils can reduce someone’s council tax if they make a successful application for section 13A discretionary relief due to hardship. Mr X has not made an application for section 13A relief so the Council cannot waive or reduce the arrears for this reason. Mr X could make an application for discretionary relief but it would be for the Council to decide whether to make an award. The Council could decide not to award discretionary relief.
12. Mr X says the Council has not provided any proof it obtained a liability order and says he did not receive the original court summons. I have seen a copy of the liability order but, in any case, I will not investigate these points because the summons and liability order were issued in 2017 and, since then, Mr X has made payments. If Mr X wanted to pursue these points he needed to have done so in 2017; the fact he made payments, and tried to include the arrears in an IVA, rather suggests an acceptance of liability for the arrears.
13. There is no reason to start an investigation and no grounds on which we could ask the Council to cancel the debt.

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Final decision

14. 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