Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the complainant did not receive a court summons regarding council tax arrears. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains he did not receive the court summons in relation to council tax arrears. He says there is no proof of delivery and the granting of the liability order is against natural justice. Mr X wants the court costs refunded and the liability order removed. Mr X also complains the Council did not address all his concerns.

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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. The law says people must pay their council tax as billed. If they do not pay the Council will issue a reminder and, if needed, a court summons. There is no legal requirement for councils to send a summons by recorded delivery. The law says councils must send council tax letters to the last known address. If the person does not pay all the outstanding council tax before the court date the magistrates can issue a liability order. A liability order is a court order stating the person must pay the council tax and costs.
5. The council issued a council tax bill. It then issued a reminder and sent an email. Mr X did not bring the account up to date so the Council served a summons and the court issued a liability order. Mr X subsequently set up a payment plan for the arrears.
6. Mr X does not live full-time at the flat. He received the other council tax letters but says he did not receive the summons. For this reason, he says the liability order should be cancelled and the court costs refunded.
7. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council used the same address for all the council tax letters and Mr X confirmed he received some of them. The Council notified Mr X of what he needed to pay and what action he needed to take to bring the account up to date. I do not know why Mr X did not receive the summons but the law does not require councils to use recorded delivery; councils are required to use the last known address and the fact Mr X received the other letters shows the Council was using the correct address. The Council also sent an email before it issued the summons which gave Mr X another opportunity to pay before incurring costs.
8. Mr X complains the Council did not answer all the points he raised in his complaint. I have read the complaint correspondence. The Council provided a comprehensive response and there is nothing in the complaint handling requiring an investigation.

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Final decision

9. 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