Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s decision not to honour a Council Tax Energy Rebate of £150 following the Valuation Tribunal Service’s decision to amend the council tax band of his property. Subject to further comment by Mr X and the Council, We have discontinued our investigation into this complaint. This is because the Council have offered a remedy of £150, and further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s decision not to honour a Council Tax Energy Rebate of £150 following the Valuation Tribunal Service’s decision to amend the council tax band of his property. Mr X would like the Council to award the £150.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:
• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mr X. We have made enquiries to the Council and considered its response. I sent a copy of my draft decision to Mr X and the Council for comment before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

Council Tax

4. Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Council Tax - Banding

5. Every domestic property has a council tax band. This is decided by the Valuation Office, which is part of Government.

What happened

6. In January 2022, Mr X moved into a new property. Mr X was informed the council tax band was set at E.
7. Mr X successfully appealed to the Valuation Tribunal Service in February 2023, and his Council Tax band was set to D.
8. Mr X says that throughout her appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Service, he was in contact with the Housing Tax Office and had an open claim for the Council Tax Energy Rebate of £150. Mr X says during communications with the Council he was advised that the rebate would be made but was awaiting sign off. Sometime later, Mr X was informed by the Council that the scheme had closed, and funding was not available to make the payment.
9. Unhappy that the Council would not honour the rebate payment, Mr X complained to the Council in April 2023. The Council responded to Mr X informing him that it had no authority in deciding wat band a property was, and that during the period his appeal was heard, the government closed the scheme and no further funding was made available.
10. Mr X escalated his complaint to stage 2 of the Council’s complaint process, but it upheld its position.

What I found

11. The Council is correct when it says it is the responsibility of the Valuation Office to ensure a property is banded correctly. The Council also said that it was required to provide a final reconciliation to government following the closure of the scheme which did not enable it to hold back funding for cases that may come to light at a future date. This brings into scope whether, given Mr X’s open claim with the Council, it could have applied its discretion to reduce his council tax liability given it was not able to make an award from the scheme.
12. However, during the course of my investigation, the Council contacted the Ombudsman to acknowledge the time and trouble Mr X had spent pursuing this matter, and for misleading information provided in a telephone call it took with him. To acknowledge this, the Council offered a remedy of £150.
13. I looked at our guidance on financial remedies for distress and having done so, I have no grounds for recommending that the Council increase its financial offer.
14. As a result, I consider that there is nothing further that can be achieved through further investigation and consider the Council’s offer of £150 to remedy the alleged injustice Mr X claims.

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Final decision

15. I have discontinued my investigation into this complaint. This is because the Council have offered a remedy of £150, and further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman