Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council pursuing Mrs X and her husband for council tax arrears over several years. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council referring her council tax arrears to enforcement agents without properly advising her of its debt recovery policy or publishing it. She says her and her husband were unable to keep to arrangements they had negotiated in 2020-2021 and debts for two addresses were referred to enforcement agents. She says her mental health conditions and financial resources were not considered.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X owes council tax arrears on her current and another address jointly with her husband. The arrears on the first address relate to the period from 2015 to 2022. The arrears on the first address were referred to enforcement agents some years ago after a liability order was obtained. They also owe council tax for the years 2021-23. They made arrangements with the Council to reduce the outstanding amount between 2020 and late 2021 but these were not adhered to, resulting in the current address debt being referred to enforcement agents in early 2022.
6. Mrs X says that the Council failed to carry out a financial assessment of their resources and that she has mental health problems which were increased by the debt recovery.
7. The arrangements were agreed by Mrs X and her husband with the Council and she did not ask it to make any exemptions or reductions at the time. She did not provide any medical evidence which might make her eligible for a reduction and although she advised that her business had debts, this resulted in a lower monthly payment arrangement which was not adhered to.
8. If Mrs X believed the Council was agreeing an arrangement which she could not afford she could have told the Council at the time. The arrangement letters clearly give advice for people who cannot afford to pay. The Council’s website also explains what discounts or exemptions are available and how to claim them.
9. If the Council had refused or ignored her comments on affordability then it was reasonable for her to complain to us at the time the arrangements were made. There is no evidence to suggest she disagreed with the affordability of the arrangements, which included her husband’s income for liability and she did not make a complaint to us within the required 12-month period.

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Final decision

10. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council pursuing Mrs X and her husband for council tax arrears over several years. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman