Summary: Dr X complains about Council Tax Liability and how the Council handled her Council Tax account. We have concluded our investigation having made a finding of fault. The Council has acknowledged that its communication with Dr X could have been clearer and caused avoidable distress. The Council has offered a fair and proportionate remedy.

The complaint

1. Dr X complains about Council Tax liability for approximately £250. Dr X says she has not received evidence demonstrating any missed payments and that her account has been negligently handled by the Council. Dr X would like the Council to cancel the liability notice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on Council Tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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What I have not investigated

6. I have not investigated any complaint about Council Tax liability. The Council's decision that Dr X­­ is liable for council tax can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an independent, expert body whose decisions are binding on the Council. It is therefore reasonable to expect Dr X to pursue an appeal in this case.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I liaised with Dr X and considered the information she provided. I also made enquiries with the Council and considered the information it provided. I offered Dr X and the Council an opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered any comments made before the deadline.

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What I found

Relevant guidance and legislation

Council tax - recovery summary

8. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 cover both the way councils collect payments of council tax and the way councils can recover council tax debt. The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and associated regulations cover the way enforcement agents may recover debts.
9. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1 April. A council will usually collect payment through monthly instalments. If the liable person misses any instalment, the council will send them a reminder. If a payment is still not made or a further payment missed, then the entire outstanding balance will be due (that is the full amount for the rest of the year).
10. To use the various powers available to it to recover unpaid council tax, a council must apply to a magistrate’s court for a liability order against those it believes are liable. Once a council has a liability order it can take recovery action.
11. A liability order gives a council the legal power to take enforcement action to collect the council tax and court costs owed. The most commonly used powers are asking for deductions from benefits, getting an attachment of earnings (this means deductions are taken directly from earnings by an employer and passed to the council) or using enforcement agents. The council can decide which recovery method to use but it can only use one method for one liability order at one time.

What happened

12. I have included a summary of some of the key events in this complaint. This is not intended to be a comprehensive account of everything that took place.

Account 1

13. In October 2021, a joint Council Tax Account was opened, jointly in Dr X’s name.
14. In January 2022, the Council received a Single Person Discount application from Dr X. Later in January 2021, the Council issued a revised bill resulting in an account credit.
15. In August 2022, Dr X contacted the Council to inform her that her partner was resident. In mid-September 2022, the Council adjusted the bill based upon a joint liability; this resulted in a debit to pay. Toward the end of September 2022, the Council received a Single Person Discount email application from Dr X. At the beginning of November 2022, the Council attempted to collect an amount of approximately £50, but says the direct debit failed.
16. At the beginning of December 2022, the Council received a Single Person Discount application from Dr X advising that the discount was applicable from the beginning of October 2022.
17. In February 2023, the Council changed the account end date to the end of September 2022. The Council says payment which had been received on Account 3 were transferred to Account 1. Therefore, the recalculated account balance was £244.39. The Council sent a bill to Dr X confirming the amount to be paid by early March 2023
18. At the end of March 2023, the Council says as a payment was not received, it sent a reminder notice and warned further recovery action would be taken. In Mid-May 2023, the Council issued a summons notice incurring an additional £75 cost.
19. In June 2023, a Liability order was granted, and a payment arrangement was set and notified the following week. In the following weeks, Dr X wrote to the Council to query the Liability Order she received. The Council replied confirming the balance owed. In July 2023, the Council referred the account to an enforcement agency for collection. In August 2023, the Council recalled the account from the enforcement agent.

Account 2

20. In January 2022, a Council Tax Account was opened, in Dr X’s name.
21. In February 2022, the Council issued bills for the period January to March 2022. It calculated a balance of £167.63 to pay.
22. Later in February, the Council received a Single Persons Discount cancellation from Dr X.
23. In March 2022, the Council closed the account. In April 2023, the Council sent an updated bill for an amount of £78.23 to pay.
24. In June 2022, Dr X contacted the Council to query the Single Persons Discount cancellation and direct debit cancellation.
25. In September 2022, the Council responded to explain the calculation. Dr X responded to confirm the dates of eligibility for the Single Persons Discount.
26. Later in September 2022, the Council sent a revised account balance for an amount of £49.29 to be paid.

Account 3

27. In March 2022, a joint Council Tax Account was opened, jointly in Dr X’s name.
28. In April 2022, the Council sent an updated bill to advise a total amount of £1525.63 was payable.

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Analysis

Council Tax Liability

29. As stated in paragraph 8, I have not investigated any complaint about Council Tax liability. Any complaint about Council Tax liability is appealable to the Valuation Tribunal and we would be unable to consider any such complaint.

How did the Council handle Dr X’s accounts?

30. The Council has accepted that there were opportunities for clearer communication. The Council says that in February 2023, the payments made by Dr X were transferred from Account 2 to Account 1 and an updated Council Tax bill could have been issued on Account 2 to show the payments total received had reduced the balance. The Council says this would have corresponded with the payments which were assigned to Account 1.
31. The Council says it accepts that in the interest of best practice, given the specific complication of several account references, payments reallocation and an adjustment to SPD discount eligibility, there may have been an opportunity for misunderstanding regarding how the £244.79 account balance had been accrued. I concur with the Council’s view point, and here I have made a finding of fault; matters appear to have complicated and it is understandable that Dr X would have felt that the liability was not calculated correctly in the absence of clearer communication. Dr X as a result incurred avoidable distress liaising with the Council about the matter.
32. The Council says it recognises a need to ensure there is clear communication between the Local Authority and the charge payers and that on this occasion communication could have been clearer.
33. In light on the Council’s acknowledgment, in addition to the discretionary decision it has taken not to recover the £75 summons cost, it has proposed to apologise to Dr X, and to make a remedy payment of £244.79 (the total balance), to be applied to Dr X’s Council Tax account to bring the balance to zero. I note that when Dr X brought her complaint to our service, this is the remedy she sought.

Service improvement

34. As part of my enquiries, I asked the Council whether it had made any service improvements in light of Dr X’s complaint. The Council advised that it did not consider there is scope for wider service improvement.
35. I note that this case considers a range of complex matters with various changes that could otherwise be confusing. As clearer communication would have prevented matters complained about, I accept that there is not scope for any wider service improvement action the Council should take.

Good practice

36. The Ombudsman acknowledges the Council’s proactive and accountable approach in acknowledging fault and proposing a fair and proportionate remedy for the injustice identified.

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Agreed action

37. As per paragraph 33, the Council should:
1. Proceed to apply the remedy of £244.79 to Dr X’s Council Tax account to bring the balance to zero.
2. Provide an apology to Dr X in line with our guidance on remedies.
38. The Council will complete action point a and b within one month of the Ombudsman’s final decision. The Council will provide evidence it has completed the above action.

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Final decision

39. I have concluded my investigation having made a­­­­ finding of fault. The Council has acknowledged that its communication with Dr X could have been clearer and caused avoidable distress. The Council has offered a fair and proportionate remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman