Wyre Borough Council (23 005 665)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 26 Jul 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not paying interest on a council tax refund. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and the complaint is best dealt with by the Valuation Office Agency.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains the refund she has received from the Council for over payments of council tax she paid by being placed in the wrong council tax band for the last 30 years, does not take account of any interest. Mrs X wants interest also to be paid.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council has advised Mrs X that there is no provision in law for the reimbursement of interest on overpayments of council tax.
- We will not investigate as there is no indication that the Council is at fault in saying this.
- In addition, the Council is not responsible for setting council tax bands or reviewing them. This is the responsibility of an independent Government agency called the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). If Mrs X considers there has been delay in her band being corrected and that she has lost out financially because of this, then this matter is best dealt with by the VOA. We cannot investigate complaints about the VOA as it is not a body within our jurisdiction. Such complaints would be dealt with by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman