Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council taking bankruptcy proceedings against Mr X for non-payment of council tax over 20 years. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation. We have no jurisdiction to investigate matters subject to court proceedings with regard to liability orders.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained that the Council has started bankruptcy proceedings against him in April 2023 because it has not received any council tax payments since 2003. He says that it has added statutory interest charges of nearly £35,000 to the £24,000 outstanding. He believes it is acting unreasonably by seeking bankruptcy when it could have used alternative means such as a voluntary charge on the property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X was contacted by the Council’s recovery agents in 2023 about the Council’s intention to seek bankruptcy proceedings against him. It says that he has not paid Council tax since 2003 and has been issued with a liability order from the Magistrates Court for 19 successive years. The Council has tried other means of recovering the debts, such as enforcement agents and attachments of earnings. Mr X is self-employed so it has been unable to recover the debt from his income.
7. The Council told Mr X that it intends to recover statutory interest as part of the proceedings. He believes that this is unreasonable because it exceeds the debt owed. He also believes that the liability orders issued make no provision for this additional debt and should not be recovered. The Council says the proceedings will be decided by the court and it has given him a final opportunity to pay the outstanding tax before it progresses to a court hearing.
8. We cannot investigate the issuing of liability orders which are court proceedings. The Council has considered other means of recovery of the debt and does not believe that Mr X has any vulnerabilities which would prevent it from taking bankruptcy proceedings against him.
9. When considering complaints, we may not question the merits of the decision the Council has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of the Councils’ officers or members when there is no fault. This means we will not intervene in disagreements about the merits of decisions.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council taking bankruptcy proceedings against Mr X for non-payment of council tax over 20 years. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation. We have no jurisdiction to investigate matters subject to court proceedings with regard to liability orders.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman