Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax enforcement because there was an appeal to a Valuation Tribunal, the matter is out of time and there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X says that the Council has pursued him for a Council tax debt he says he did not owe.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal 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 appeal. (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. 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X says that the Council sent him a Council tax bill for Council tax on a property after he had vacated it.
9. The Council says that they billed him in May 2020 for Council tax on Property A. He paid Council tax at that property until he visited the Council in October 2020 to say he had moved to Property B on 15 October. The Council say they used Property B for future correspondence.
10. However, the landlord of Property A then told the Council that Mr X had left Property A on 15 November 2020. The Council therefore issued a new bill to Mr X in February 2021 for £184 for the extra month. The Council says that the bill and all notices after were sent to Property B.
11. Mr X paid the £184 in June 2023 but the costs remain outstanding.
12. Any dispute about the date when the liability stopped was a matter for the Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an independent, expert body whose decisions are binding on the Council. I therefore consider that it would be reasonable to pursue an appeal in this case.
13. Mr X was aware of the new bill in February 2021. I see no reason why any complaint about the matter could not have been made to this office within 12 months of that date. The complaint is therefore out of time.
14. There is no evidence that the Council did not send bills to the address identified on its records. In the absence of administrative fault, the Ombudsman would not be critical of the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman