Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council (23 009 471)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 22 Oct 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a council tax court summons. This is because we cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council:
- failed to keep accurate records about his property’s council tax history; and
- delayed in correcting its records which led to a court summons.
- Mr X says he travelled from abroad to attend the hearing and would like the Council to reimburse his costs.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X received a court summons in 2018 in relation to council tax arrears. Mr X disputed his liability for the outstanding council tax. Before the scheduled court date, the Council agreed payment was not required. It updated its records and told Mr X the matter was resolved.
- Mr X says he travelled to the hearing and would like the Council to reimburse his travel costs. I am unable to investigate as the start of court action is out of our jurisdiction. The complaint is also late and there is no good reason to investigate it now.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the complaint is late and we cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman