Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Council Tax charges because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council did not respond to his communication after receiving a summons for nonpayment of Council tax.

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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
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. The Council has provided a chronology showing Mr X’s Council tax bills and his payments from April 2023 onwards. The Council says that the initial payment for April 2023 was unpaid and so a reminder letter was issued to Mr X and a new payment arrangement offered to him.
6. They show that Mr X was in arrears of £15 in August. A summons was issued on 30 August for this and the remaining Council tax sum for the year.
7. Mr X says that the Council did not reply to his correspondence but the Council confirms that an arrangement was made to clear the final bill (including costs) by 1 December.
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.
12. I am satisfied that the Council issued the summons after the correct process of enforcement had been taken. Whilst Mr X queried the amounts to be paid, the Council was entitled to issue a summons when the full amount had not been paid in accordance with the demand.
13. The costs associated with that enforcement are not the result of fault by the Council and so the Ombudsman would not be critical of the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman