Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about action taken by the Council to recover council tax arrears. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about the way the Council recovered council tax arrears. He says he was only late with one payment, that the Council fabricated a letter, and officers treated him poorly and behaved badly.

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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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (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 Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. The law says people must pay their council tax before the instalment date. If they do not pay, or pay late on more than two occasions, they lose the right to pay by instalments. The Council can then demand they pay the full amount which is due for the rest of the year. If they do not pay the Council can serve a summons and charge costs.
5. The Council issued a council tax bill for 2023/24. Mr X was required to pay on the first of the month. Mr X did not pay anything during April, May or June. The Council issued a reminder in late June. On 2 July Mr X paid the arrears for April to June. Mr X did not pay the July instalment so the Council issued a second reminder in late July. Mr X did not pay as requested so the Council served a summons and asked for payment of the remaining council tax of £1384. In late August Mr X paid £141. This was not the full amount so the court issued a liability order in September. Mr X has set up a payment plan but says the Council acted unlawfully and treated him badly. He says he tried to make payments but repeatedly could not get through on the phone. Mr X has also referred, at times, to the Council fabricating a letter or says he did not get a letter.
6. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council followed the correct process in issuing reminders and a summons and charging costs. This is because Mr X did not bring his account up to date within seven days of the second reminder. I appreciate Mr X was on holiday and did not see the second reminder until 12 August but that does not reflect fault by the Council. Further, Mr X did not make another payment until 29 August. The recovery action taken by the Council reflects the regulations and there is nothing requiring an investigation.
7. Mr X says he did not receive one of the letters. That is unfortunate but the Council used the correct address. And, Mr X received other letters which explained what he needed to pay and when.
8. Mr X says he found it hard to get through on the phone due to long call waits. I acknowledge that must have been very frustrating. However, the bill, letters and website all explain there are many ways to pay that do not depend on speaking to someone on the phone. Mr X could have used any of these payment methods to bring his account up to date.
9. Mr X has also complained about the conduct of individual officers. However, their conduct reflects the council tax regulations and there is nothing that requires an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman