Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr & Mrs X’s council tax account as the Council has offered a suitable remedy and we cannot add to it.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complained the Council took recovery action for council tax, on a property which was being re-possessed and which Mr & Mrs X had moved out of, despite them having made the Council aware of the situation, of Mr X’s serious mental health issues and there being an ongoing, unresolved complaint. Mr & Mrs X said this caused them much distress and time and trouble. Mr & Mrs X wanted the Council to properly consider the circumstances of their complaint and provide a response.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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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 provided a Stage 2 complaint response to Mr & Mrs X in the period after they had complained to us. The Council apologised for the way Mr & Mrs X’s complaint had been handled at Stage 1 and confirmed that enforcement action on the account ought to have been put on hold whilst there was an ongoing complaint.
6. In recognition of the delays in complaint handling, distress and uncertainty caused by the issuing of a court summons, and the time and trouble spent on dealing with the complaint, the Council offered a symbolic payment to Mr & Mrs X of £300. It also confirmed that it had put measures in place to avoid a future recurrence of the things that went wrong in Mr & Mrs X’s case.
7. The Council explained that owners remain liable for council tax until repossession proceedings are complete but due to the circumstances of Mr & Mrs X’s case, it had decided to apply a discretionary reduction to the account which cleared the outstanding council tax balance.
8. We will not investigate as I am satisfied that the Council has offered a suitable remedy to Mr & Mrs X and investigation of the complaint would not change the outcome of it or add to this remedy.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr & Mrs X’s complaint because the Council has offered a suitable remedy and we cannot add to it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman