Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax deduction and the Council’s handling of the subsequent complaint. There is a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal about the council tax and it is reasonable for Mr X to use this. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints handling if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to apply the correct deductions to his council tax and failed to properly handle his complaint about the issue. He wants the Council to award the correct deductions to his account and improve its complaints procedures.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review 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 use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
4. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X disagrees with the amount of council tax the Council is charging him. He says the Council has failed to apply the correct deductions.
8. Any dispute about liability for council tax can be appealed to the Valuation Tribunal. The Tribunal is an independent expert body whose decisions are binding on the Council. It would be reasonable for Mr X to make an appeal to the Tribunal in this case.
9. Mr X is also unhappy with the Council’s handling of his complaint. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to use his right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman