Summary: There was fault by the Council. After an error, the Council did not contact the Council Tax payer to explain before sending a large invoice. Apologising, offering a payment plan and revising procedures remedies the injustice from receiving an unexpected, large Council Tax bill.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall call Mr X, complains the Council sent a large Council Tax invoice after its error without explanation. Mr X has explained that this caused him stress as he had to pay a large invoice immediately.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read the papers submitted by Mr X and discussed the complaint with him.
5. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
6. Mr X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

7. The Council responded to Mr X’s official complaint in January 2024.
8. The Council apologised that due to human error (a misheard house number) the Council incorrectly closed Mr X’s Council Tax account in February 2023. No further direct debits for Council Tax were taken from his account.
9. In response to my enquiries, the Council said its usual practice is to contact the tax payer when a Council Tax error is identified which results in a large balance. The Council has said this was not done and so Mr X received a large, unexpected bill when the error was discovered in January 2024. The Council has said its written Council Tax operational procedures have been updated to include that in cases of error, which result in large balances, the Council tax payer is always contacted before a bill is sent to apologise and offer a repayment plan.
10. The Council offered to refund the money to Mr X and agree a repayment plan but Mr X declined this offer.
11. The Council has accepted it was at fault. It apologised to Mr X and offered a repayment plan before the complaint to the Ombudsman. The Council has also agreed to update its procedures to ensure that in future if the situation recurs, tax payers are informed before they receive a large invoice. This is a satisfactory remedy to the complaint.
12. Mr X has asked that the Council write off the Council Tax bill so he does not have to pay it. As Mr X was living at the property he has used the Council’s services and so I have not recommended the invoice be written off. There were letters addressed to the occupier the Council thought had moved into his address and the direct debit payments from his account stopped. So, while I accept Mr X may not have noticed these changes, there were signs that could have altered him to the error.

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Agreed action

13. Within one month of the date of the decision on this complaint the Council should:
• Update its written Council Tax operational procedures to include that in cases of error, which result in large balances, the Council tax payer is always contacted before a bill is sent to apologise and offer a repayment plan. (The Council has already completed this part of the remedy.)

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Final decision

14. I have completed my investigation of this complaint. This complaint is upheld and I consider the actions described above remedy the injustice to Mr X.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman