Summary: Mr X complained the Council issued him with a court summons for unpaid council tax and obtained a liability order, despite telling him at court it would withdraw the summons and not obtain a liability order. We find some fault with the Council’s actions, and it has agreed a remedy to address the injustice caused. However, we cannot investigate what happened at court because we cannot investigate the commencement or conduct of civil or criminal proceedings before a court of law.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council issued him with a court summons for unpaid council tax and obtained a liability order, despite telling him at court it would withdraw the summons and not obtain a liability order. Mr X says he had previously offered to pay the council tax arrears in monthly instalments and had started to make payments. Mr X said the Council’s actions have caused him avoidable stress.

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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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. We cannot investigate a complaint about the commencement or conduct of civil or criminal proceedings before a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5.1)
4. When considering complaints, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
5. 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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What I have and have not investigated

6. I have investigated the Council’s actions up to the point it issued the court summons and have investigated how the Council handled Mr X’s complaint. I have not investigated what happened at court because we cannot investigate a complaint about the commencement or conduct of civil or criminal proceedings before a court. This includes matters from the service of a summons to the end of the hearing.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I have considered the information provided by Mr X including copies of his correspondence with the Council. I have also considered relevant legislation and the Council’s debt management policy.
8. Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on a draft decision. I considered the comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Council tax

9. Council tax is a tax made on domestic properties. The council tax bill for the year is due on 1 April.
10. 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).
11. 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. 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.
12. 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.

The Council’s debt management policy

13. The Council’s debt management policy includes the collection of council tax. It says the Council will follow the following principles in all its recovery action:
• Its actions will be proportionate.
• Its actions will be consistent.
• Its actions will be transparent.
14. The Council’s policy states that transparency is important in maintaining public confidence and enabling people to understand what is expected of them and what they should expect from the Council.
15. The Council’s policy states it will be particularly mindful when dealing with customers that may fall into certain categories, including the elderly, who could be considered to be vulnerable.

The Council’s complaints policy

16. The Council has a two stage complaints policy. At stage one, the Council aims to provide a response within 15 working days from the date it acknowledges the complaint. The Council says it will respond to stage two complaints within 20 working days.

What happened

17. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened. I have not referred to all the information provided by Mr X, however, I have not ignored its significance.
18. Mr X says he notified the Council in July 2022 about a change in his circumstances. He says in March 2023, the Council’s council tax department made a refund to his bank account.
19. The Council contacted Mr X in May 2023 and asked him to provide proof of his and his wife’s pensions and savings to calculate any entitlement to benefits.
20. In July 2023, the Council issued a council tax reminder notice to Mr X. The Council said Mr and Mrs X owed council tax for the previous financial year and asked for payment in full.
21. Mr X wrote to the Council a few days later. He said he had worked out his budget and calculated that he could afford £30 a month to pay the outstanding amount. Mr X provided a cheque for the first payment with the letter and said he would send further cheques every month until the outstanding amount was paid.
22. Mr X says the cheque for £30 was cashed in July 2023. On the same date, the Council issued a final reminder to Mr X for the outstanding amount of council tax. The reminder said the Council would take Mr X to court if he did not either pay the balance in full within seven days or make an arrangement to pay.
23. Mr X wrote to the Council a few days later and said he thought he had already made an arrangement to pay. Mr X enclosed a copy of his earlier letter (in which he had offered to pay £30 each month) to show why he thought he had made a payment arrangement.
24. About a week later, the Council issued a court summons to Mr and Mrs X for non-payment of council tax. The summons said Mr X still owed the full outstanding amount, and also added the costs of progressing the matter to court.
25. Mr X says a further cheque for £30 was cashed three days after the issue of the court summons.

What happened next

26. Mr X attended court on the specified date. He says he spoke to a Council officer at the court. Mr X says the officer agreed to accept the terms of the payment offer he had previously made, and says the officer told him he would withdraw the court summons.
27. Later the same day, the Council issued a letter to Mr X advising him that a liability order had been issued against him for non-payment of the outstanding council tax amount.

Mr X’s complaint

28. Mr X complained to the Council on 27 August 2023. He said he did not understand why the Council told him he owed council tax when it had previously refunded an amount to him. Mr X said he wrote to the Council to offer £30 a month to pay the outstanding amount and said the cheques he had sent for this amount were cashed. Mr X said the Council officer lied to him at court as they told him they would withdraw the summons and would not apply for a liability order. Mr X said the Council could have avoided the stress this had caused him if it had accepted the payment offer made in July 2023.
29. Mr X contacted the Council in October 2023 to chase a response to his complaint.
30. The Council replied about three weeks later to acknowledge the complaint.
31. Mr X wrote to the Council in November 2023. He said the officer who he had complained about called him to ask why he had made a complaint. Mr X said the officer told him they would confirm in writing they had cancelled the liability order but had not done so.
32. The Council provided its complaint response on 27 November 2023 and said it did not uphold Mr X’s complaint about the officer he had spoken with at court. The Council said the officer had sent a letter earlier that month advising Mr X they had withdrawn the liability order, but acknowledged Mr X said he did not receive it. The Council’s complaint response confirmed it had withdrawn the liability order.
33. Mr X escalated his complaint to stage two. He said the officer asked Mr X why he had made a complaint about him and told him the liability order should not have been sent. Mr X said the officer had not provided confirmation in writing that they had cancelled the liability order, despite saying they would do so.
34. The Council acknowledged Mr X’s request for a stage two response on 6 December 2023.
35. Mr X says on 2 January 2024, he received a letter dated 7 November 2023 from the officer. The letter confirmed the agreed payment arrangement and confirmed the summons and liability order were withdrawn. The letter apologised for any confusion and inconvenience.
36. The Council provided its stage two complaint response on 22 January 2024. It confirmed Mr X attended court and spoke to the officer, who agreed for Mr X to pay the outstanding amount in instalments of £30 a month. The Council also confirmed the officer agreed to both withdraw the summons and not obtain a liability order. The Council said the officer withdrew the summons when they returned to the office, but it apologised for not sending a letter to Mr X confirming the summons and liability order were withdrawn.
37. Mr X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s response and brought the complaint to us.

Analysis

38. Mr X complained the Council issued him with a court summons for unpaid council tax and obtained a liability order. He says this is despite the officer telling him at court that the Council would accept Mr X’s payment offer, withdraw the summons and would not obtain a liability order.
39. I acknowledge Mr X’s comments regarding the discussion he had with the officer when he attended court. I also acknowledge the Council’s comments in its stage two complaint response which supports the explanation provided by Mr X regarding what happened. However, as previously stated, we cannot investigate a complaint about the commencement or conduct of civil or criminal proceedings before a court, including matters from the service of a summons to the end of the hearing. As a result, I have not investigated this aspect of the complaint.

The Council’s actions prior to the court summons

40. Mr X contacted the Council in early July 2023 to make a payment arrangement of £30 a month to pay the outstanding council tax arrears. He also provided a cheque for the first instalment and said he would continue to send cheques each month until the amount was fully paid. I have seen no evidence the Council responded to this offer, despite cashing the first and second cheques.
41. On the balance of probabilities, had the Council responded to this offer, it is more likely than not it would have accepted it. This is because the Council cashed the first two cheques for the monthly amount offered, and subsequently accepted the same payment arrangement following Mr X’s attendance at court.
42. The Council’s lack of response to Mr X does not align with its debt management policy of transparency. This is because the Council did not inform Mr X as to whether it had accepted or rejected his offer, and therefore did not explain what it expected from him. When Mr X received the final notice, he contacted the Council again and said he thought he had already made an arrangement to pay. This view is supported by the fact the first cheque of £30 had been cashed by this time. The Council did not respond to Mr X regarding this and instead issued a court summons.
43. The Council did not demonstrate transparency with Mr X as it did not respond to his offer of payment prior to the court summons. This is not in accordance with its debt management policy and this is fault.

The Council’s complaint handling

44. The Council acknowledged Mr X’s stage one complaint on 25 October 2023 and said it aimed to provide a response within 15 working days.
45. The Council provided its stage one response on 27 November 2023. This is more than 15 working days.
46. The Council acknowledged Mr X’s stage two complaint on 6 December 2023 and said it aimed to provide a response within 20 working days.
47. The Council provided its stage two response on 22 January 2024. This is more than 20 working days.
48. The delays in the Council’s complaint handling are not in accordance with its complaint policy, or the timeframes provided as part of the acknowledgements to Mr X. This is fault.
49. Having identified fault, I must consider if this caused an injustice to Mr X. In his complaint to the Council, Mr X said the Council could have avoided the stress caused to him if it had accepted his payment offer when it was made in July 2023. I acknowledge Mr X’s comments regarding this and acknowledge the Council ultimately did accept this offer, although not until after Mr X was required to attend court. The fault regarding the delays in the complaint handling also led to avoidable stress and frustration.

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Agreed action

50. To address the injustice identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within one month of the final decision. In making these recommendations, I have considered our guidance on remedies and the Council’s debt management policy regarding its consideration of potentially vulnerable customers. The Council has agreed to:
1. Provide an apology to Mr X for the fault identified. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings;
2. Makes a symbolic payment of £250 in recognition of the stress caused;
3. Makes a further symbolic payment of £100 for the time and trouble incurred to Mr X as a result of the Council’s delays in its complaint handling;
4. Reminds it staff of the importance of responding to offers of payment regarding unpaid council tax, to ensure the Council adheres to its debt management policy of maintaining transparency with its actions, and
5. Reminds staff to adhere to the timeframes specified by the Council’s complaints policy.
51. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

52. I have found fault by the Council and it has agreed to take the above action to remedy this complaint. I have therefore concluded my investigation.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman